Kaysie
Site Contributor
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2003
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- Location
- North Dakota
- Country
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- Display Name
- Kaysie
So in the last two weeks I have found: 2 rattlesnakes, 1 smooth green snake, a toadlet, a woodfrog, 1 wood turtle, 1 ribbon snake, 1 garter snake, 2 sandhill cranes, and 1 bald eagle.
So I guess I'll give the account of the coolest ones (the toadlet was found in the bathroom, and woodfrogs, garters, and ribbons are like a plague up here, and the rest aren't herps).
The rattlesnakes: We decided to blow off an afternoon of work with PERFECT Massasauga weather and go herping (was there really a choice? haha). Gravid females are often found in uplands adjacent to wetlands, in most cases it's in oak/cherry scrub. They're almost always found in a shrub with an associated stump or pile of sticks. They can also be found in grasslands (most of the grasslands in the northern forest are mowed places where the gas pipelines are monitored). Non-gravid females and males are almost always associated with alder swamp.
We drove to a place where massasaugas have been found in the past. There was a large grass area, with a windfall log which was still quite branchy (class 2, for anyone in the know). We kicked the log and heard the telltale rattle-hiss. For those who don't know much about Massasaugas, they're a species of pygmy rattlesnake, and rarely top 36 inches. This female was HUGE! She was over 3 feet. However, their rattle still sounds much more like a cicada buzz than a 'rattle'. We attempted to grab her with the tongs, but she quickly retreated into the rootball of the log. We poked around, and she came out again (at me!), and we played 'catch the snake' for maybe 5 minutes before we stopped harassing her. No pictures.
The second site we went to was a no-go. We found nothing but signs of some hicks throwing around their beer bottles.
The third site housed a small gasworks building, and a pile of styrofoam behind the building. We sorted through the foam, and found only a shed skin (which I collected). We then went to walk around the building, and nearly stepped on the female, who was coming from the grass back into the styrofoam. We played 'catch the snake' again, and I THOUGHT I got fairly good pics, but the camera malfunctioned!!
The fourth site was a large gas works, with a large (2 acres+) mowed area, lots of storage tanks, debris, etc. We were poking around for massasaugas, and were walking somewhat back to the truck when a bright green squiggle went across my foot! Had it not moved, I never would have saw the smooth green snake. Just like every snake you drew as a kid, it's green and squiggly, and very bitey! But they're small. I did get great pictures of him.
As for the wood turtle (just as cool, if not cooler, than the rattlesnakes). We were working in a stand which had been clearcut within 80-90 years, and regeneration was old aspen, with a smattering of young hardwoods (mainly red maple). We were less than 100 meters from a beautiful fen with a creek running through. I had hiked up a small hill to check my GPS trajectory for the next point (on this project, we're sampling coarse woody debris, dead trees).
I glanced down, and there was a big brown turtle staring up at me! I yelped "WOODY!" and my partner came running and yelped "WOODY!!" We were absolutely thrilled. Of course, we harassed him as much as possible, taking all sorts of pictures. He was a very large (probably 10+ inches) male. Wood turtles are called such because their shells look like carved wood. However, their plastron (under-shell), throat, and undersides of the legs are BRIGHT orange! There's no mistaking this one. We documented the GPS coordinates, and filled out appropriate paperwork. This is a species of special concern in Michigan, and a species occurance sheet should be filled out each time one is found. Luckily, I work for the same agency that monitors this type of stuff, so I had some papers in the truck.
So... It's been a hell of a herp week
So I guess I'll give the account of the coolest ones (the toadlet was found in the bathroom, and woodfrogs, garters, and ribbons are like a plague up here, and the rest aren't herps).
The rattlesnakes: We decided to blow off an afternoon of work with PERFECT Massasauga weather and go herping (was there really a choice? haha). Gravid females are often found in uplands adjacent to wetlands, in most cases it's in oak/cherry scrub. They're almost always found in a shrub with an associated stump or pile of sticks. They can also be found in grasslands (most of the grasslands in the northern forest are mowed places where the gas pipelines are monitored). Non-gravid females and males are almost always associated with alder swamp.
We drove to a place where massasaugas have been found in the past. There was a large grass area, with a windfall log which was still quite branchy (class 2, for anyone in the know). We kicked the log and heard the telltale rattle-hiss. For those who don't know much about Massasaugas, they're a species of pygmy rattlesnake, and rarely top 36 inches. This female was HUGE! She was over 3 feet. However, their rattle still sounds much more like a cicada buzz than a 'rattle'. We attempted to grab her with the tongs, but she quickly retreated into the rootball of the log. We poked around, and she came out again (at me!), and we played 'catch the snake' for maybe 5 minutes before we stopped harassing her. No pictures.
The second site we went to was a no-go. We found nothing but signs of some hicks throwing around their beer bottles.
The third site housed a small gasworks building, and a pile of styrofoam behind the building. We sorted through the foam, and found only a shed skin (which I collected). We then went to walk around the building, and nearly stepped on the female, who was coming from the grass back into the styrofoam. We played 'catch the snake' again, and I THOUGHT I got fairly good pics, but the camera malfunctioned!!
The fourth site was a large gas works, with a large (2 acres+) mowed area, lots of storage tanks, debris, etc. We were poking around for massasaugas, and were walking somewhat back to the truck when a bright green squiggle went across my foot! Had it not moved, I never would have saw the smooth green snake. Just like every snake you drew as a kid, it's green and squiggly, and very bitey! But they're small. I did get great pictures of him.
As for the wood turtle (just as cool, if not cooler, than the rattlesnakes). We were working in a stand which had been clearcut within 80-90 years, and regeneration was old aspen, with a smattering of young hardwoods (mainly red maple). We were less than 100 meters from a beautiful fen with a creek running through. I had hiked up a small hill to check my GPS trajectory for the next point (on this project, we're sampling coarse woody debris, dead trees).
I glanced down, and there was a big brown turtle staring up at me! I yelped "WOODY!" and my partner came running and yelped "WOODY!!" We were absolutely thrilled. Of course, we harassed him as much as possible, taking all sorts of pictures. He was a very large (probably 10+ inches) male. Wood turtles are called such because their shells look like carved wood. However, their plastron (under-shell), throat, and undersides of the legs are BRIGHT orange! There's no mistaking this one. We documented the GPS coordinates, and filled out appropriate paperwork. This is a species of special concern in Michigan, and a species occurance sheet should be filled out each time one is found. Luckily, I work for the same agency that monitors this type of stuff, so I had some papers in the truck.
So... It's been a hell of a herp week