Some stuff

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Noah M
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Some stuff

Post by Noah M »

I have a bit of a break between the end of summer and the start of the fall semester. Here are a few things from July 16 to now. I've also seen several other things (e.g. water snakes) but I only have voucher photos of those which you can see on HERP.

Squirrel Tree Frog
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Barking Tree Frog
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Pine Woods Tree Frog
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Oak Toad
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Apalachicola Dusky Salamander
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Mudsnake
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Scarlet Snake
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Green Tree Frog
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Here is one of half a dozen blueish ribbons from Dixie County. I've been looking for a blue garter and can't seem to find one!
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Chicken Turtle
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Noah M
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Re: Some stuff

Post by Noah M »

I decided to add some birds too.

Spoonbills
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Swallow-tail Kite
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MS Kite
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Ruby-throated Humingbird
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Jimi
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Re: Some stuff

Post by Jimi »

Nice mudsnake portrait. Aren't they sweet?
I've been looking for a blue garter and can't seem to find one!
I had a similar run of experiences in the big bend - ribbons were vermin, but "real" blue garters were hard to come by. I wondered if it was just too soggy a landscape for the most part, and if I should have concentrated on the edges of the uplands more than I did when looking for them. (That's a good tactic anyway, for lots of stuff...) Got any thoughts or observations on that?

cheers
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Noah M
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Re: Some stuff

Post by Noah M »

In my limited experience it seems like really pretty blues, but arguably not true blues, are farther away from the coast a bit on the edge by the uplands. Perhaps these are more abundant too? I actually find them to the most stunning because they often have a yellow stripe and I like how it contrasts with the blue. It is my understanding that true blues have a reduced or absent yellow stripe, and those are pretty hard to find. I'm not sure if conditions matter much, I think they are just plain hard to find.

I tried going out the night before the rain, and then once during this very rainy past few days. The rainy night gave me a dozen ribbons, about half were DOR, and an assortment of cottons and waters. Perhaps if I had been farther inland I would have scored a garter? Last year I cruised farther inland on the edge of their range in the rain, and had great luck finding cottonmouths, blueish ribbons and a blueish garter, all feeding on frogs to boot. http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/vie ... &view=next
I stuck closer to the coast on these past few trips in hopes of scoring a more authentic blue and did not get one.

I've seen blue garters in the past, and I don't remember having to work so hard to find one. Now that I have made several trips out and come up empty, it just makes me want to find one that much more. I may be trying again soon, perhaps a day or two after the rain finally stops, depending on work schedules and money.
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mtratcliffe
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Re: Some stuff

Post by mtratcliffe »

Sorry about the bad luck with Blue Garters. Given how common the Eastern variety is, I figured our night in Dixie where we didn't see one was an aberration. You've still got some time left this summer!
simus343
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Re: Some stuff

Post by simus343 »

From people that I've talked to that have good luck finding similis garter snakes, down by the coast in wet areas is actually better of the true-similis than uplands. A friend of mine has found them in drift traps set up in wetlands along the bend area as well as seen them just swimming. I've not got any yet myself, yet I've only been to one spot for them on the far west end of their range maps, and I've never targeted them. Still trying to find a Lampropeltis getula spp. myself haha.

Another friend almost did a research project on them and found during his herping that they appear more affiliated with wetlands than regular Eastern garter snakes.
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Noah M
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Re: Some stuff

Post by Noah M »

Simus,

Yes, the coastal wetlands is where you find the true blues. But the question is abundace. I feel like you'll have better luck finding "blueish" garters by the uplands than "true blues" by the coast because of the numbers. Its not a matter of where, but how many.

But this is all speculation. Also there are some people who doubt the existence of a subspecies altogether because of how blue some of the easterns can be.
simus343
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Re: Some stuff

Post by simus343 »

I get bluish ones over here. Not super blue but still a nice turquoise hue. If I was spending time over there, personally I'd be targeting the similis.

As for regular eastern garters I would agree that uplands would be better. I only ever see sirtalis in upland areas, never down near the water like I see ribbons all the time.
Carl D. May
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Re: Some stuff

Post by Carl D. May »

Bluish or more accurately, turquoise colored garter snakes are very common from south of Lake Okee (South Bay, Belle Glade, etc) all the way down to the ENP. These are snakes with an OVERALL wash of the turquoise hue.
But the real blue striped garter snake from the Gulf Hammock region are typically a dark animal with a contrasting electric blue stripe on the flanks. You sure know 'em when you see 'em.
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