April Amphibians

It's mid april here in the Wolverine state and this past weekend finally brought some decent weather conditions since we last had herp activity in late march. Friday night brought some much needed rain to southeast Michigan, and I headed out in the field to check some vernal pools for salamander activity. My outing gave me the chance to test my new Fenix HP10 headlmap out in the field. The HP10 is the brightest headlamp available that runs on AA batteries, with four settings ranging from 7-225 lumens. It is waterproof up to 50 fifty feet underwater and is virtually indestructible. My new equipment paid off quickly, as we spotted the first of many Spotted Salamanders swimming about in the vernal pool.

Spotted Salamander - Ambystoma maculatum

I observed a few egg masses in the pool itself and although a few males were seen, most of the salamanders seen in the vernal pool were large gravid females. It's been an odd spring here in Michigan, with some major temperature extremes that have really segmented salamander migrations and for the first time in a few years I wasn't able to observe a good migration. But even so, I was still able to see several more salamanders & newts in the pool. Several spring peepers were observed in the immediate area as well.

 

Spotted Salamander - Ambystoma maculatum

 Spring Peeper - Pseudacris crucifer

And then today, I had the chance to head down to Montcalm County from CMU with my buddy Bryson Church in hopes of turning up some Blue Racers. It ended up being cool and cloudy, and no racers made an appearance. But while in the field, we followed the sounds of a chorus of Wood Frogs to this nice vernal pool nearby. There was an abundance of sphagnum moss and I mentioned that it looked like pretty decent habitat for Four-toed Salamanders.

I decided to wade out in the the pool, and pull back some of the sphagnum moss on the fallen tree in the center of the photo above. What I found was well worth the outing today, a gravid female Four-toed Salamander.

Four-toed Salamander - Hemidactylium scutatum

That's all for now. Until then, happy herping!

Michigan Season is Underway!

This past weekend, we finally got some rain in southeast Michigan and it got some stuff moving. I spent some time aiding a study that is ongoing to the genetics of the Smallmouth Salamander in Michigan. This species reaches its northern range limit in extreme southeast Michigan. This area is the population center of the state and is extremely developed. Though Smallmouth Salamanders were probably never extremely common in Michigan, fragmented habitat has caused a decline in their numbers and they can now only be found in 2 or 3 locations and are listed as a state Endangered species. The point of this study is to take tail clips for genetic analysis to understand the genetic health of the few Michigan populations and to monitor breeding activity. We managed to trap and process over 100 animals over the course of two nights and also had some other species show up as well. All of these specimens were found at the same breeding site.

 Smallmouth Salamander - Ambystoma texanum

Unisexual Hybrid Salamander - Ambystoma sp.

Unisexual hybrids can be diploid, triploid, or even tetraploid. These animals share the genotypes of the Blue-Spotted, Jefferson's, Smallmouth, and occasionally Eastern Tiger Salamander. These unisexually female salamanders migrate to breeding pools with other salamanders on warm, rainy spring nights where they utilize sperm from males of other Ambystoma species to fertilize their eggs. The sperm of the males stimulates unreduced eggs to develop, resulting in clones of the female, this is similar to a process known as gynogenesis. It is also possible for the genome to be replaced or for the number of chromosomes in the offspring to be increased. The genetics of these salamanders is still undergoing study by many researchers. Here's a few other animals that showed up this past weekend.

Spotted Salamander - Ambystoma maculatum

Eastern Tiger Salamander - Ambystoma tigrinum

That's all for now. Until then, happy herping!

Return to Florida

Once again, I'm back in winter's icy grasp here in Michigan. But last week I had the chance to get away to Florida for a short trip. For most of the week, I spent a lot of time in dry pine flatwoods, hammocks, scrub, and other xeric habitats in search of one of my favorite snake species. After hiking for several hours one morning in search of a diamond-like pattern, I headed back to the car to grab some lunch. Upon returning to the area in the middle of the afternoon, I noticed a dark shape in the road which turned out to be the snake I had been looking for.

Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake - Crotalus adamanteus

This large individual was making its way across the road about 2:30PM with sunny skies and an air temperature of about 84 degrees. Very similar conditions to the one I found last year in the same area in March. This big girl held her ground in textbook form and allowed me to photograph her for a good twenty minutes before backing herself into the thicket pictures above. She was around three and a half feet in length and full of attitude, it's hard to imagine what a five or six footer would be like.

Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes and their smaller cousin; the Dusky Pigmy Rattle Snake, seem to prefer pinelands in general in the sunshine state. Sadly, these ecosystems are diminishing at an alarming rate due to the rapid development and expansion of the human population in Florida. But in some areas, large tracts of pine forest are still present and are a haven for many of Florida's reptiles and amphibian species. I spent quite a bit of time exploring areas like these in central Florida during the week.

 

One a warm afternoon during the week, I spent a few hours driving this road in Sumter County in hopes of finding some herps on the move. After a few passes with no luck I was beginning to get a little discouraged, but finally on my fourth pass I was lucky enough to drive up on this little guy right in the middle of the road.

Dusky Pigmy Rattlesnake - Sistrurus miliarius barbouri

These small rattlesnakes are closely related to my favorite Michigan snake species, the Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake. Despite their tiny stature, pigmies are pound for pound one of the most feisty venomous snake species I've encountered in the field. Most are very twitchy and bitey, and this juvenile was no exception. He hurled himself several times at my camera lens in hopes of causing an envenomation to my camera with no success. Every time I visit Florida, I hope I get the chance to encounter one of rat snake species that inhabits the state. This particular trip, I got the opportunity to find and photograph my first central Florida Yellow Rat Snake on the crawl in an oak hammock in the early afternoon.

 Yellow Rat Snake - Pantherophis quadrivittatus

Corn Snake - Pantherophis guttatus

I had a few days to kill and spent them in the southern reaches of the state and had a chance to find and photograph both of Florida's crocodilian species. The American Alligator is extremely common statewide and can be found in almost any freshwater environment, while the American Crocodile is restricted to the brackish waters of the southern reaches of the state. Although the American Crocodile was once listed as an Endangered species, is has been recently downlisted to Threatened by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

American Alligator - Alligator mississippiensis

American Crocodile - Crocodylus acutus

One of the coolest habitats in Florida is the cypress swamp. These hardwood swamps are retreats for many of Florida's reptile & amphibian species. In the north, Bald Cypress is the dominant species, but farther south Dwarf Cypress is the dominant. Checking these habitats at night by headlamp usually yields large numbers of this species, a trash snake to many.

Florida Cottonmouth - Agkistrodon piscivorus conanti

This large, bold species is always a treat to see no matter how many you've seen in the past. Cottonmouths are a viable part of any Florida swamp ecosystem and will always be a favorite snake species of mine. After rounding out the week in south Florida, I headed back home to Michigan and pit stopped in northern Florida to flip some tin with Daniel Dye. Although we didn't see much, he was kind enough to let me shoot some photos of this awesome snake species.

Florida Pine Snake - Pituophis melanoleucus mugitus

These large, powerful constrictors are exceedingly rare in Florida and are listed as a Species of Special Concern by the Florida FWC. They are restricted to xeric habitats where loose, sandy soil is available which allows them to burrow. They spend much of their time underground and have been found to be tied closely with active Pocker Gopher & Gopher Tortoise burrows in Florida. Habitat loss, illegal collection, and intentional killing is responsible for its decline. Continuing research and conservation is essential for the future of this snake in the southeastern United States. It was a great trip to Florida and can only hope my next trip will be equally as enjoyable. Until them, happy herping!

Florida, Here I Come

Spring break is rapidly approaching, and that means I'm getting ready for my trio to Florida. Having family that lives in Florida is a nice thing to have, I don't have to pay for a hotel during my spring break and have access to some great herping opportunities. I'd like to take a look back over the past few years at some of the cool stuff I've found while visiting Florida in order to get myself in tune for my upcoming trip. One of the best finds I've made in Florida was this brute found last year in the southern part of the state.

Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake - Crotalus adamenteus

This was once a common species across its range, especially in Florida. But after decades of habitat loss, road mortality, and intentional killing this species has declined drastically and is now rare compared to how common it used to be. They can still be found where good, intact exists. Diamondbacks prefer sandy habitats including pine/wiregrass ecosystems, pine flatwoods, oak hammocks, and even scrub habitats. 

Pine ecosystems in the southeast such as the one above are fire dependent. Well managed pinelands are burned every few years to promote the growth of native grasses, trees, and plants. In fact, many of the pine species of the southeast only disperse their seeds when a fire moved through. In order to take cover from fire, some species depend on one species of reptile that builds it's own retreat. The burrows of this species are known to serve as retreats for over one hundred animal species including the Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake, Eastern Indigo Snake, and Gopher Frog.

Gopher Tortoise - Gopherus polyphemus

Routinely, I see one or two Gopher Tortoises every time I visit Florida. A large preserve near my grandparents' house has a pretty sizeable population. Like other Northern American tortoise species, Gopher Tortoises make their own burrows. Their powerful front legs are great for digging in the loose sandy soils of Florida. Burrows can be up to 40 feet and length, and descend ten feet underground at an angle. This gives the Gopher Tortoise an easy retreat from an intruder, predator, or just high temperatures. One of the problems with Florida is the amount of development  that goes on every year, and more and more roads are added to the area. One of the biggest threats Florida herps face is road mortality. Every year I see tons of DOR herps on Florida roadways, particularly snakes & turtles. Sometimes if you're lucky, you can find stuff while it's still alive...

Canebrake Rattlesnake - Crotalus horridus

This "Canebrake" Rattlesnake was found crossing a forest road in the late afternoon in northern Florida. As you can see in the background of the photograph, traffic is an ever present danger for reptiles & amphibians in Florida. During this day trip in June to northern Florida, we found several DOR species including pigmy rattlesnakes, black racers, cottonmouths, florida box turtles, corn snakes, and water snakes. Besides finding herps on roads and in pinelands, one of my favorite place to trump around are cypress swamps.

These often flooded habitats are dominated by Cypress & Tupelo, and are home to a wide variety of herpetofauna. One of my favorite ways to explore these places is by night with a headlamp. It sounds crazy, but these areas take on a completely different identity at night and come alive with the sounds of the southern swamps. There's one species of snake that is a common inhabitant of these areas, and is one of my favorites.

Florida Cottonmouth - Agkistrodon piscivorus conanti

To many herpers, the cottonmouth is considered to be a trash snake mostly because it can be extremely common. For me however, I always relish the opportunity to find and photograph one on the field as I don't often venture into their range. Many southerners and ignorant people in general claim this is an extremely volatile species that will bite with no warning and even chase humans. I've literally seen hundreds of these snakes and I've never really found one to be aggressive. There's been a few instances where I've stepped within a foot of a cottonmouth, and each time the snakes never even budged. To me, the reputation is ill deserved and most people  just exaggerate stories of this snake.

As the sun sets on another day here in Michigan, it means I'm another day closer to Florida. I can only hope that the coming weeks will pass quickly so I can once again lace up my hiking boots, get my snake hook, and grab my camera to kick off another field season. I can only hope that some new surprises and some familiar finds will be in store. Until then, happy herping!

The Eastern Fox Snake

Well, the sun is out and the snow is melting. But it's still a good month or so until things get rolling here in the Wolverine state. My thoughts are ahead to the emergence of Michigan's herpetofauna in the coming months, and especially to the month of May. This month seems to be a bit of a booming month when it comes to herps, and one species that I like to look for at this time of year is the Eastern Fox Snake. These large, powerful constrictors are restricted to the coastal marshes and adjacent habitats of southeast Michigan, while the western subspecies is found in the western half of the upper peninsula. This species has suffered greatly across its range due to road mortality, habitat loss, illegal collection, and intentional killing. In Michigan it's numbers have dropped so greatly that is listed as a Threatened species here.

Eastern Fox Snake - Pantherophis gloydi

Coastal Marsh is an herbaceous wetland community occurring statewide along the shoreline of the Great Lakes and their major connecting rivers. Vegetational patterns are strongly influenced by water level fluctuations and type of coastal feature, but generally include the following: a deep marsh with submerged plants; an emergent marsh of mostly narrow-leaved species; and a sedge-dominated wet meadow that is inundated by storms. These areas are often bordered by lakeshore, or by riparian areas (rip-rap) that provides shelter for these large constrictors. A recent study done by Kile Kucher of Central Michigan University found that Eastern Fox Snakes chose rip-rap almost 80% of the time in his telemetry study on spatial ecology of the species.

 

 

Here you can see an adult Eastern Fox Snake coiled among rip-rap while taking cover amongst some ivy on a sunny morning in June. Although Fox Snakes are large in size (3-5 feet), they can extremely difficult to find at a given time. Studies have shown that this species moves frequently and can cover great distances in a single day. Males tend to move more than females, but both sexes are extremely active snakes. They spend the majority of their time on the hunt for rodents, birds, and other snakes. At certain times of the year, Eastern Fox Snakes can be found near nesting rookeries for various shorebird species as they like to target fledglings of herons, gulls, and egrets. Although they are found at ground level, they are excellent climbers as they search for birds and other food items, such as this large individual I found scaling a tree.

They are an impressive snake to be sure, but are in constant need of constant conservation and management. Fox Snakes are often found in extremely developed areas of southeast Michigan and are often run over by motorists or killed intentionally by ignorant people who thing they are rattlesnakes. Although they do hold their ground, hiss, and vibrate their tail against leaf litter if they are cornerned, Fox Snakes are not an aggressive species would rather be left alone. If you happen to come across one in the field, leave it be and only take photographs from a distance.