March 2015 Trip to Pigeon Mountain and Okefenokee Swamp

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Daniel D Dye
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March 2015 Trip to Pigeon Mountain and Okefenokee Swamp

Post by Daniel D Dye »

On March 13, 2015, my son Michael and I left north Florida early morning with Pigeon Mountain as the destination. We arrived late morning only to run into Jake Scott and Don Filipiak on their way out heading north to another location. It was cold and raining, just plain miserable! But, that didn't stop us. We were to meet up with Ashley Tubbs and Justin Oguni later. Two wonderful field herpers we've had the pleasure herping with in the past.

One of the first finds was this beautiful Red Salamander.
ImageRed Salamander (Pseudotriton ruber) by Daniel D Dye II, on Flickr

The next was a Red Eft Red-Spotted Newt.
ImageRed-Spotted Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens) by Daniel D Dye II, on Flickr

Ashley and Justin arrived and we decided to check out some caves and look for a few more species of salamanders found on the mountain.
This is Michael crawling out one of the caves.
ImageMichael Crawling out of a Small Cave by Daniel D Dye II, on Flickr

Ashley and Justin taking photos of a salamander, I don't remember which species this was.
ImageAshley and Justin by Daniel D Dye II, on Flickr

Here's the group searching the rocks for Pigeon Mountain Salamanders.
ImageAshley, Justin and Michael by Daniel D Dye II, on Flickr

Yours truly.
ImageMe Standing next to Water Fall by Daniel D Dye II, on Flickr

We found this nice Southern Zigzag Salamander (Plethodon ventralis).
ImageSouthern Zigzag Salamander (Plethodon ventralis) by Daniel D Dye II, on Flickr

And this Cave Salamander (Eurycea lucifuga).
ImageCave Salamander (Eurycea lucifuga) by Daniel D Dye II, on Flickr

We also found this monster Northern Slimy Salamander (Plethodon glutinous).
ImageNorthern Slimy Salamander (Plethodon glutinous) by Daniel D Dye II, on Flickr

On the way out from the cave system, I found this Eastern Red Bat (Lasiurus borealis) hanging just above my head on a tree branch.
ImageEastern Red bat (Lasiurus borealis) by Daniel D Dye II, on Flickr

We then set out to find a Green Salamander, which we did! Thanks to the sharp eyes of Justin Oguni!
ImageGreen Salamander (Aneides aeneus) by Daniel D Dye II, on Flickr

We went down the mountain in search of other species and found this large Spring Salamander.
ImageSpring Salamander (Gyrinophilus porphyriticus) by Daniel D Dye II, on Flickr

Ashley and Justin had to head out to meet up with Dale Wilson, so Mike and I hit a few more spots before heading south to find a place to over night.
ImageMichael and Jeep by Daniel D Dye II, on Flickr

We found a hotel and settled in. Here's the face of a worn out man!
ImageMichael Worn Out by Daniel D Dye II, on Flickr

We later met Ashley, Justin and Dale near Okefenokee and settled in at the place we would spend the next couple of days. Then we started road cruising. We found plenty of snakes, most I photographed with my iPhone for documentation only.

Here are some of the finds.
ImageGlossy Crayfish Snake (Regina rigida rigida) by Daniel D Dye II, on Flickr

ImageStriped Crayfish Snake (Regina alleni) by Daniel D Dye II, on Flickr

ImageBrown Water Snake (Nerodia taxispilota) by Daniel D Dye II, on Flickr

Ashley has a keen interest in spiders so we spent some time looking for some. Here's a couple finds.
ImageBowl and Doily Spider (Frontinella pyramitela) by Daniel D Dye II, on Flickr

ImageStarbellied Orbweaver (Acanthepeira stellata) by Daniel D Dye II, on Flickr

ImageAshley and Dale by Daniel D Dye II, on Flickr

ImageMichael, Ashley, Dale and Justin by Daniel D Dye II, on Flickr

That's it for this trip. Thanks for looking.
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chrish
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Re: March 2015 Trip to Pigeon Mountain and Okefenokee Swamp

Post by chrish »

Nice post. Love the sally shots. No Pigeon Mtn Sals?
Tamara D. McConnell
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Re: March 2015 Trip to Pigeon Mountain and Okefenokee Swamp

Post by Tamara D. McConnell »

Looks like a wonderful time. The photos are amazing. The little bat is so cute!
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Jeroen Speybroeck
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Re: March 2015 Trip to Pigeon Mountain and Okefenokee Swamp

Post by Jeroen Speybroeck »

Nice! Would love to see that water fall - nearly zero flow when I was there last July.
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BillMcGighan
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Re: March 2015 Trip to Pigeon Mountain and Okefenokee Swamp

Post by BillMcGighan »

Excellent... Took us right along to a special place.
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walk-about
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Re: March 2015 Trip to Pigeon Mountain and Okefenokee Swamp

Post by walk-about »

Daniel - What a beautiful post! What state it Pigeon Mountain in? The topography and species you found could pass for my native KY. That pic of the Green mander is really nice and what a pretty specimen. Love the pic of you standing in front of that water-fall. Also, that pic of the Slimy is a really good one. I have taken many pics of Slimy manders in my lifetime, and for some reason they all have one thing in common - They SUCK! (my white whale I guess) so when I see a good pic of one, I take notice.

Dave
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Daniel D Dye
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Re: March 2015 Trip to Pigeon Mountain and Okefenokee Swamp

Post by Daniel D Dye »

chrish, I have some many photos of Pigeon Mountain Salamanders, I didn't bother to take any.

The bat was a surprise, Tamara.

The water fall was cool, Jeroen. Lots of rain that day too.

Bill, more to come!

Pigeon Mountain is in North West Georgia, Dave. Truly a wonderful place. I've been there several times and enjoy each visit. Thanks for the encouraging words.
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mfb
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Re: March 2015 Trip to Pigeon Mountain and Okefenokee Swamp

Post by mfb »

Wonderful stuff, thanks for sharing! I especially like that adult Spring Salamander.
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soulsurvivor
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Re: March 2015 Trip to Pigeon Mountain and Okefenokee Swamp

Post by soulsurvivor »

Nice photos, Daniel! I really like that NEWT! ;)

~Bree
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Josh Holbrook
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Re: March 2015 Trip to Pigeon Mountain and Okefenokee Swamp

Post by Josh Holbrook »

Though I wasn't along for this trip, some good memories just from the scenery. Thanks for the post, Dan.
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pjfishpa
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Re: March 2015 Trip to Pigeon Mountain and Okefenokee Swamp

Post by pjfishpa »

Great salamander pics! Love that big red and the spring. Got me thinking about March now!
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