Search found 180 matches
- October 20th, 2014, 8:21 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Ontario Herping & Nature Images 2013-14
- Replies: 19
- Views: 10638
Re: Ontario Herping & Nature Images 2013-14
I loved that blue-spotted salamander - how do these sit in the blue spotted/Jefferson's spectrum? [edit - sorry, just saw the discussion re slimies and W. VA. I'd love to see the local blue spots]
- October 10th, 2014, 6:43 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Singapore pythons
- Replies: 7
- Views: 3013
Re: Singapore pythons
Chrish, I actually would be just as happy to talk to someone about the other cities you mentioned - Singapore is just where I was aware they occurred. Do you know anyone with experience with urban pythons in Jakarta, Manila, or Kuala Lampur? I'd be happy to talk to someone in those places or someone...
- October 8th, 2014, 9:20 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Singapore pythons
- Replies: 7
- Views: 3013
Re: Singapore pythons
Thanks Hans,
I'm in Philadelphia, PA, USA, but a friend and I are working on developing an urban natural history podcast. Combining that hat with my herping hat, maybe the coolest topic I can think of is urban multi-meter pythons.
Thanks for reaching out to Noel for me.
Billy
I'm in Philadelphia, PA, USA, but a friend and I are working on developing an urban natural history podcast. Combining that hat with my herping hat, maybe the coolest topic I can think of is urban multi-meter pythons.
Thanks for reaching out to Noel for me.
Billy
- October 8th, 2014, 7:13 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Singapore pythons
- Replies: 7
- Views: 3013
Singapore pythons
Hello,
I am doing a little research into Singapore's reticulated pythons as an urban herpetology topic. I have read about them living in the city's sewers, and I'm curious if any FHF folks have firsthand knowledge of this or could point me to people who do.
Thanks, and happy herping,
Billy
I am doing a little research into Singapore's reticulated pythons as an urban herpetology topic. I have read about them living in the city's sewers, and I'm curious if any FHF folks have firsthand knowledge of this or could point me to people who do.
Thanks, and happy herping,
Billy
- September 17th, 2014, 3:36 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Weller's Doom
- Replies: 24
- Views: 15124
Re: Weller's Doom
Thank you. I'll say that seeing the specimens at the museum was really cool too - connection with someone else doing the same thing 85 years ago.
- September 16th, 2014, 7:39 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Weller's Doom
- Replies: 24
- Views: 15124
Re: Weller's Doom
So, I went to Grandfather Mountain. I camped on the Blue Ridge Parkway and first thing in the morning I went to the mountain. http://i589.photobucket.com/albums/ss338/billysbrown/090614grandfather1.jpg Turns out the mountain (part of which is a state park, the other part of which, which I was visiti...
- September 2nd, 2014, 6:02 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Weller's Doom
- Replies: 24
- Views: 15124
Re: Weller's Doom
Years ago I went on a hike up up a mountain in western NC and I definitely recall the slippery granite outcrop hiking. I'm used to rock with better traction in the Ridge and Valley Province and Poconos in PA, and the NC experience did spook me a little. I tend to think of rhododendron hell as simply...
- September 1st, 2014, 2:10 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Weller's Doom
- Replies: 24
- Views: 15124
Re: Weller's Doom
I am prepared for most common herping hazards, though I'm not sure about the mutant man-eating salamanders. :-) Now that you mention it, I'm curious where the salamanders in his satchel ended up. I'm also trying to track down the contemporary reporting, so that might give a clue. How cool would it b...
- September 1st, 2014, 4:41 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Weller's Doom
- Replies: 24
- Views: 15124
Re: Weller's Doom
Working off the quote from Adler, and assuming 'Rock Stack Creek' is the one we're looking for, then I think the location of the creek on this map http://www.grandfather.com/wp-content/u ... il-map.pdf just about nails it for me. Thanks everyone for posting.
Billy
Billy
- August 31st, 2014, 8:26 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Weller's Doom
- Replies: 24
- Views: 15124
Re: Weller's Doom
Dery is closest to the mark re my intentions (and thank you for the introduction to 'Google,' though I haven't found the specific slope of Grandfather Mountain through Google). I thought it would be especially neat, in a morbid way, to see a place where a guy like me (albeit much younger) died while...
- August 29th, 2014, 6:49 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Weller's Doom
- Replies: 24
- Views: 15124
Weller's Doom
I am thinking of a trip/pilgrimage to visit Grandfather Mountain in North Carolina and see where Worth Hamilton Weller (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Worth_Hamilton_Weller) fell while collecting his namesake salamanders. Does anyone know where exactly this was?
Thanks, and Happy Herping,
Billy
Thanks, and Happy Herping,
Billy
- August 3rd, 2014, 5:06 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Turtling in AR and LA
- Replies: 6
- Views: 2944
Re: Turtling in AR and LA
Well now I feel bad for not mentioning the Raftemys 2, which I used on this expedition .
- August 2nd, 2014, 8:16 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Turtling in AR and LA
- Replies: 6
- Views: 2944
Re: Turtling in AR and LA: Update
So, in the end I struck out on ouachitensis. I tried a few spots to jump into creeks/rivers, and none worked out for a few reasons, most notably the Ouachita near Rockport where the dam release drove me out earlier in the day than I had hoped for, and where the frigid water made it tough to stay in ...
- July 6th, 2014, 5:43 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Turtling in AR and LA
- Replies: 6
- Views: 2944
Re: Turtling in AR and LA
Chris, you've hit on one of the toughest parts of picking spots to jump in. Clearer, rockier waterways tend to be relatively easy (relatively - all bets are off anywhere after a big rain), and I've had good luck in some rivers and creeks cutting through mostly forested terrain, assuming relatively d...
- July 5th, 2014, 6:49 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Turtling in AR and LA
- Replies: 6
- Views: 2944
Turtling in AR and LA
Good Morning South Central Herpers, Next week I am going to take a Southern turtling vacation. I'll be jumping into rivers to find map turtles (Graptemys species). For reference, here's an old blog post of mine about how I do it in the Delaware River up here: http://phillyherping.blogspot.com/2011/0...
- January 7th, 2014, 5:41 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Vermont Herps Wrong Number
- Replies: 4
- Views: 2782
Vermont Herps Wrong Number
Howdy, An old college friend who has absolutely nothing to do with herping (she is a scholar of Chinese History) and who teaches at Middlebury in Vermont, has discovered that her work phone number is on an old amphibians of VT poster http://www.vtfishandwildlife.com/vtcritters/factsheets/other/The%2...
- January 7th, 2014, 5:33 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: the South Philly Herper
- Replies: 13
- Views: 4174
Re: the South Philly Herper
Good to see you on FHF Mark, and again, that red salamander right on Forbidden Drive was fabulous.
Happy Herping (is that the worst thing I could say at today's temps?),
Billy
Happy Herping (is that the worst thing I could say at today's temps?),
Billy
- October 31st, 2013, 12:09 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Yunnan herping 2013
- Replies: 15
- Views: 5110
Re: Yunnan herping 2013
I can't stop looking at that oligodon. I had never heard of that species, and it is gorgeous.
Thank you,
Billy
Thank you,
Billy
- June 9th, 2013, 4:30 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: herper seeking herper
- Replies: 1
- Views: 742
herper seeking herper
I was driving to go herping yesterday morning and I found myself driving behind a blue Toyota Tundra pickup with the tag "Clemmys." I'm assuming he's one of our kind. Anyone know who this is?
Happy Herping,
Billy
Happy Herping,
Billy
- May 14th, 2013, 8:53 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Monroevill, PA here I come
- Replies: 1
- Views: 671
Monroevill, PA here I come
Howdy, I am going to Monroeville, PA for work in a couple days. That's just east of Pittsburgh. I might have some time Thursday late-afternoon/evening to look for critters after our meetings are over, but nothing on the map seems immediately inviting (I usually head for State Game Lands). I'm not su...
- May 14th, 2013, 8:44 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Epirus, Greece. May 2013
- Replies: 11
- Views: 5594
Re: Epirus, Greece. May 2013
Great post - I love those tortoises.
Billy
Billy
- April 15th, 2013, 8:08 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: ... panhandling pituophids ...
- Replies: 11
- Views: 4389
Re: ... panhandling pituophids ...
My kind of neighborhood - thanks for posting.
Happy Herping,
Billy
Happy Herping,
Billy
- April 11th, 2013, 5:08 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: ID Please: Mystery Snake from Brazil
- Replies: 11
- Views: 4535
- April 11th, 2013, 12:54 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: ID Please: Mystery Snake from Brazil
- Replies: 11
- Views: 4535
Re: ID Please: Mystery Snake from Brazil
You know, I was looking at the photo and thinking, 'that thing sure looks like a whip snake,' and then, 'but there are no Masticophis in Brazil.' I'm wrong on the second part, so maybe I'm right about the first part.
- April 11th, 2013, 12:12 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: ID Please: Mystery Snake from Brazil
- Replies: 11
- Views: 4535
ID Please: Mystery Snake from Brazil
A friend who is on a birding trip to Brazil is looking to ID this snake: http://i589.photobucket.com/albums/ss338/billysbrown/11997_10201099672677738_1842776751_n.jpg My friend writes, "It was in the 'upper part' of Serra de Canastra National Park, Minas Gerais, Brasil. In cerrado habitat, spec...
- April 4th, 2013, 8:56 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Oligodon experts needed
- Replies: 11
- Views: 3300
Re: Oligodon experts needed
A few years ago I went through an Oligodon phase and read everything I could about them, but never got my hands on any. Someone in Florida I connected with who kept a formosanus noted that they would drink beaten chicken egg from a water dish. A keeper in (I think) the Netherlands who worked with pu...
- January 2nd, 2013, 11:03 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: 2012 wrap up, East Coast.
- Replies: 16
- Views: 4266
Re: 2012 wrap up, East Coast.
You know what I liked, but I also dug the shots of TRs on the crawl. I love that straight-line caterpillar-style crawling they use when they're cruising.
Great stuff,
Billy
Great stuff,
Billy
- December 7th, 2012, 9:58 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Lizards in Machu Picchu Peru
- Replies: 9
- Views: 5960
Re: Lizards in Machu Picchu Peru
That's what I'm talking about. What I remember best about my time in the Andes and the Altiplano was my mind blown by the scenery every few minutes. Thanks for the reminder.spiltbeerpirate wrote:as requested. Habitat pics added.
Billy
- December 7th, 2012, 9:55 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: 2012 EOY Turtle Report - NE Chapter
- Replies: 13
- Views: 21183
Re: 2012 EOY Turtle Report - NE Chapter
Good post from my home turtling country. I envy you those soft shells. I've spent more than a few hours in Maurice River system water looking for them and haven't lucked out yet. BTW, I saw no indication that you got into the water with the turtles. If you haven't strapped on a mask and snorkel, you...
- December 5th, 2012, 2:00 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: 2012 EOY Snake Report – MA/NY/CT (Pic Heavy like WOW)
- Replies: 14
- Views: 3420
Re: 2012 EOY Snake Report – MA/NY/CT (Pic Heavy like WOW)
If I had a nickel for all the discarded lingerie I've found herping...
Nice NE snakes post, and extra points for working 'meta' into a FHF post like that.
Thanks for posting,
Billy
Nice NE snakes post, and extra points for working 'meta' into a FHF post like that.
Thanks for posting,
Billy
- November 30th, 2012, 12:34 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Lizards in Machu Picchu Peru
- Replies: 9
- Views: 5960
Re: Lizards in Machu Picchu Peru
First, thanks for posting herps from the Andes, a seldom-posted area.
That said, I've been to Machu Picchu, and it's a crime you didn't post any habitat shots. Please, post a couple.
Thanks,
Billy
That said, I've been to Machu Picchu, and it's a crime you didn't post any habitat shots. Please, post a couple.
Thanks,
Billy
- August 14th, 2012, 10:41 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Black rat communal nest
- Replies: 37
- Views: 10254
Re: Black rat communal nest
That is really neat, but I even think it might be worth writing up for Herpetological Review as a natural history note. Then again I think that a lot and maybe this is more common than I realize. Nate, what do you think?
Billy
Billy
- August 14th, 2012, 10:38 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Grid Milksnake article
- Replies: 10
- Views: 2250
Re: Grid Milksnake article
Almost every PA field herp guide I own has confirmed finds for Milks, Coppers, Racers, and Black Rats within Philadelphia's limits. I guess Bill's explained the Milks, but every other one baffles me a bit. - Matt The milks are definitely around and pretty widespread through Upper Roxborough and the...
- August 13th, 2012, 6:20 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Grid Milksnake article
- Replies: 10
- Views: 2250
Re: Grid Milksnake article
Thanks guys, I figure the general appetite for herp articles is two or three per year. I did a frog (spring peepers) article earlier in the spring. I might get a two-lined salamander article in for the winter too. More herpetology for the masses :-). Fitz - in the print version the page is numbered ...
- August 11th, 2012, 7:55 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Grid Milksnake article
- Replies: 10
- Views: 2250
Grid Milksnake article
Hi Folks, I'm betting some are aware, some are not aware, that I write an Urban Naturalist column for a Philadelphia environmental magazine called Grid ( http://www.gridphilly.com/ ). I try to get a few herp articles in each year, and the latest issue has one about my obsession with finding Philadel...
- May 24th, 2012, 6:57 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: dig the guy with the broom (non-herp post)
- Replies: 7
- Views: 1926
Re: dig the guy with the broom (non-herp post)
No one seemed bothered by the sex ratio. They do seem to disperse pretty widely (the adult female was from Tuckahoe, for example), so I guess it averages out okay overall. The biologist said 34 breeding pairs in PA, with a quarter of them in the Philly area. Pre-DDT it was 44, though most of those w...
- May 24th, 2012, 4:56 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: dig the guy with the broom (non-herp post)
- Replies: 7
- Views: 1926
Re: dig the guy with the broom (non-herp post)
Matt, Indeed there are peregrines all over Philadelphia - the pair at City Hall and basically at every bridge over the Delaware. The nest is on the south side of the clock tower, so if you just stand on Broad Street with binoculars and watch, you'll see them, at least for another week or so until th...
- May 23rd, 2012, 6:46 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: dig the guy with the broom (non-herp post)
- Replies: 7
- Views: 1926
dig the guy with the broom (non-herp post)
This isn't about herps, but for an article I'm writing for Grid ( http://www.gridphilly.com ) I was observing a state biologist band baby peregrine falcons at Philadelphia's City Hall. The broom guy was stuck in traffic, so... http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/video?id=8674081 Then after work I hit a vaca...
- May 7th, 2012, 12:33 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Long Weekend in Search of Shelled Herps in Arkansas
- Replies: 10
- Views: 2992
Re: Long Weekend in Search of Shelled Herps in Arkansas
Nice turtle post. I particularly liked looking up the chicken turtle's pants with the reflection.
Billy
Billy
- April 26th, 2012, 8:38 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Mud and Musk Turtles
- Replies: 10
- Views: 1494
Re: Mud and Musk Turtles
The research area has multiple impoundments and they are drained in rotation every four years. The populations of Mud, Musk, and Spotted turtles are being tracked to determine if they rotate between impoundments when displaced by draining or if some of them actually leave the research area all toge...
- April 11th, 2012, 6:56 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Some turtles from today (edit with story)
- Replies: 8
- Views: 1657
Re: Some turtles from today (edit with story)
Overall, I caught (bare-handed with water shoes, the only manly way to do it)... Yes! Though for gender balance I'll demand the same style for women too. There's a pond in Philadelphia (in Fairmont Park, Centennial District, just west of Belmont for those in the area) that has snappers, and I want ...
- April 2nd, 2012, 8:40 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: first clemmys of the year
- Replies: 3
- Views: 875
first clemmys of the year
I'm sure others have been seeing these already this year - we've had some great weather while I've been stuck in the office - but does anyone else get as happy as I do at seeing the first spotted turtle of the spring? http://i589.photobucket.com/albums/ss338/billysbrown/040112spotty.jpg Happy Turtli...
- February 22nd, 2012, 8:37 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Missouri Trip Report
- Replies: 14
- Views: 5271
Re: Missouri Trip Report
Nice post Eitan - I loved the ringneck with the identity crisis.
Billy
Billy
- February 1st, 2012, 6:32 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: SE PA glutinosis question
- Replies: 6
- Views: 1298
Re: SE PA glutinosis question
Thanks guys. That does answer the question. Maybe I'll poke around some of my favorite piedmont areas outside Philly and see what I find. I was going through some old photos and saw one that made me want to see a live slimy. With this weather we're having...
- February 1st, 2012, 1:53 pm
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: SE PA glutinosis question
- Replies: 6
- Views: 1298
SE PA glutinosis question
Hello Fellow Herpers, How southeast in PA have you found slimy salamanders? We have such beautiful slimies (big, brassy flecks) in the mountains, but I don't think I've ever flipped one in the piedmont (let alone coastal plain) of PA under the usual rocks, logs, and other debris. I've flipped like f...
- January 31st, 2012, 3:59 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: herpetological review article on longtail salamander ID
- Replies: 3
- Views: 1183
herpetological review article on longtail salamander ID
Congrats to Spinifer on his article in Herpetological Review!
- January 21st, 2012, 5:16 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Herp Lecture in Philadelphia
- Replies: 1
- Views: 825
Herp Lecture in Philadelphia
Hi Folks, Please forgive me for posting something that is not strictly about field herping in our region, but the herp curator at the Philadelphia Zoo has been involved in amphibian work in post-earthquake Haiti, and he'll be talking about it in the context of a wider preservation effort there on Ja...
- January 3rd, 2012, 11:42 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: Mississippi Herp Photos
- Replies: 12
- Views: 3800
Re: Mississippi Herp Photos
Looks like a female G. flavimaculata to me. You also have G. gibbonsi in the Leaf/Pascagoula River system.jayder85 wrote:One of the Map Turtle species. I am not very familiar with these.
Happy Herping,
Billy
- December 28th, 2011, 10:00 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: My year in review TN, AL, GA
- Replies: 34
- Views: 4653
Re: My year in review TN, AL, GA
Great post! I'll echo the other calls for more info on the pine snake. I'll add a request for a bit more about that map turtle. As a map turtle nut, I'd love to know what kind of water you found it in and how you got it out of the water.
Thanks, and Happy Herping in 2012,
Billy
Thanks, and Happy Herping in 2012,
Billy
- November 23rd, 2011, 10:34 am
- Forum: The Forum
- Topic: my 2011 - Europe, CA & Egypt
- Replies: 19
- Views: 4636
Re: my 2011 - Europe, CA & Egypt
I am curious about that amur ratsnake. Is that one from an established population?
Thanks,
Billy
Thanks,
Billy