April Species Counts

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gretzkyrh4
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Location: Baton Rouge, LA

April Species Counts

Post by gretzkyrh4 »

April is here and it's time for a new monthly count thread. Hopefully, this first full month of spring will bring us all some warm, wet weather and plenty of herps. Here's a brief report from last night to start things off.

----

Made my first cruise of 2014 last night, stopping by a local road around dusk. Even after a week of highs near/above 80 and some moisture earlier in the day things were slow. I was hoping for a mud to start things off, but struck out on that front. I did manage another species I rarely see though. Here's the list:

04/04/2014
Ascension Parish, LA


Snakes:
1 Nerodia fasciata (Broadbanded Watersnake)
1 Regina rigida (Glossy Crayfish Snake; only the 4th or 5th live specimen I've managed)

Amphibians:
5-10 Hyla cinerea (Green Tree Frog)
1 Ollotis nebulifer (Gulf Coast Toad)
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Soopaman
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Joined: March 18th, 2012, 7:34 pm
Location: Houston, Texas

Re: April Species Counts

Post by Soopaman »

I think it's going to be a good month, Chris.


East Texas 04-04-14

Coluber flagellum flagellum - 4 Road/AC
Lampropeltis calligaster calligaster - 1 AC
Micrurus tener tener - 2 AC
Nerodia eryhtrogaster flavigaster - 1 AC
Pantherophis obsoletus lindheimeri - 2 AC
Regina rigida sinicola - 1 DOR
Rman
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Joined: April 22nd, 2012, 3:32 pm
Location: Baton Rouge, LA

Re: April Species Counts

Post by Rman »

While suffering at work yesterday because Kyle kept sending me texts of what he was finding, it became clear to me that I had to find a quality place for mud snakes to be happy again.

2 AOR Nerodia faciata broad banded watersnakes.
1 AOR Farancia abacura reinwardtii. Western Mud Snake

St. James Parish La.

Happy again...
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Soopaman
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Location: Houston, Texas

Re: April Species Counts

Post by Soopaman »

Nice reinwardtii reward for your efforts!
gretzkyrh4
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Joined: June 7th, 2010, 12:17 pm
Location: Baton Rouge, LA

Re: April Species Counts

Post by gretzkyrh4 »

Rman wrote:While suffering at work yesterday because Kyle kept sending me texts of what he was finding, it became clear to me that I had to find a quality place for mud snakes to be happy again.

2 AOR Nerodia faciata broad banded watersnakes.
1 AOR Farancia abacura reinwardtii. Western Mud Snake

St. James Parish La.

Happy again...
Glad someone managed a mud last night.
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Soopaman
Posts: 924
Joined: March 18th, 2012, 7:34 pm
Location: Houston, Texas

Re: April Species Counts

Post by Soopaman »

One day this week west of Houston:

Agkistrodon contortrix laticinctus - 5 under AC
Agkistrodon piscivorous leucostoma - 3 under AC
Coluber constrictor flaviventris - 1 under AC
Coluber flagellum testaceus - 2 under AC, one basking
Lampropeltis getula holbrooki - 2 under AC
Nerodia erythrogaster flavigaster - 1
Nerodia fasciata confluens - 1 DOR, 1 in a creek
Pantherophis obsoletus lindheimeri - 5 under AC
Thamnophis proximus proximus - 1 under AC
Virginia striatula - 6 under AC
brennan
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Joined: December 13th, 2010, 8:29 am

Re: April Species Counts

Post by brennan »

Made it out Monday evening to EBR for some hiking and herping

Lampropeltis getula holbrooki- 1 under AC
Carphophis amoenus helenae- 1 under AC (first encounter!)
Diadophis punctatus- ~10 under AC and natural cover
Agkistrodon piscivorus- 1 basking

Wednesday I headed out to Pointe Coupee Pa. to check some tin sets.

Thamnophis proximus- 2 AOR, 3 under AC
Lampropeltis getula holbrooki - 1 under AC
Pantherophis obsoleta - 1 under AC, 1 basking near an old stump
Coluber constrictor - 3 under AC
Nerodia erythrogaster- 3 under AC

Thursday I made it out to Iberville Pa for a short outing.

Pantherophis obsoleta - 1 under AC
Nerodia fasciata -2 AOR

Looks like everyone has been getting out and having some nice finds. Be safe out there and have fun.....
gretzkyrh4
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Joined: June 7th, 2010, 12:17 pm
Location: Baton Rouge, LA

Re: April Species Counts

Post by gretzkyrh4 »

No herping this weekend, but added a new species for the year while taking part in a kayak tournament down along the Louisiana coast Saturday. Unfortunately, it was not the diamondback terrapin I was hoping for. Still always a plus when I can combine two hobbies.

04/12/2014:
Lafourche Parish, LA:

Snakes:
1 Nerodia clarkii (Saltmarsh Snake)
Rman
Posts: 142
Joined: April 22nd, 2012, 3:32 pm
Location: Baton Rouge, LA

Re: April Species Counts

Post by Rman »

Congrats on the Worm Snake, Brennan.

Went to West Feliciana Parish. About four hours of herping produced.

10 Lampropeltis getula holbrooki. Speckled Kings.
3 Pantherophis obsoleta. Texas Rats.
2 Crotalus horridus. Canebrakes.

1 Plethodon mississippi. Slimy Salamander
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beanie
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Location: New Iberia La
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Re: April Species Counts

Post by beanie »

Man have I been slipping with my finds this month. Anyway, here what we found after a few hours herping in Vermillion Parish

Blanchard's Cricket Frog
Green Tree frog - 1
Green Frog - ~5
American Bullfrog - 2
Southern Leopard Frog - 4
Three-toed Amphiuma - 1
Mississippi Mud Turtle - 1
Little Brown Skink - 3
Northern Green Anole - 5
American Alligator - 3
Broad-banded Watersnake - 7
Plain-bellied Watersnake - 1
Diamond-backed Watersnake - 1
Western Cottonmouth - 2
Gulf Coast Ribbonsnake - 1
Black-masked Racer - 3
jeffro
Posts: 175
Joined: February 28th, 2011, 9:09 pm
Location: Baton Rouge, LA

Re: April Species Counts

Post by jeffro »

Spent ~3 hours cruising the Port Hudson area this afternoon/evening and didn't come up with much:

1 Coluber constrictor latrunculus - DOR
1 Thamnophis sirtalis - DOR
1 Pantherophis spiloides - DOR

Jeff
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Jeff
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Location: Louisiana

Re: April Species Counts

Post by Jeff »

Our Church is moving locations, so, no Church on Easter Sunday of all things! I decided to do my annual snake-glut survey in downtown Baton Rouge, along with my Son.

I took several photos, this one representative...courting males and "Nerodia-the-Hut" female.

Image

We counted 54 Diamondback Watersnakes (Nerodia rhombifer). We didn't find any Graham's Crawfish Snakes, which is the third year in a row without seeing that species!

Otherwise, 1 common snapper, a softshell, and about 40-50 redear sliders (confused counts when ten or more simultaneously fell off logs, along with four Green Anoles. When we got home I saw two Broad-banded Water Snakes in the stream behind the house = 56 snakes today.
brennan
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Joined: December 13th, 2010, 8:29 am

Re: April Species Counts

Post by brennan »

Made it out Saturday with Rman to Pointe Coupee parish. Not many snakes but we had 1 good find.

19 April 2014, Pointe Coupee Pa.
Nerodia erythrogaster 2-under AC
Pantherophis obsoleta 1 under AC, 1 AOR
thamnophis proximus 1 under AC
Crotalus horridus 1 under AC (first canebrake of 2014 for me)

St. James Pa., road cruising in an attempt to find a mud snake
Nerodia rhombifer 1 AOR
Nerodia fasciata 2 AOR
brennan
Posts: 84
Joined: December 13th, 2010, 8:29 am

Re: April Species Counts

Post by brennan »

I managed to get some herping done yesterday close to home

22 April 2014

WBR Parish:
Opheodrys aestivus-4
Nerodia cyclopion-1
Nerodia rhombifer-1
Regina grahamii-2
Agkistrodon piscivorus-1

Iberville Parish:
Thamnophis sirtalis-2 DOR, 2AOR
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Jeff
Posts: 620
Joined: June 11th, 2010, 6:01 am
Location: Louisiana

Re: April Species Counts

Post by Jeff »

with Gerold S. today in a Baton Rouge Swamp area:

1 Gulf coast toad
1 mega Bullfrog, left a wake like a capybara
a little over 100 Bronze frogs, mostly metamorphs
1 common snapper skeleton/shell
1 mud turtle
2 Gulf Coast box turtles, including a young debutante
7 redears
4 anoles
37 Broad-banded waters
1 diamondback water
1 DeKays about 3.5 feet up in a snag
1 speckled king in a big log

puzzling -- no skinks, ribbon snakes or stumpys?
gretzkyrh4
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Joined: June 7th, 2010, 12:17 pm
Location: Baton Rouge, LA

Re: April Species Counts

Post by gretzkyrh4 »

Spent the Easter weekend in the Florida Panhandle with my wife. Sunday was designated herping day. Unfortunately, the weather disagreed. While it was sunny and near 80 F in Baton Rouge, it was in the low 50s, windy, and overcast when we woke up in Pensacola and didn't improve much from there. In fact, our pre-determined herping destination in Okaloosa Co. didn't reach 60 til late afternoon. Total herp count for the day: 0!

Weather improved Monday with sunny skies and highs in the low 70s, but herping didn't fair much better. Scouting out a new site in Escambia County, I managed the only the following:

Lizards:
2 Anolis carolinensis (Green Anole)
2 Aspidoscelis sexlineata (6-lined racerunner)


Hope things bode better for me back in the SC Chapter.

Chris
brennan
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Joined: December 13th, 2010, 8:29 am

Re: April Species Counts

Post by brennan »

Made a road cruise in Iberville parish at dusk yesterday. This was only my second road cruise here and already lucked up on a canebrake....

23 April 2014, Iberville Parish:

Thamnophis proximus AOR
Nerodia erythrogasterDOR
Nerodia fasciataAOR
Agkistrodon piscivorusDOR
Crotalus horridusAOR

Also, bullfrogs, GC toads, green treefrogs
dbh
Posts: 78
Joined: August 29th, 2011, 8:38 am
Location: New Orleans, LA

Re: April Species Counts

Post by dbh »

I have been out of state so decided to cruise last night and see if things were picking up.
I finally got an AOR Regina grahamii but it was so muddy I had to flip it over to ID it.

Nerodia fasciata confluens 4 DOR
Nerodia erythrogaster flavigaster 1 DOR
Nerodia rhombifer rhombifer 1 DOR
Nerodia cyclopion 1 DOR
Regina grahamii 1 AOR
Farancia abacura reinwardtii 1 DOR
Pantherophis obsoletus lindheimeri 1 AOR, 2 DOR
Alligator mississippiensis 1 DOR
Hyla cinerea
TMTC

It was fun to be out.

David
jeffro
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Joined: February 28th, 2011, 9:09 pm
Location: Baton Rouge, LA

Re: April Species Counts

Post by jeffro »

I joined Rman and soopaman in west feliciana parish this morning for some crusing/hiking.

2 Crotalus horridus (1 flipped under tin; plus 1 more cruised by Rman)
4 Pantherophis guttatus (1 DOR, 1 AOR, 1 flipped under tin, 1 on the move while hiking)
1 Pantherophis spiloides
Plestiodon laticeps
Gulf Coast Toads
Ground Skinks
1 Coluber constrictor priapus

I had to leave early, so Rman and soopaman likely found more later in the day.

Jeff
gretzkyrh4
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Joined: June 7th, 2010, 12:17 pm
Location: Baton Rouge, LA

Re: April Species Counts

Post by gretzkyrh4 »

Did some herping with ksuglennj and another AR herper this weekend while they were down for our annual spring fishing trip. Didn't make any particularly exciting finds, but wound up with good diversity overall (more than I can see for the fishing).

Here's the list:

4/26/2014
Washington Parish, LA:

Snakes:
1 Agkistrodon piscivorus (Western Cottonmouth)
1 Coluber constrictor (Southern Black Racer)
1 Nerodia sp. (Water Snake)

Lizards:
5+ Anolis carolinensis (Green Anole)
1 Aspidoscelis sexlineata (Six-lined Racerunner)
2 or 3 Plestiodon fasciatus (Five-lined Skink)
1 Plestiodon laticeps (Broadheaded Skink)
5+ Sceloporus undulatus (Eastern Fence Lizard)
1 Scincella lateralis (Ground Skink)

Turtles:
1 Terrapene carolina (Eastern Box Turtle)
1 Trachemys scripta (Red-eared Slider) DOR

Amphibians:
2 Acris sp. (Cricket Frog)
1 Anaxyrus sp. (either southern or fowler's toad; didn't personally see it)
TMTC Desmognathus conanti (Spotted Dusky Salamander)
2 Eurycea cirrigera (Southern Two-lined Salamander)
1 Eurycea quadridigitata (Dwarf Salamander)
?? Hyla chrysoscelis (Cope's Gray Tree Frog) CALLING
1 Lithobates catesbianus (Bullfrog)
5+ Lithobates clamitans (Bronze Frog)
1 Lithobates sphenocephalus (Southern Leopard Frog)
1 Pseudotriton ruber (Red Salamander) Larva

4/26/2014-4/27/2014:
St. Tammany & Orleans Parish, LA:

Snakes:
1 Agkistrodon piscivorus (Western Cottonmouth) AOR
3 Lampropeltis getula (Common Kingsnake) DOR
1 Nerodia cyclopion (Mississippi Green Watersnake)
3 Thamnophis proximus (Western Ribbon Snake) DOR
1 Thamnophis sirtalis (Garter Snake) DOR

Crocs:
2 Alligator mississippiensis (American Alligator)

Amphibians:
1 Anaxyrus sp. (Toad) AOR
TMTC Hyla cinera (Green Tree Frogs) AOR & CALLING
1 Ollotis nebulifer (Gulf Coast Toad) DOR

Not quite on par with jeffro, rman, & soopaman's weekend finds, but not a bad weekend overall.

Chris
Rman
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Joined: April 22nd, 2012, 3:32 pm
Location: Baton Rouge, LA

Re: April Species Counts

Post by Rman »

Had a fun trip to West Feliciana parish this weekend and got to share that with Jeffro, Soopaman, Ritt and Jeroen Speybroeck with his pal just arrived from Belgium for some herping and touring. I am unable to spell or pronounce his pals name. My bad.

Snake finds from 4/26 and 4/27

5 Pantherophis guttatus Corn snake 2 DOR, 1AOR, 1 under AC, 1 basking
5 Lampropeltis getula. Speckled King snake 1 DOR, 3 under AC, 1 basking
2 Pantherophis obsoleta. Rat snake 2 basking
5 Diadophis punctatus. Ring neck snake 5 under AC
2 Coluber constrictor. Black racer 1 basking 1 under AC
5 Crotalus horridus. Canebrake rattlesnake 2 under AC, 1 next to AC basking, 2 basking
1 Agkistrodon contortrix. Southern Copperhead 1 AOR
3 Agkistrodon piscivorus. Western Cottonmouth 2 AOR, 1 under AC
1 ophiodrys aestivus. Rough Green snake, 1 on crawl
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chrish
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Re: April Species Counts

Post by chrish »

Did a little frog recording last week and found a few herps -
Acris, Ollotis and Lithobates berlandieri calling
Crotalus atrox (DOR)
Rhinocheilus lecontei (DOR)

and this cute little Pituophis catenifer (notice the dead grass and cracking soil - welcome to S/C Texas herping this year!)
Image

Did some coastal migration birding on the weekend and saw a few common things
Alligator mississipiensis
Thamnophis proximus
Anolis sagrei
Crotalus atrox

and my favorite coastal resident - Nerodia clarkii

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

Re: April Species Counts

Post by Soopaman »

Chris, you may be pleased to know I've subsequently seen two more Arizona elegans out west of Houston, now, bringing the total to four in just a couple of weeks.
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