Greater Houston area - very preliminary RFI

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krismunk
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Greater Houston area - very preliminary RFI

Post by krismunk »

Hi,

I'm a Danish field herper who has previously been rather active on this board and its predecessor (too busy lately ;)). My sister just moved with her family to the Woodlands north of Houston for the next three years. Of course I'll want to visit her along with my wife and kids and of course while there I'll want to exploit the opportunity to herp for a lot of cool critters I don't usually get a chance to find. Understandably, herping won't be the main focus of our visit but it is quite high on my list of priorities, nonetheless. I'd love to time our visit to maximize my chances of herping success but there are a gazillion other considerations to take into account so at the moment it seems most likely that we'll be in Texas for two weeks in the middle of February 2014. If all things work out I might be able to squeeze in a second visit by myself for a week or so at some other time, or we may be able to move our visit to Easter 2014, but I doubt it.

While there I expect to have a fair amount of time to just poke around the neighbourhood for cirtters in the company of my kids and we'll certainly be going on a couple of "longer" excursions as well. How long is very uncertain. At the very least, we'll be going to the gulf coast for a day or two, at most we'll be make a one week round trip to somewhere like Big Bend or the southern tip of Texas. My kids aren't used to driving far and we're there mainly to visit my sister, so probably we'll end up somewhere in between those two extremes. A cautious guess says the perimeter is closer to Galveston than to Brownsville.

As I've never been south west of a line from Chicago to Florida most everything would be new to me and hence of interest. Having looked a bit closer at Texan herpetofauna I can say the snakes will be my main targets, though. Particularly prized finds near Houston would include any kind of rattlesnakes, coral snakes, mud and king snakes but I could be thrilled with my finds even if don't find any of those. Other cirtters such as alligator snappers and Louisiana pine snakes (and indigos, if I get within range) would be equally awesome to find (too bad the horned lizards are apparently gone from eastern TX) but given the effort that is realistic for me under the circumstances, I doubt they're very realistic targets, and critters really don't have to be rare, localized, hard to find or venomous for me to enjoy them. The rest of my family aren't afflicted with the herping bug to the extent that I am, but it is rubbing off on them and anything would be appreciated. For instance, I'm sure my kids would love to see an alligator.

The only specific herping plans I have as of now are to simply nose about the hood where I guess anoles should be a given and something else is bound to show up, and to go to the dunes of Galveston NP (hope, I haven't already said to much localitywise, but that took me all of five seconds of googling) for atrox. I'll want to find these also to show my brother in law (who's terrified of and simultaneously fascinated by snakes and whose Teaxs experience would be woefully incomplete without a rattler). I'd very much appreciate any and all tips and information in relation to spots, techniques, times, species, whatever, that might assist me in finding something. In particular, I'd appreciate any input in relation to the herping opportunintis at that time of year as well as tips to finding coastal atrox. Furthermore, I understand the lack of public land is a problem as well as some new law I remember there was a great deal of concern about here on FHF a couple of years ago. Info and tips in relation to these issues would also be very welcome. Tips on visiting at other times of year (Easter, especially) likewise.

Obviously, you guys don't know me personally and I respect and understand any reservations you may have with regards to disclosing information. In the hope that you might trust me, the best presentation I can offer of me, my intentions, attitude and behaviour is a look at my previous posts here as well as on fieldherping.eu. I have a lot of posts on Danish forums as well, but I doubt very many of you read Danish, and a severely mangled Google transplantation isn't really worthwhile so...

Anyway, as I said, any and all help is greatly appreciated. I'll be sure to let you all know when our plans are a little more set at which point I'll probably have a barrage of more questions. Also I'd love to meet up with some of you, given a chance but of course, any such plans will have to wait until our travel dates are set.
Shane_TX
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Joined: June 8th, 2010, 6:44 pm
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Re: Greater Houston area - very preliminary RFI

Post by Shane_TX »

You'll be close to some fun general herping areas in the Woodlands and February won't be bad if it's warm and some locals help you with flipping spots......that's the action and normally not too bad that time of year if you have enough spots to hit.. Atrox on the coast are not unrealistic at all.

It's not Denmark, but February is also not a good month from Mexico to Galveston....unless you like amphibs.

Shane
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Soopaman
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Joined: March 18th, 2012, 7:34 pm
Location: Houston, Texas

Re: Greater Houston area - very preliminary RFI

Post by Soopaman »

krismunk wrote:Hi,

I'm a Danish field herper who has previously been rather active on this board and its predecessor (too busy lately ;) . My sister just moved with her family to the Woodlands north of Houston for the next three years. Of course I'll want to visit her along with my wife and kids and of course while there I'll want to exploit the opportunity to herp for a lot of cool critters I don't usually get a chance to find. Understandably, herping won't be the main focus of our visit but it is quite high on my list of priorities, nonetheless. I'd love to time our visit to maximize my chances of herping success but there are a gazillion other considerations to take into account so at the moment it seems most likely that we'll be in Texas for two weeks in the middle of February 2014. If all things work out I might be able to squeeze in a second visit by myself for a week or so at some other time, or we may be able to move our visit to Easter 2014, but I doubt it.

While there I expect to have a fair amount of time to just poke around the neighbourhood for cirtters in the company of my kids and we'll certainly be going on a couple of "longer" excursions as well. How long is very uncertain. At the very least, we'll be going to the gulf coast for a day or two, at most we'll be make a one week round trip to somewhere like Big Bend or the southern tip of Texas. My kids aren't used to driving far and we're there mainly to visit my sister, so probably we'll end up somewhere in between those two extremes. A cautious guess says the perimeter is closer to Galveston than to Brownsville.

As I've never been south east of a line from Chicago to Florida most everything would be new to me and hence of interest. Having looked a bit closer at Texan herpetofauna I can say the snakes will be my main targets, though. Particularly prized finds near Houston would include any kind of rattlesnakes, coral snakes, mud and king snakes but I could be thrilled with my finds even if don't find any of those. Other cirtters such as alligator snappers and Louisiana pine snakes (and indigos, if I get within range) would be equally awesome to find (too bad the horned lizards are apparently gone from eastern TX) but given the effort that is realistic for me under the circumstances, I doubt they're very realistic targets, and critters really don't have to be rare, localized, hard to find or venomous for me to enjoy them. The rest of my family aren't afflicted with the herping bug to the extent that I am, but it is rubbing off on them and anything would be appreciated. For instance, I'm sure my kids would love to see an alligator.

The only specific herping plans I have as of now are to simply nose about the hood where I guess anoles should be a given and something else is bound to show up, and to go to the dunes of Galveston NP (hope, I haven't already said to much localitywise, but that took me all of five seconds of googling) for atrox. I'll want to find these also to show my brother in law (who's terrified of and simultaneously fascinated by snakes and whose Teaxs experience would be woefully incomplete without a rattler). I'd very much appreciate any and all tips and information in relation to spots, techniques, times, species, whatever, that might assist me in finding something. In particular, I'd appreciate any input in relation to the herping opportunintis at that time of year as well ast tips to finding coastal atrox. Furthermore, I understand the lack of public land is a problem as well as some new law I remember there was a great deal of concern about here on FHF a couple of years ago. Info and tips in relation to these issues would also be very welcome. Tips on visiting at other times of year (Easter, especially) likewise.

Obviously, you guys don't know me personally and I respect and understand any reservations you may have with regards to disclosing information. In the hope that you might trust me, the best presentation I can offer of me, my intentions, attitude and behaviour is a look at my previous posts here as well as on fieldherping.eu. I have a lot of posts on Danish forums as well, but I doubt very many of you read Danish, and a severely mangled Google transplantation isn't really worthwhile so...

Anyway, as I said, any and all help is greatly appreciated. I'll be sure to let you all know when our plans are a little more set at which point I'll probably have a barrage of more questions. Also I'd love to meet up with some of you, given a chance but of course, any such plans will ahve to wait until our travel dates are set.

If at all possible, make your trip around Easter. You can flip some stuff around Houston in mid/late February, but it's weather dependent and likely to disappoint, unless you travel further south.
The month of April is excellent (Easter 2014 is April 20th), and you can find snakes under cover at pretty much any time of day, and relatively abundantly.

I'll send you a PM with more info, as I'm the resident and active Houstonian in this chapter.
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krismunk
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Re: Greater Houston area - very preliminary RFI

Post by krismunk »

Thanks for the replies. If I could decide we'd certainly be going in April but there are several calendars to match and February seems more realistic.

I realized I forgot a couple of questions first time around, First of all I'd appreciate any recommendaations in terms of filed guides. So far I've been using the herpsoftexas website but at some point I'll need a book as well. Second, though herps are my main interest, I'm pretty much an all round naturalist so tips in relation to other animals, points of interest, things to do are also very welcome. More specifically, I'm fascinated by armadillos and would really love to find one...
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chrish
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Re: Greater Houston area - very preliminary RFI

Post by chrish »

In regard to land access, there is a large National Forest near (surrounding) the woodlands that is accessible for herping. If you find some quiet areas within the forest, you may find some trash piles, etc. that are herp worthy. People like to dump trash at the end of quiet, dead-end forest roads and so those are a good place to start looking.

The problem with mid-February is that it can either be great herping or terrible depending on the weather at the time. You want a warm wet February for snakes. Temps in the mid 60s to low 70s are perfect, and not uncommon.

Here's some suggestiions re your list:

any kind of rattlesnakes - If the weather is warm enough, you actually might have better odds of a horridus or Sistrurus in east TX than a Galveston atrox. If you are considering going further south (skip West Texas in February - nothing is moving there), you increase your chances of finding an atrox.

coral snakes - I've flipped a few coralsnakes in east TX pine forests early in the year (Feb-March). They are not predictable, but they are around. Find some trash piles in/around the national forests near the woodlands. I tend to find more corals under stuff like old carpets than natural cover.

mud - I have found mudsnakes inside water saturated, rotten logs in/around the lakes of east TX in the early spring.

king snakes - if it is warm enough, LA Milks and Speckled Kings should be under stuff. Early in the year is a good time to find Prairie Kingsnakes in the prairies and grassland areas that are west and southwest of Houston.

alligator snappers - these turtles are in deep water at this time of year. You are unlikely to find one without trapping and they probably won't be getting into traps much since the water will be cool

Louisiana pine snakes - I wouldn't bother trying to find these. They are extremely restricted in range in Texas. Most herpers who live in Texas have never seen one.

indigos - actually, Indigos are active at this time of year if you get down to the lower valley (Brownsville/McAllen areas). It is a long drive from the Woodlands though, but it would put you in the range of more herp activity.

horned lizards - they are still on some of the barrier islands and coastal dune areas. Again, south Texas is a better place for these.

I'm sure my kids would love to see an alligator - take them to Brazos Bend State Park on the SW side of Houston. There are lots of alligators there that are easy to get "close" to.

I think if you just went out into the National Forest areas near the woodlands, you could probably flip a copperhead or two, a kingsnake, Texas Ratsnake, Ribbonsnake, maybe a Buttermilk Racer, etc. at that time of year if it isn't too cold.

Amphibians should be active if there is some rain.

Easter would be better, depending when it falls. I actually find mid-March through early April to be sort of "peak" flipping season in east Texas. After early April, it starts to get too hot. Then you roadhunt.
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krismunk
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Re: Greater Houston area - very preliminary RFI

Post by krismunk »

Thanks for the info, Chris, it seems very helpful :)

Also, even if I don't find any of my "targets" I'll still be happy with that copperhaed or two, Texas rat, ribbon & buttermilk + a few amphibs ;-)

Sadly, mid-March through early April is out of the question. If I do get a chance to go by myself as well it might well be during cruising season.
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sep11ie
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Re: Greater Houston area - very preliminary RFI

Post by sep11ie »

There is a park called Sam Houston State Park. It'll be a little bit of a drive for you, an hour or so, but I can all but guarantee you'll flip some Copperheads and see some beautiful five lined skinks with the bluest tails I've ever seen
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krismunk
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Re: Greater Houston area - very preliminary RFI

Post by krismunk »

Hi again,

sadly, we haven't made it to Houston yet. I got fired when the company employing me got sold so we postponed any plans involving major expenses and calendar restrictions until I found a new job.

I'm back to work now so we're back to looking at plans to go to Houston. We're still looking at about two weeks the options now being some time in the time span October 4 - October 26 2014 or March 21 - April 13 2015. Disregarding my herping opportunities a number of other factors seem to favour going in October so my new question is: How does mid October compare to late March / early April in terms of herping?

... and since I imagine October probably isn't quite as good as March / April any reasons to visit the area in fall rather than spring of interest to non-herpers are welcome as well. I might have to sell the idea to my family ;)
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chrish
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Re: Greater Houston area - very preliminary RFI

Post by chrish »

October is pretty good herping and we are supposedly heading into an El Nino year which means more precipitation in the fall.
October is peak Coralsnake season.
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krismunk
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Re: Greater Houston area - very preliminary RFI

Post by krismunk »

chrish wrote:October is pretty good herping and we are supposedly heading into an El Nino year which means more precipitation in the fall.
October is peak Coralsnake season.
Corals sound good :)

Pretty and something different since I've never seen a wild elapid they are second on my wish list only to a large iconic rattler.

Turns out we can't go in the third week of October after all due to my wife's work so I'm looking right now at airfare for October 4 - October 18. I would love to meet some of you to go herping then.

What's the name of the game that time of season - still mostly road cruising at night + some hiking the habitat mostly in the mornings, perhaps late afternoon with relatively little to be found under cover, or?

Just guessing...

;)
Shane_TX
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Re: Greater Houston area - very preliminary RFI

Post by Shane_TX »

Early October is a great time to be herping this area. Night cruising can be good if it's warm enough. If it's a bit too cool for night cruising you can do a combination of fieldherping and road cruising all day long. Typically, you can plan on the best of both worlds in early Oct. (i.e. day and night herping). It's rare for it to be too hot for productive fieldherping that time of year. It's also rare for it to be too cold and even if you do strike out with unseasonable cold, you can flip till you drop.

Like Chris said it's a great time for corals and it's the best time to find horridus and pygs on the move.

Shane
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krismunk
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Re: Greater Houston area - very preliminary RFI

Post by krismunk »

Flight is now booked.

We'll be in Texas October 4 - October 18, based in The Woodlands. Somewhere along the way we'll probably be taking a one week trip out west with a few days in the Big Bend region and stops in Austin as well as the Hill Country or San Antonio.

Hope to see some of you there and find a lot of herps along the way :)
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