First Quarter 2017

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

First Quarter 2017

Post by Adam Cooner »

Another three months have come and gone, and here's a recap of my first quarter.

January

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Northern Slimy Salamander by Adam Cooner, on Flickr

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Marbled Salamander by Adam Cooner, on Flickr

I didn't have any personal luck in cruising or flipping a tiger salamander this year, but I had the opportunity to photograph one Robb cruised in Georgia during a big storm front before we returned it to its breeding pond.

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Eastern Tiger Salamander by Adam Cooner, on Flickr

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Upland Chorus Frog by Adam Cooner, on Flickr

My son and I visited some small vernals in Jefferson County, hoping to see some early-arriving spotted salamanders. No such luck, but he got to help me photograph a couple of other amphibians we flipped along the edges of the ponds.

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Red-spotted Newt by Adam Cooner, on Flickr

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Southern Leopard Frog by Adam Cooner, on Flickr

This is the first decent photo of P. brachyphona that I've gotten, but, unfortunately, my speedlight was out for repairs and the pop-up flash renders this a less-than-ideal capture, as far as I'm concerned.

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Mountain Chorus Frog by Adam Cooner, on Flickr

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Northern Red Salamander by Adam Cooner, on Flickr

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Four-toed Salamander by Adam Cooner, on Flickr

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Mississippi Slimy Salamander by Adam Cooner, on Flickr

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Southern Zigzag Salamander by Adam Cooner, on Flickr

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Marbled Salamander by Adam Cooner, on Flickr

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Three-lined Salamander by Adam Cooner, on Flickr

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February

My first herping of February, was a fruitful day in East Alabama (Macon and Russell Counties) with Robb.

A recent publication has made "undescribed dwarf salamander" an unnecessary descriptor for these little guys.

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Hillis's Dwarf Salamander by Adam Cooner, on Flickr

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Southeastern Slimy Salamander by Adam Cooner, on Flickr

We managed to flip two mud salamanders in flooded bottomland, without a doubt the best finds of the day.

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Gulf Coast Mud Salamander by Adam Cooner, on Flickr

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Gulf Coast Mud Salamander by Adam Cooner, on Flickr

Robb flipped this big spotted salamander under a log. It had an extra right forefoot, often an indication of trematode parasitism in salamanders, though it could just be a quirk in its metamorphosis.

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Spotted Salamander by Adam Cooner, on Flickr

Robb was also kind enough to put me in the right spot for a lifer Desmog.

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Apalachicola Dusky Salamander by Adam Cooner, on Flickr

I flipped a red salamander (likely northern x southern intergrade) at the same seep, our last find of the day.

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Red Salamander by Adam Cooner, on Flickr

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Southern Two-lined Salamander by Adam Cooner, on Flickr

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March

I got my first three snakes of the year under various pieces of trash in a wildlife management area near my home.

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Smooth Earth Snake by Adam Cooner, on Flickr

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Black Kingsnake by Adam Cooner, on Flickr

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Southern Ringneck Snake by Adam Cooner, on Flickr

This not-so-photogenic cottonmouth was seen basking in-shed in a swamp where others of his kind are more than plentiful.

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Cottonmouth by Adam Cooner, on Flickr

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Dekay's Brown Snake by Adam Cooner, on Flickr

Tamara and Raymond were kind enough to host Robb and me for a weekend herping trip.

I flipped this beauty in a rolled-up carpet at a dump site in Mobile County.

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Speckled Kingsnake by Adam Cooner, on Flickr

Robb flipped this corn (and another one very much in the opaque portion of its shed cycle) under another large carpet at a different trash site.

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Corn Snake by Adam Cooner, on Flickr

We were unsuccessful in finding Mississippi green water snakes (still on the life list for both Robb and me) or Gulf saltmarsh snakes (on my list) on our jaunt over the state line to Mississippi, but Robb looked up to find a sleeping rough green snake in vegetation overhanging a flooded roadside ditch.

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Rough Green Snake by Adam Cooner, on Flickr

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Pig Frog by Adam Cooner, on Flickr

We spent some time herping some private property (with permission) in Mobile County but only found a couple of common species.

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Southern Black Racer by Adam Cooner, on Flickr

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Eastern Fence Lizard by Adam Cooner, on Flickr

We saw several juvenile fasciata over the weekend.

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Banded Water Snake by Adam Cooner, on Flickr

Our fellow Southeastern herpers are, almost without fail, incredibly hospitable, and Tamara and Raymond are archetypal in that regard. Their knowledge and open door have helped us see places and species we might not otherwise have access to on our own. Thanks.

My last herp of the quarter was this garter snake that found itself trapped in the window-lit vestibule of my very urban veterinary clinic's side entrance: I'm not sure how it got into a fairly secure building in downtown Anniston, but it was released in the closest, safest, most appropriate habitat we could manage after I grabbed a few photos.

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Eastern Garter Snake by Adam Cooner, on Flickr

As always, thanks for looking. I'm ready for a productive spring. Happy herping, everyone!
simus343
Posts: 566
Joined: March 30th, 2014, 1:16 pm
Location: Okaloosa ca, Fla.

Re: First Quarter 2017

Post by simus343 »

That's a nice assortment of Salamanders. I really need to put more effort into them this coming winter. That's also a really sweet looking corn. I love the gray ones, don't get a lot of them down here by the coast.
Tamara D. McConnell
Posts: 2248
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 11:42 am

Re: First Quarter 2017

Post by Tamara D. McConnell »

Beautiful photos, Adam! And thanks for the kind words!
User avatar
kevin h
Posts: 99
Joined: January 18th, 2015, 3:04 pm

Re: First Quarter 2017

Post by kevin h »

Love that hillisi and am really glad they finally got that stuff sorted out. Now I've been given the "green light" to find one.
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