Georgia Trip Report

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mtratcliffe
Posts: 533
Joined: January 19th, 2014, 4:34 pm
Location: Mt Laurel, NJ

Georgia Trip Report

Post by mtratcliffe »

Hey everyone,

It is with great pleasure that I share my finds from my last great herping trip of 2015. This trip was very dear to my family and I, as I am deploying for six months starting next week. We had a great time in Savannah, where we stayed four nights (including one night at a Bed and Breakfast), and then finished the trip with two nights at a cabin near Okefenokee NWR. It was a great time all-around - Savannah is a beautiful city, and I was able to turn up three lifers over the course of the trip. Best of all, one of those lifers was a snake I've been hoping to see ever since I moved to Florida - the venerable Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake!

While we were in Savannah, there wasn't really time for herping, but that doesn't mean I didn't see some Green Anoles in the middle of the city! While they are a common herp, I get excited whenever I see one as I only turn them up occasionally here in Florida, where Brown Anoles are the typical find. Here are a few sights from the city, to include critters:

ImageDSCN8880 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

ImageDSCN8921 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Lots of Fiddler Crabs at Old Fort Jackson.

ImageDSCN8968 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

ImageDSCN8971 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Flowers at Bonaventure Cemetery

ImageDSCN9000 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Bonaventure Cemetery

ImageDSCN9016 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

ImageDSCN9022 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Some toddler eye candy!

ImageDSCN9029 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Another Anole

ImageDSCN9064 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

The fourth day of our trip was definitely the highlight for me. We drove down to Jekyll Island, where I met with workers from the Applied Wildlife Conservation Lab to join them on a tracking session for three Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes. I believe they are currently tracking or have tracked more than 50 EDBs on the island, so the three we saw were just a small sampling of the population.

We started off on a trail through some brush near the shore.

Gulf Fritillaries were migrating through the island that day.

ImageDSCN9076 - Female Gulf Fritillary by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

ImageDSCN9154 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Not far into our hike, Joseph caught this Eastern Glass Lizard, which was later brought back to the lab to be marked.

ImageDSCN9079 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

ImageDSCN9080 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Not even fifteen feet down the trail, we came upon this male Cornsnake, which had some dark coloration which is apparently typical of the Georgia barrier islands.

ImageDSCN9083 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

ImageDSCN9084 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

ImageDSCN9085 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

After that, Katie brought out the antenna and we pin-pointed the location of our first EDB of the day, a large black-phase female named Elmira. I can't recall if the dark coloration meant if she was close to shedding or not.

ImageDSCN9087 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

She was deep within some thick brush, which made getting a good shot a difficult task. It didn't help that it was mostly overcast for that day and nearly the entire trip, which didn't help with lighting one bit.

ImageDSCN9094 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Our next EDB target was on the other side of the island in a coastal dune habitat. This is Elmira, a 5'10" female with a tail that is much lighter in color than the rest of her body. Has anyone ever seen that before?

ImageDSCN9102 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

ImageDSCN9104 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

She was also in the process of regrowing her rattle.

ImageDSCN9108 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Our final target was a young male named Little Louie, who was found in a hardwood forest.

ImageDSCN9114 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

ImageDSCN9116 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

It was great to turn up three very different looking EDBs in three different types of habitat. The only downside was that all of them were hiding in thick brush, meaning I didn't get to see them on move or watch them rattle. My first encounter with them wasn't quite what I imagined, but it was awesome nonetheless, and I am very thankful for the opportunity that was given to me!

Here's how they measure the length of the snakes back at the lab. After the trace is made, they place string along the trace lines and then measure the length of the string used. This Corn measured at 816mm (32 inches).

ImageDSCN9125 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

After I met back up with my wife and son, we checked out a pond elsewhere on the island, where lots of Yellow-bellied Sliders and Florida Softshells were milling about.

ImageDSCN9130 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

ImageDSCN9137 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

ImageDSCN9139 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

The next day, we left Savannah and drove through rain to reach the east side of the Okefenokee National Widllife Refuge. It wasn't raining there, but it was overcast and relatively cool (low 70s) for most of the day. We took a boat road into the swamp, but first I did some walking around the boat launch.

ImageDSCN9171 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

This Green Treefrog was hanging out by the door to the Men's restroom.

ImageDSCN9176 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

ImageDSCN9178 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Immature Male Eastern Pondhawk eating a Deer or Horsefly. This dragonfly species was EVERYWHERE, in numbers I have never seen before.

ImageDSCN9184 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Gator hanging out by the kayaking launch point. A little too close for comfort.

ImageDSCN9187 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Cypress swamp

ImageDSCN9191 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

ImageDSCN9196 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

ImageDSCN9198 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Getting ready for the boat ride!

ImageDSCN9201 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

ImageDSCN9202 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

ImageDSCN9211 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

ImageDSCN9226 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

ImageDSCN9246 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

ImageDSCN9260 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

ImageDSCN9262 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

After the boat ride, we took a scenic drive to a nearby boardwalk.

ImageDSCN9279 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

ImageDSCN9281 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

At the boardwalk.

ImageDSCN9286 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

ImageDSCN9289 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Young Female Lilypad Forktail. I'm not aware of any other damselflies that even closely resemble this one in color and striping.

ImageDSCN9291 - Young Female Lilypad Forktail by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

ImageDSCN9294 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

ImageDSCN9296 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Some of you have already seen this one, but I was desperately looking for a Banded Watersnake that two others had spotted, but I was unable to turn it up despite their directions. I was about to give up hope when I checked some bushes off of a platform and spotted this prototypical swamp sight - a large Gray Ratsnake (intergrade with Yellow Rat features) slowly snaking through vegetation! This was a lifer for me.

ImageDSCN9298 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

ImageDSCN9306 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

ImageDSCN9307 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Back in the car, my wife wanted to check an old homestead, but it was closed at the time, so we had to complete the drive again in order to circle around to the exit. The timing worked out perfectly, for as we started heading back down the main drive, I saw this Dusky Pygmy on the white stripe of a parking pull off. I yelled "SNAKE!" at my wife and we turned around to get some photos while our son napped in the car seat. Believe it or not, I hadn't turned up a Pygmy in over two years, so I was very happy for this find.

ImageDSCN9310 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

This Pygmy was none too happy to see us.

ImageDSCN9319 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

ImageDSCN9321 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Bonus footage:



On the way out of the refuge, we saw this Sherman's Fox Squirrel, a lifer for us both.

ImageDSCN9325 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

From there, we spent the rest of the afternoon drive to the west side of the swamp, where we stayed in a cabin for the next two nights. There were a number of Southern Toads and Squirrel Treefrogs out at night at the compound.

ImageDSCN9327 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

ImageDSCN9331 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

ImageDSCN9332 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

The next day, we spent most of the day back inside the NWR hiking and taking turns kayaking. It was another overcast and cool day, with temps only reaching 80 later in the afternoon when the sun finally broke out. That made for some slow roadcruising that afternoon.

Saw lots of deer that day.

ImageDSCN9348 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Red-shouldered Hawk - these birds are loud!

ImageDSCN9373 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

ImageDSCN9384 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

ImageDSCN9387 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Palmetto Weevil

ImageDSCN9389 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Green Treefrog enjoying the lack of sunlight.

ImageDSCN9393 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

ImageDSCN9395 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Broadhead Skink (my first time seeing a large one)

ImageDSCN9418 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

ImageDSCN9419 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Kayaking the Suwannee River.

ImageDSCN8667 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

ImageDSCN8668 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

ImageDSCN8678 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

I paddled out to a place called Billy's Island, but didn't see anything there due to the cool temps. Here's a log showcasing bad herping practices. Always return cover to the way you found it! There were several logs like this, unfortunately. Shame.

ImageDSCN8692 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

ImageDSCN8693 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

ImageDSCN8694 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Five Sisters

ImageDSCN8707 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

ImageDSCN8709 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Two YoY Gators

ImageDSCN8712 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr


While my wife paddled and my son napped in the car, I did some roadcruising, where I only turned up two Black Racers and one unknown snake (Garter or Ribbon). All of them escaped before I could get a photo. I was a bit bummed out for that, and wasn't sure how cruising would be at sundown due to the cooler temps, but we had to first head back to the cabin for dinner. While my wife got dinner ready, I explored the grounds and turned up five Eastern Fence Lizards enjoying the sun, which had only been out for an hour or two at this point.

ImageDSCN9422 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

ImageDSCN9428 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

ImageDSCN9433 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

ImageDSCN9435 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

We started roadcruising the NWR just before sunset, and it was slowgoing for a while. We did see this mama bear and her cub cross the road in front of us, which was unexpected. That was the first time seeing a bear in the wild for my wife and I! Unfortunately, we could only get this blurry pic.

ImageDSCN9438 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Twilight over the swamp.

ImageDSCN9439 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

We eventually turned up two Eastern Gartersnakes, both of which I found to be quite striking compared to the ones I've seen up north.

ImageDSCN9444 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

ImageDSCN9446 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

#2

ImageDSCN9449 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

To wrap-up the trip, we stopped in Gainesville on our way home, coincidentally on UF gameday where the University of Tennessee was in town to play the Gators. We saw lots of UT fans driving down I-75, but traffic wasn't too bad overall. We checked out a new preserve on the edge of Payne's Prairie. Not too many herps there, but there was an awesome find at the very end!

Male Roseate Skimmer

ImageDSCN9456 - Male Roseate Skimmer by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Cormorant drying its wings.

ImageDSCN9463 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Immature Female Rambur's Forktail

ImageDSCN9466 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Male Blue Dashers were common.

ImageDSCN9470 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

It's always a joy to see a Limpkin!

ImageDSCN9472 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Immature Male Eastern Pondhawk - the white areas will turn green in time.

ImageDSCN9485 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Juvenile Gator out basking.

ImageDSCN9489 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Bliss.

ImageDSCN9490 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Spider eating a Dragonfly - anyone know the species? I was surprised to find this sight. Lots of hidden gems like this at this park - you just have to look for them!

ImageDSCN9493 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Great Blue Heron

ImageDSCN9494 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Tri-colored Heron

ImageDSCN9500 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

And that brings us to the final herp find of the trip, and another lifer of me - a Yellow Ratsnake! When I took these photos, I was wondering why the snake had its mouth open. Turns out it was in the process of eating a mammal, which I wish I had realized at the time, else I would have filmed it. I found this snake below a bridge, strewn out across some rocks in a spillway.

ImageDSCN9497 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

ImageDSCN9499 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr

Well, that's all I have to share. I hope you enjoyed my finds - this trip turned out to be one of the best herping trips of my life. I would like to thank everyone who helped me out with planning the trip - the information your provided was useful and very much appreciated!

Here's a list of found species below:

Lizards
Green Anole
Mediterranean House Gecko
Broadhead Skink
Unidentified Skink species
Little Brown Skink

Crocodilians
American Alligator

Turtles
Yellow-bellied Slider
Florida Softshell
Unidentified Cooter species

Snakes
Cornsnake
Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake
Dusky Pygmy Rattlesnake
Gray Ratsnake
Yellow Ratsnake
Eastern Gartersnake
Southern Black Racer

Frogs
Pig Frog
Southern Toad
Squirrel Treefrog
Green Treefrog
Possible Bronze Frog

Total species = Approx. 21
NACairns
Posts: 372
Joined: December 30th, 2013, 7:27 am

Re: Georgia Trip Report

Post by NACairns »

Great post, looks like you and the family had an awesome trip. I really liked all the alligator shots and the Spanish moss in the cemetery. Diamondback tracking looks great. Interesting they use a press/trace method for snakes, we use that for species with fragile tails like skinks. Did they say why they used that method?
Have a safe deployment.
Best,
Nick
User avatar
mtratcliffe
Posts: 533
Joined: January 19th, 2014, 4:34 pm
Location: Mt Laurel, NJ

Re: Georgia Trip Report

Post by mtratcliffe »

NACairns wrote:Great post, looks like you and the family had an awesome trip. I really liked all the alligator shots and the Spanish moss in the cemetery. Diamondback tracking looks great. Interesting they use a press/trace method for snakes, we use that for species with fragile tails like skinks. Did they say why they used that method?
Have a safe deployment.
Best,
Nick
Thanks! I'm not sure why they use that method, but it probably started when they had to measure hots. I can't imagine that measuring a snake is ever easy, but I'm also unaware of what other methods are out there.

I forgot to mention it, but I think we saw 60+ Alligators during our trip.
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Noah M
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Location: Gainesville, FL
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Re: Georgia Trip Report

Post by Noah M »

Looks like you had a great time, and I'm glad you got to see so much neat stuff and lifers. The yellow rat with a hint of fur in the mouth is awesome.

And while you didn't get to see an EDB rear up and rattle, I think the in-situ shots are much cooler, and harder to come by.
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BillMcGighan
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Joined: June 7th, 2010, 9:23 am
Location: Unicoi, TN

Re: Georgia Trip Report

Post by BillMcGighan »

Thoroughly enjoyable: diversity of life, narration, and pics. :thumb: :thumb:

The boy is still precious.


Based on previous ratsnake post, how far inland was the final yellow rat?

Good luck on deployment.
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mtratcliffe
Posts: 533
Joined: January 19th, 2014, 4:34 pm
Location: Mt Laurel, NJ

Re: Georgia Trip Report

Post by mtratcliffe »

BillMcGighan wrote:Thoroughly enjoyable: diversity of life, narration, and pics. :thumb: :thumb:

The boy is still precious.


Based on previous ratsnake post, how far inland was the final yellow rat?

Good luck on deployment.
Thanks Bill! The Yellow Rat was near Gainesville, so inland enough from where there is an intergrade with Grays to make Gulf Hammocks.
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Stohlgren
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Location: Athens, GA (Columbia, MO)

Re: Georgia Trip Report

Post by Stohlgren »

Definitely looks like a fun trip. And all the better that you got to spend it with your family. Good luck on your deployment.
Jimi
Posts: 1955
Joined: December 3rd, 2010, 12:06 pm

Re: Georgia Trip Report

Post by Jimi »

Congrats on a great trip. South Georgia is awesome, everyone should go once or five times. Both the islands and the interior. Maybe when your kids are bigger you can do some longer camping trips, say to Cumberland or Sapelo, or do the canoe camping thing at ONWR or down a big river like the Altamaha. You might not get a lot of species, but you'd see lots of individuals doing their thing in nature (as opposed to e.g. just crossing a road or hanging in the men's room).

There's something deeply unsettling about the juxtaposition of the sweet image of your boy, with life jacket in prep for a family boat ride, in among all those gator pics. No comment or implication whatsoever on your activities, I'm just sharing an observation about my primitive or instinctive reaction. Brrr!
Here's a log showcasing bad herping practices.
Mmmm maybe. Bears and hogs flip rocks and logs too, and they never, ever put stuff back. There are lots of both in SE GA and NE FL. (Aside - I suspect with the rate of natural decomposition, with the high temps and rainfall, that under-cover conditions are regenerated pretty quickly in the SE USA. Sloppy flipping is probably less problematic there than in drier or colder areas. Just a guess. I'm not condoning it, just making another observation.)
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kevin h
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Joined: January 18th, 2015, 3:04 pm

Re: Georgia Trip Report

Post by kevin h »

looks to me like you guys had loads of fun with all sorts of great finds. That EDB is very nice and I always love to see corns. Also I think that system of snake measurement is truly genius and had never though of doing something like that before. Good luck during deployment and stay safe.

-Kevin H.
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mtratcliffe
Posts: 533
Joined: January 19th, 2014, 4:34 pm
Location: Mt Laurel, NJ

Re: Georgia Trip Report

Post by mtratcliffe »

Jimi wrote:Congrats on a great trip. South Georgia is awesome, everyone should go once or five times. Both the islands and the interior. Maybe when your kids are bigger you can do some longer camping trips, say to Cumberland or Sapelo, or do the canoe camping thing at ONWR or down a big river like the Altamaha. You might not get a lot of species, but you'd see lots of individuals doing their thing in nature (as opposed to e.g. just crossing a road or hanging in the men's room).

There's something deeply unsettling about the juxtaposition of the sweet image of your boy, with life jacket in prep for a family boat ride, in among all those gator pics. No comment or implication whatsoever on your activities, I'm just sharing an observation about my primitive or instinctive reaction. Brrr!
Here's a log showcasing bad herping practices.
Mmmm maybe. Bears and hogs flip rocks and logs too, and they never, ever put stuff back. There are lots of both in SE GA and NE FL. (Aside - I suspect with the rate of natural decomposition, with the high temps and rainfall, that under-cover conditions are regenerated pretty quickly in the SE USA. Sloppy flipping is probably less problematic there than in drier or colder areas. Just a guess. I'm not condoning it, just making another observation.)
Huh, I didn't consider that about bears and hogs being the ones to do that. I found several logs in that immediate area like that, but not elsewhere. I hope that was the case.
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BillMcGighan
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Joined: June 7th, 2010, 9:23 am
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Re: Georgia Trip Report

Post by BillMcGighan »

Huh, I didn't consider that about bears and hogs being the ones to do that. I found several logs in that immediate area like that, but not elsewhere. I hope that was the case.
Also in other areas of the country, watch for rocks and logs turned and/or destroyed by dirt bikers.
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Berkeley Boone
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Joined: June 8th, 2010, 4:02 am

Re: Georgia Trip Report

Post by Berkeley Boone »

Matt,
I somehow never responded to this post. Thanks for the review- it looks like you had a great time. Glad Jekyll turned out so good for you, the Okefenokee looks like it was a lot of fun as well!

Great pictures. Thanks for sharing!
--Berkeley
Tamara D. McConnell
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Joined: June 7th, 2010, 11:42 am

Re: Georgia Trip Report

Post by Tamara D. McConnell »

What a wonderful post! So many different kinds of beautiful creatures! Thank you for taking us along!
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