Eminart's 2017 Herping Adventures

eminart · 03-06-17, 08:49 AM

I went out herping for the first time this year yesterday. I've been sick for a week, and I thought I was better (more on that later), so I grabbed my camera and headed to a couple of my local spots.

I live in a fairly large city, but I have a secret spot in the middle of it where I find a fair amount of snakes. It's a quick and easy spot, so I pulled in there first and hopped out. Temps were around 60, and the sun was peaking out from partly cloudy skies. Not ideal, but I was optimistic. The first sheet of tin I flipped had two eastern garter snakes. Great way to start the year, and really got me hopeful for the day. But, of the other 20 or so cover items I flipped, I only found one more garter. But, still, 3 snakes in cool temps in early march - I wasn't complaining.

Garter 3 by Scott Wright, on Flickr

Garter 2 by Scott Wright, on Flickr

Garter 1 by Scott Wright, on Flickr

After walking around this very flat, and easy area, I was sweating and light-headed. Maybe I wasn't quite as "well" as I thought. But, in true Me form, I jumped in my truck and headed to the mountain where I was going to look for timber rattlers. By the time I got there, the sun had disappeared behind clouds and I wasn't feeling at all optimistic about finding Mr. C. horridus. But, I was eager to explore an area I'd investigated via google maps. So, off I went. The area did indeed look promising, but, as I'd feared, no snakes in sight. Not even a lizard on the rocks. I think it was just too cool in conjunction with no sun to bask in. Due to how weak I was, I spent a lot of time sitting. I'd walk 5 minutes, then sit on a rock and look around me. I did that for a couple of hours, and went home exhausted and well aware that I wasn't over my illness. I didn't find any timbers, but I'm eager to go back to that spot when the weather is a little better. All in all, a nice start to the year, I think.

Hopefully more trips and photos soon.

whistlepig · 03-06-17, 11:12 AM

Great pictures. Not sure why, but I love pictures of snakes periscoping.

**Pareeeee** · 03-06-17, 01:52 PM

Beautiful pics! So jealous - we still have some snow on the ground here. No herping for me!

eminart · 03-12-17, 06:28 PM

Thanks, guys!

We had snow last night and a high of 53 degrees today, but I can't stand sitting in the house much. So I grabbed my camera and went to get some fresh air. I wasn't expecting much, but I did find a little brown skink, and another garter. The skink didn't want to be photographed, but the garter was feisty and hung around for pics.

DSC_0061 by Scott Wright, on Flickr

saturnascends · 03-12-17, 06:30 PM

That little guy has character! Nice pics, and feel better!

eminart · 03-23-17, 11:43 AM

I got to take an after work trip a few days ago to check out an area that SHOULD have timber rattlers. It was a nice warm day (for a change) and I had high hopes. The place looked perfect with rock and ledges everywhere. Almost as soon as I got there I spotted a very large rat snake under a ledge. I didn't want to disturb her too much. I snapped one photo that turned out to out of focus. Then she slithered into a hole when I was trying to move a leaf to get a better shot. I could have caught her and pulled her out, but she looked like she'd been through a long winter and needed a shed. And I have tons of rat snake photos anyway. Plus, I thought I'd find plenty more snakes that day. But, you guessed it, that was the only one.

Hopefully I can get out and find some more interesting stuff soon.

SnoopySnake · 03-24-17, 11:30 AM

Nice finds! I'm in MI, so excited for everything to come out

eminart · 03-27-17, 06:15 PM

So far, it seems to be the year of the garter snake. A few finds from yesterday. Still nothing too exciting.

A huge five-lined skink (Plestiodon inexpectatus)

Yet another Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis (Eastern garter snake)

Tigrosa georgicola (wolf spider)

And a couple more photos of another five lined skink (Plestiodon inexpectatus)

MM1 · 03-27-17, 08:15 PM

Did that skink just climb up on your toes like that?

eminart · 03-28-17, 06:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MM1

Did that skink just climb up on your toes like that?

He was under that sheet of tin you see in the background. After I lifted it, he ran around a bit, then came under the edge and ended up on my shoe.

whistlepig · 03-28-17, 07:54 AM

Great pictures! I don't know how you managed to get those skinks. I can't ever seem to get very close before they run off, and they are very fast.

eminart · 04-01-17, 03:26 PM

I was turkey hunting this morning, but it's hard to pass up a flat rock. Found this little worm snake.

SnoopySnake · 04-01-17, 03:36 PM

This thread got me so anxious....that I had to go out and look for stuff today. No reptiles, but I found a ton of salamanders!! Pics to come on my own thread

Your herps there are much more interesting from what I've seen, haha

eminart · 04-01-17, 04:03 PM

We do have a ton of herp species in the southeast. There are pros and cons to living here, but I definitely count that as a pro.

Looking forward to your salamander pics.

Bandit · 04-02-17, 11:14 AM

Man I've been on the hunt for a worm snake. That's one of my target species for this year. They're here, just somewhat tough to come by. Great finds so far!