Hey everyone, it's been a little while since my last update, and with the relative inactivity on this board, I figured it could use some life. It's been two weeks now since Tropical Storm Colin hit Florida. Here in Tampa, we received 6+ inches of rain over the course of about 48 hours. Given the rainfall totals, I was obligated to road cruise for frogs, which would be out in force. While I was unable to hear any of my target species (Eastern Spadefoot Toads) calling, I was able to turn up a big surprise - my first Eastern Glass Lizard in South Tampa!
DSCN1584 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1587 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
I also found a DOR Snapping Turtle, which was another first for the area. It's always great to confirm a new species that lives in one's neck of the woods. Below are some other finds, mostly of the amphibian variety:
DSCN9273 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
The prettiest Green Treefrogs I find are usually out on the road:
DSCN1579 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1573 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Some large Florida Leopard Frogs:
DSCN1578 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1577 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1569 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
THAT'S NOT HOW THIS WORKS! Cuban Treefrog in amplexus with a Green Treefrog.
DSCN1571 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Florida Watersnake
DSCN1562 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
That Saturday, I met up with our very own Noah M. for some much overdo herping. We hadn't met up since July of last summer, and given that this might be last summer in Florida, I'm glad I was able to escape for a day and target some specific species. Thanks to him, I was able to turn up five lifers and see some parts of Florida I had never been to, let alone herped. Even better, for the first time in my life, I was able to see at least one of each of the following in a 24 hour period: Frog, Salamander, Lizard, Snake, Turtle, and Crocodilian! On that note, if you've ever achieved that feat before, I'd be interested in hearing your story.
Our first objective of the day was to dipnet for Sirens and other amphibians in an area thick with water hyacinth and water lily. It was a laborious effort, and it took a while, but we eventually produced a larval Peninsular Newt and an adult Dwarf Salamander, both lifers. Additionally, we netted a bunch of other neat critters, not all of which I am familiar with. Feel free to ID the finds below!
Leech
DSCN9280 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Crayfish
DSCN9281 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN9300 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Fish
DSCN9283 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Not sure - nymph form of some insect?
DSCN9285 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Juvenile Largemouth Bass
DSCN9286 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN9293 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Insect
DSCN9289 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Large Spider
DSCN9290 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Blue-finned Killish. These are quite striking.
DSCN9292 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Caddisfly larva?
DSCN9294 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Green Treefrog Tadpole
DSCN9295 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Some variety of worm...thing
DSCN9297 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN9298 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Grass Shrimp
DSCN9301 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Peninsula Newt (lifer)
DSCN9302 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN9304 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Dwarf Salamander (lifer)
DSCN9311 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Dragonfly larva?
DSCN9306 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Catfish
DSCN9307 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
And here's a Green Anole that was hanging out nearby:
DSCN9312 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Flipped this Juvenile Leopard Frog under a mattress near Noah's apartment:
DSCN9317 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN9319 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
There was an ephemeral pond near his place that was full of tadpoles, so I decided to see what they were. From what I can tell, most (if not all) are Leopard Frog tadpoles. A key indicator are the dorsal eyes and the transparent bellies that show the intestines.
DSCN9320 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN9321 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN9322 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN9323 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN9325 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN9326 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN9327 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN9330 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Does anyone know what the orange, clear specimens are in this photo?
DSCN9335 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Caught this Yellow-bellied Slider at the apartment complex's pond
DSCN9338 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN9340 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Recent metamorph Southern Toads were abundant around the complex:
DSCN9342 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
After resting and cleaning up at the apartment, we headed west to Dixie County, where we would roadcruise that evening. But first, we stopped along the coast to search for Gulf Saltmarsh Snakes, though we turned up empty handed. We still found some cool critters and saw great sights.
DSCN1624 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1624 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1627 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1631 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Snowy Egret
DSCN1634 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1636 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1637 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1638 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1640 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Large Fiddler Crab
DSCN1641 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Habitat
DSCN1642 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1643 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Tracks
DSCN1644 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Saw this Florida Cricket Frog on our way to our road. There were also Oak Toads calling nearby, but I didn't get any worthwhile photos of them.
DSCN1647 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
We had to stop for gas before our cruise, and I heard a Squirrel Treefrog give a rain call from the building. Turns out there were four of them up there!
DSCN1649 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1650 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1651 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1653 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Finally, we reached our destination and set about to find some snakes. We ended up finding seven snakes on this road, plus a whole slew of frogs we didn't bother stopping for. It was nice not to have any traffic to worry about.
Our first find was this Florida Cottonmouth, which escaped into the bushes shortly after this photo.
DSCN1654 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Florida Watersnake
DSCN1656 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
My lifer Blue-striped Ribbonsnake! Noah had to calm it down in order to get a decent photo. I wish we had turned up a Blue-sided Garter as well, as they are especially blue, but I was happy to settle on this species.
Ribbon Resize 1 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Ribbon Resize 2 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Lifer Southern Ring-necked Snake. That's right, three years in Florida and I never found one until that night.
DSCN1667 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Here you can see the tell-tale ring, which is broken on top, a key identifier for this species.
DSCN9352 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Love the bellies on these snakes! Southern Ringnecks have spotting while the Northern subspecies does not.
DSCN9353 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN9355 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN9357 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Cottonmouth #2
DSCN1670 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1672 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Ribbon #2
Ribbon Resize 3 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Florida Leopard Frog
DSCN1684 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
We stopped at a beach to shine for clarkii, but only found this dismembered Blacktip Reef Shark.
DSCN1688 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1689 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Hundreds of crabs were on the beach, many of which were feeding on the shark carcass.
DSCN1690 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Cottonmouth #3
DSCN1692 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1694 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN1697 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
On the way back to Gainesville, we cruised up this Bullfrog.
DSCN1699 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
There was some sort of wound on its chin.
DSCN1700 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
The following morning, I met up with another herper in Gainesville to hike the La Chua Trail in Payne's Prairie. Nothing too special, but I figured I'd share a few of my finds from there as well.
A darker-colored Green Treefrog
DSCN1703 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Obligatory proof that I saw an Alligator
DSCN1705 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Green Heron
DSCN1707 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Gulf Fritillary
DSCN1712 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron
DSCN1725 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Horses
DSCN1734 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Florida Watersnake
DSCN1748 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
And here's a skink to wrap it all up! Not sure of the species, but I'm leaning towards a Southeastern Five-lined.
DSCN1762 by Matt Ratcliffe, on Flickr
Well, that wraps it up! A huge thanks to Noah for showing me around his neck of the woods and for setting the whole thing up. I very much appreciate it! I'm starting to make up for my lost time in the desert. With five lifers on this trip, I"m now up to eight lifers for the year.
Post-Tropical Storm Colin and a Day with Noah M.
Moderator: Scott Waters
- mtratcliffe
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- Location: Mt Laurel, NJ
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Re: Post-Tropical Storm Colin and a Day with Noah M.
A great example of enjoying ALL of the critters that a specific region offers. I too try and learn about even the obscure invertebrates, mollusks, insects and the like.
For me the most interesting shots in this group are those of the fallen trees and their roots along the coast! One wonders how old those guys were? They didn't look like pines to me...were they oaks, or cedars?
For me the most interesting shots in this group are those of the fallen trees and their roots along the coast! One wonders how old those guys were? They didn't look like pines to me...were they oaks, or cedars?
- Josh Holbrook
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Re: Post-Tropical Storm Colin and a Day with Noah M.
Good stuff - I love that region. I'm surprised you didn't turn up any dwarf sirens at that dipnetting spot. The two nymphs/dragonfly larvae are both indeed dragonfly naiads...I'm not an expert but I would guess Anax junius. The first fish looks like a bluespotted sunfish, and the Bass is indeed a bass, but not a largemouth - It's a warmouth (warmouth have red eyes).
Good stuff, enjoy the sunshine state while you're there!
Good stuff, enjoy the sunshine state while you're there!
Re: Post-Tropical Storm Colin and a Day with Noah M.
Yeah the water levels were way down, to the point it was a creek this winter. I wonder if that has anything to do with the siren population. I've been there a few times this year and have yet to turn up any sirens, only dwarf salamanders and now a newt.
Here are some of my pics from the day w/ Matt.
Here are some of my pics from the day w/ Matt.
- mtratcliffe
- Posts: 533
- Joined: January 19th, 2014, 4:34 pm
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Re: Post-Tropical Storm Colin and a Day with Noah M.
I don't really know my trees, but I would guess some kind of oak. It was definitely a a unique scene seeing them all laying there like that. I imagine some storm (or storms) created that scene over many years.Carl D. May wrote:A great example of enjoying ALL of the critters that a specific region offers. I too try and learn about even the obscure invertebrates, mollusks, insects and the like.
For me the most interesting shots in this group are those of the fallen trees and their roots along the coast! One wonders how old those guys were? They didn't look like pines to me...were they oaks, or cedars?
Thanks for the IDs, Josh. I forgot that Warmouths were another type of bass around here. There was a ton of diversity hanging out near those aquatic plants. It's just a shame that we didn't turn up any sirens. I'm going to have to try again somewhere before I leave Florida.Josh Holbrook wrote:Good stuff - I love that region. I'm surprised you didn't turn up any dwarf sirens at that dipnetting spot. The two nymphs/dragonfly larvae are both indeed dragonfly naiads...I'm not an expert but I would guess Anax junius. The first fish looks like a bluespotted sunfish, and the Bass is indeed a bass, but not a largemouth - It's a warmouth (warmouth have red eyes).
Good stuff, enjoy the sunshine state while you're there!
Re: Post-Tropical Storm Colin and a Day with Noah M.
All good stuff.
I haven't been over to dip that area in awhile but it is usually quite productive. Water levels have fluctuated due to the dam temporarily allowing more water into the St. Johns, which may be the reason for lower numbers.
Glad you are getting out and seeing some cool animals.
-Jake
I haven't been over to dip that area in awhile but it is usually quite productive. Water levels have fluctuated due to the dam temporarily allowing more water into the St. Johns, which may be the reason for lower numbers.
Glad you are getting out and seeing some cool animals.
-Jake
- Josh Holbrook
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Re: Post-Tropical Storm Colin and a Day with Noah M.
JakeScott wrote:All good stuff.
I haven't been over to dip that area in awhile but it is usually quite productive. Water levels have fluctuated due to the dam temporarily allowing more water into the St. Johns, which may be the reason for lower numbers.
Glad you are getting out and seeing some cool animals.
-Jake
If I recall correctly, it took me quite a few times visiting it before I turned up my first, but I just assumed it was a fluke.
- Josh Young
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Re: Post-Tropical Storm Colin and a Day with Noah M.
It's a juvie largemouth. The eye color isn't uncommon at that age and it changes with age.Josh Holbrook wrote:The first fish looks like a bluespotted sunfish, and the Bass is indeed a bass, but not a largemouth - It's a warmouth (warmouth have red eyes).
- mtratcliffe
- Posts: 533
- Joined: January 19th, 2014, 4:34 pm
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Re: Post-Tropical Storm Colin and a Day with Noah M.
I like how everyone knows this spot without me describing it outside of mentioning the county, haha. I know Jake showed it Noah a while back.Josh Holbrook wrote:JakeScott wrote:All good stuff.
I haven't been over to dip that area in awhile but it is usually quite productive. Water levels have fluctuated due to the dam temporarily allowing more water into the St. Johns, which may be the reason for lower numbers.
Glad you are getting out and seeing some cool animals.
-Jake
If I recall correctly, it took me quite a few times visiting it before I turned up my first, but I just assumed it was a fluke.
Re: Post-Tropical Storm Colin and a Day with Noah M.
Yep, that be the spot. It's the herp world, word spreads like wildfire.mtratcliffe wrote: I like how everyone knows this spot without me describing it outside of mentioning the county, haha. I know Jake showed it Noah a while back.
Re: Post-Tropical Storm Colin and a Day with Noah M.
To be fair though, I did ask Jake if I was allowed to share that location. I hope nobody is upset I showed it to Matt.
Re: Post-Tropical Storm Colin and a Day with Noah M.
Great shots and great post! Thank you!