Conecuh Weekend Results

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Adam Cooner
Posts: 247
Joined: July 8th, 2010, 3:50 pm
Location: Calera, AL

Conecuh Weekend Results

Post by Adam Cooner »

I got to the forest Friday night, and Tamara and I slogged through mud and shallow water trying to spot and photograph one of the numerous Southern chorus frogs serenading us. She caught a juvenile banded water snake, but we were never able to find one of the frogs that night.

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Banded Water Snake by adamcooner, on Flickr

The next morning was fairly slow in terms of finds, but, after lunch, the finds (and texts notifying us of those finds) started rolling in. Two indigos were caught, but they were repeat offenders, having been caught last weekend. Four Eastern diamondback rattlesnakes were found, though! Daniel had kindly texted us the GPS coordinates for one he found, and, on the way to explore the area, Andy O'Connor found ours. Given Andy's yell, the entirety of Covington County probably knew we had found one.

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Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake by adamcooner, on Flickr

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Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake by adamcooner, on Flickr

That night, I found my lifer ornate chorus frog less than a minute after entering the pond where they could be heard calling.

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Ornate Chorus Frog by adamcooner, on Flickr

We also saw spring peepers and Southern chorus frogs in amplexus (sorry, I don't have any worthwhile photos).

Only a few of us were left for the Sunday hunt, and Jimmy assigned our group a few small areas to check out. At our second stop, Andy spotted what he described as a "black fist" emerging from a burrow and knew he had found our target. The snake slowly revealed about half its body length then froze on the burrow's apron. I slowly approached from behind and caught the snake while its attention was fixed on Andy.

In this photo, you can see the snake emerging from its burrow if you look in the upper left quadrant.

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Eastern Indigo Snake by adamcooner, on Flickr

Of course, we all got photos with the prize.

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Eastern Indigo Snake by adamcooner, on Flickr

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Eastern Indigo Snake by adamcooner, on Flickr

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Eastern Indigo Snake by adamcooner, on Flickr

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Eastern Indigo Snake by adamcooner, on Flickr

This particular indigo was confirmed to be a 4 year-old male (keeping sexing probes in my vehicle finally paid off). He measured in at 178 cm (5' 10") from snout to tail, a full 2 inches taller than me, and a little over 3 lb. Most importantly, this snake had not been seen since his release in 2012.

Overall, it was a GREAT weekend. Thanks to Jimmy and Jim for organizing the hunt and to all the fellow herpers who joined in this weekend!
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BillMcGighan
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Joined: June 7th, 2010, 9:23 am
Location: Unicoi, TN

Re: Conecuh Weekend Results

Post by BillMcGighan »

This is so great!
Most importantly, this snake had not been seen since his release in 2012.
Really encouraging. :thumb: :thumb:

Makes me happy to see some folks come so far and shares success.

Though well documented, I'm still always amazed on how such a powerful snake (with serious jaws) generally gets so docile after its capture.
Tamara D. McConnell
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Joined: June 7th, 2010, 11:42 am

Re: Conecuh Weekend Results

Post by Tamara D. McConnell »

Wonderful post, Adam! So happy for you guys about your especially significant indigo find.
And we need to make Andy an honorary SE chapter member.
Raymond McConnell
Posts: 79
Joined: July 3rd, 2011, 2:26 pm

Re: Conecuh Weekend Results

Post by Raymond McConnell »

For the record, this is NOT the same diamondback that the group 3D was with found. This one has 9 segments on its rattle; the one the other group found had 13.
Barry R
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Joined: March 16th, 2011, 11:27 am
Location: Shawnee Hills, IN

Re: Conecuh Weekend Results

Post by Barry R »

Awesome pics and post Adam! I'm so glad I was able to participate in this effort, and it was great to meet some new faces and familiar ones as well. :beer:
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BDSkinner
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Joined: February 15th, 2011, 8:03 am
Location: Boone, NC

Re: Conecuh Weekend Results

Post by BDSkinner »

That C. adamanteus is stunning! Looks like you guys had an awesome weekend!
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Daniel D Dye
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Re: Conecuh Weekend Results

Post by Daniel D Dye »

Tamara D. McConnell wrote:Wonderful post, Adam! So happy for you guys about your especially significant indigo find.
And we need to make Andy an honorary SE chapter member.
Excellent Idea, Tamara. :thumb:

I wish we could've stayed for the Sunday herping, you guys are awesome!

Thanks, Jim and Jimmy for another excellent year in Southern Alabama! Let's do it again next year!

Here's my contribution, found with my wife, Yvonne, and Rick Dowling.
Image
Eastern Diamondback Rattle Snake (Crotalus adamanteus) by Daniel D Dye II, on Flickr
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Adam Cooner
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Joined: July 8th, 2010, 3:50 pm
Location: Calera, AL

Re: Conecuh Weekend Results

Post by Adam Cooner »

Great shot, Daniel! Is it April yet? I'm ready for ANF...
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Joseph Jenkins
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Location: Madison, AL, Bankhead NF, and Auburn, AL
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Re: Conecuh Weekend Results

Post by Joseph Jenkins »

Great pics Adam!

I had a blast this weekend herping with everyone again. Hopefully I can make ANF to see many of yall again.
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Rich in Reptiles
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Re: Conecuh Weekend Results

Post by Rich in Reptiles »

Sweet!
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Stohlgren
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Re: Conecuh Weekend Results

Post by Stohlgren »

Looks like a great time. Conecuh is an awesome place.

By the way, indigos are easy to sex without probes. Both by the length/thickness of the tail, and by the presence of small keels on the anterior edge of several of the dorsal scale rows (on males).

Image

-Kevin
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dery
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Re: Conecuh Weekend Results

Post by dery »

We did that too Kevin. i left before the probing, but saw them ID by scales.
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Noah M
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Re: Conecuh Weekend Results

Post by Noah M »

Indigos are awesome. Glad to hear of the recapture. They are an impressive animal.
page whatley
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Joined: November 5th, 2012, 5:13 pm
Location: Dothan, al.

Re: Conecuh Weekend Results

Post by page whatley »

Glad to hear, thanks again for having us. Look forward to next time.
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jayder85
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Re: Conecuh Weekend Results

Post by jayder85 »

Great trip and finds! I HAVE to find my Indigo!
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