Friday, March 31, 2006

A Few Notes From the Basin 29 March 2006


Wednesday turned out to be a great day out in Whiskey Bay. I lead a snake field trip for a LSU Native Wildlife class. Since we had been told this was going to be a snake trip for a herptetology class, I was surprised to see that many of the students were carrying binoculars. After our brief introduction at 3:15 p.m., we headed down Happytown Rd., where had had some luck in the past flipping cover. It was refreshing to see the mosquitos were represented in such healthy abundance. We flipped everything in site, and only turned up a few juvenile five-lined and a couple of adult broad-headed skinks. I suppose I should also mention the couple of nice purple ground beetles we found too.

As it would turn out, the day actually belonged to the birds. Just along the levee road (north of I-10), we had three mentionable experiences. I kept seeing a large raptor soaring on long, flat wings behind the tree line. After coming around a curve in the road, the bird was now in good viewing condition. It proved to be an adult Bald Eagle, being harassed by an Osprey. Most of the students were able to see it before it disappeared again behind the tree line. About 1/2 mile further down the road, I saw more birds soaring off to the left. Three Swallow-tailed Kites with three Turkey Vultures! One of the students asked "What kind of tailed kite is it?".

Riding with me in the USGS truck was a young lady from Zimbabwe, Africa. She had been asking me about turkeys in the Basin. We knew there was a turkey hunt going on, so I wasn't surprised when the topic came up. I told her that I had never seen turkeys in the Basin and that I probably hadn't seen a turkey in the wild in ten years or so. Before we could say anything else, a gobbler Wild Turkey ran acorss the road in front of us coming from the levee! I couldn't believe it!

So, even though we didn't see all that many herps, we had a great day out regardless. We did see a couple of banded watersnakes and a few of last year's alligators. We need some serious rain here in the Basin. There are places that are usually hosting standing water, that have been dry for months!

James

Monday, March 27, 2006

Small Snakes!

Small snakes! Boy, are they cool! I must say, a lot of my friends growing up that were into reptiles with me were not very interested in these little guys. Except one; my friend Eric Guidry. He turned me on to the small snakes by showing me pictures of ring-necked snakes (seen in picture above). I have to say, in all my years looking for amphibians and reptiles, I have only come across three of these beautiful little gems. The first time was in Pass Christian, MS at a relative of Eric's out in the country. That was 1991. It was a long time until I saw my second, which was a solo discovery in Mandeville, LA in a small woodlot near one of my uncle Scott Boudreaux's previous residences. I walked into the woodlot and immediately saw lots of boards and siding laying around. "Alright!" I thought to myself, "this place ought to be crawling with stuff" (no pun intended). The first piece of cover I flipped was an old sign, and lo and behold; there was a 3" ring-necked snake! What a beauty!!! I was so pleased with this find, that I decided to hold onto it and show it off to some friends. Oh...and for those who are wondering, I also turned up a pregnant* Eastern garter snake and several ground and five-lined skinks. *You will notice I used the term "pregnant" here because snakes of the genus Thamnophis (garter, ribbon snakes) are vivaporous, or give birth to live young. Snakes that lay eggs are referred to as oviporous, and when they are carrying eggs, are referred to as "gravid".

Anyway....that second ring-necked snake was around 1999 or so. Another dry spell passed until I found my third. That was, until the beginning of March this year. Susan Walls, Samantha Hill and I were out in the Basin surveying some of our amphibian study sites in Whiskey Bay. After determining a location to set out one of our "frogloggers" (a digital recording device), we flipped a single piece of tin, and there was a ring-necked snake! (Actually, the very one in the picture) We were psyched! We took a few pictures, and then turned the little fellow/gal free.

I've been rambling on so much about ring-necks that I almost forgot to mention some of the other small snakes we have here. One day recently while out in the yard, Ellen called to me saying, "James, there's a snake over here!". The only other snake we've had in our yard was a speckled kingsnake a few years back, so naturally that was the first thing to come to mind. However, when I got over to where she was standing, there was this small (ca. 3.5") snake in the grass. It turned out to be a red-bellied snake! My first one ever! (at right)

The very next day, I was at my friend James Reitter's house and we were flipping some rocks in the coulee behind his complex. After a bit of searching, I found a brown snake (below). This little guy was about 6" long. Most of the small snakes we have here feed on worms and small arthropods. The average adult lengths of the three small snake species I've mentioned here are as follows:

ring-necked snake Diadophis punctatus 30"
red-bellied snake Storeria occipitomaculata 16"
brown snake Storeria dekayi 20 3/4"




So, in closing, when out flipping cover looking for that "fantastic find", don't forget to look for these sometimes hard-to-find little guys of the serpent world. I think you'll be amazed how beautiful something so small can be.

James

Friday, March 24, 2006


Me and my wife, Ellen on Rutherford Beach, Cameron Parish. Posted by Picasa

BasinFroggin'

It's been a very strange year for anurans thus far in the Atchafalaya Basin. Not much rainfall, and with slightly colder temperatures on an overall average in February (-0.5 degrees from the normal), one would suspect a potential mundane frog season. As it was, the Winter breeders were late in tuning up this year. However, early March gave way to much warmer temperatures and as a result, some of the early Spring breeders were ready to announce their availability. Cope's gray treefrogs (Hyla chrysosceles), were heard on several of our stops in Butte La Rose. One of the strangest notations of all, was not one, but two separate calling squirrel treefrogs (H. squirella). The first individual was actually heard here at the National Wetlands Research Center 16 March and the second that night on the north side of I-10 at Butte La Rose. Perhaps even more outstanding was a code 3 (full chorus) of green treefrogs, (H. cinerea) at one of our stops! This seems quite early for this species to be in full chorus. It was truly a memorable experience to hear both Winter and Spring breeders singing together. Northern cricket frogs (Acris crepitans), green treefrogs and Upland chorus frogs (Pseudacris triseriata) all at the same time!

The suddenly plummeting temperatures and rain in the following week encouraged us to conduct two more last minute frog call surveys for late Winter breeders. The weather was actually warmer on Monday (20 March) night, with an overcast sky and drizzle-rain. The following night (21 March) was crisp and clear. As to be expected, no Spring breeders were recorded Tuesday night.

I certainly enjoy the Winter songs of Upland chorus frogs and Spring peepers, P. crucifer, but I am definitely looking forward more to the Spring and Summer breeders and temperatures.

James

Copperheads







The Southern Copperhead, Agkistrodon c. contortrix, has always been one of my favorite snakes. Since moving to Acadiana, I have found several of these beauties, mostly on the Zoo of Acadiana's grounds. Typically, a normal find would measure no more than 10-12". I was constantly wondering..."where were all the adults!?". All of these little guys were still sporting their yellow tips to the tails. As some of you already know, the young snakes use these colorful tips as lures, mocking small worms to entice prey species to approach closer. As the older the snake gets, it loses the need for this strategy, and thus loses the yellow-tipped tail. Other members of this genus such as cottonmouths (or water moccasins), A. piscivirous, also employ this technique. I once found what appeared to be a subadult copperhead in the Sandhill Crane exhibit. Evidently, the birds had their way with the snake, as there was only about 1/4 of the animal left intact. Judging by the size of the head and what remained behind the neck, I estimated this snake to be roughly 20".

In the last couple of weeks, I have been doing a lot of work out in the Atchafalaya Basin. Most of the study sites are around Whiskey Bay, Indian Bayou, Butte La Rose and Sherburne WMA. In one day, we found two NICE adult copperheads within ten minutes of each other. The first was clearly the largest individual I had ever encountered in the wild, estimated at 25-26". This snake was found while flipping a bunch of old tin siding that had been discarded in the woods at the end of Happy Town Rd. Continuing back up Happy Town Rd., we then turned right on Refuge Rd., then onto Landing Rd. Landing Rd. comes to an end where motorized vehicles are prohibited. There is however, another section of road that cuts off to the right called "Pipeline Rd."...not an "official" name. At the end of this road, there is a small, run-down shack with loads of human trash scattered about in the woods. While flipping the second piece of cover (an old van seat), I found a second copperhead that rivaled the first. This snake must have been an easy 30" in length, and sporting good girth too! (see picture) I have returned to this very spot on four more occasions, obtaining more photographs. Two of those trips were made at night, and the snake was not home. We figured it was out and about foraging for frogs.

After all this excitment, the staff at the zoo called me to say they had captured a copperhead, and wanted to dispose of it. I offered to go by and pick up the snake and release it. This individual was a young adult most likely, measuring ca. 18-20". Ellen and I took the snake out to Cade, and released it...but not before I could grab some pictures!

So in conclusion, so far this herp season seemes very promising for snakes. Besides all the copperheads, I also have encountered most of our small snake species already. But, that's a separate post altogether. Happy herpin'!

James