On The Trail With Mark

Distant shot of skink gaurding her eggs (above)

Close up shot of female skink gaurding her eggs above (photos by Mark Khosravi)

Well we didn’t find any King or Queen Snakes today but did manage to find a nice female skink guarding her eggs. She was kind enough to pause for a quick photo.   Tony Bulmer (Naturalist at  ECLP) who discovered the skink said female skinks will often leave their eggs ungaurded to seek the warmth of sunlight. When they return to their nest they use the warmth they absorbed to further incubate their eggs. Another behavioral characteristic is that female skinks will sometimes urinate on their eggs to keep prevent dessication.  These photos were taken underneath the bark of a fallen tree several feet from Big Rocky Run near Cabels Mill.

Taking the crew through the wetland via the boardwalk trail. If you have not been to Huntley then you are missing out on some spectacular sightings. It’s a great place to observe and photograph a variety of species up close.  In this photo someone has spotted something lurking in the cattails

Discussing with the group the biology and behavior of an Eastern Snapping Turtle 

Snapping Turtle and Eastern Painted basking on a log together. 

 We found a couple of these today. Here I am showing an Eastern Garter Snake to the group 

Red Wing Blackbird

Eastern Snapping Turtle basking

Hooded Merganser and her chicks

Southern Leopard Frog

Today Mike Gregory and I led Herp survey for a group of Virginia Master Naturalist students.   Our program centered around the reptiles and amphibians of Huntley Meadows Park ( the FCPA) emphasizing  practical field experiences in species identification and their habitats.  We did not encounter all of the species that have been documented in the park from previous surveys. We did however find a few common species and possibly two species that were not listed on the park’s species list. Overall it was perfect weather and a great bunch of student naturalist.  Anuran speices: encountered were American Bull Frog, Southern Leopard Frog, Pickerel Frog, Green Frog, American Toad.  Turtles: were Red Ear (not on the park’s list), Lots of Snapping Turtles, Painted, Mud and/or Musk Turltes. Lizards: (identification pending) were five lined and Broad head skinks. Snakes: two species but of the same genus and they were Ribbon and Garter Snakes. Other sitings not related to our target species included a variety of birds. Some of the more interesting of these sightings was the Hooded Merganser, an Oven Bird, Egrets and a Sand Hill Crane. We also heard two Barred Owls calling to one another.

Found this poor animal lying motionless in the parking lot at the Marine Lab Education Center Key Largo. I  walked around the compound that evening looking for Geckos and Anoles or anything else I could find that night.  When my head lamp beam illuminated this guy I thought for a moment that maybe it could be something dangerous given the bright coloration. In Florida thre are many species of snakes (and god knows how many exotic ones ) and of one I certainly didn’t want was a bite from- the coral snake.  Once my eyes adjusted I could tell it was a corn snake. Unfortunatley it had been  mortally wounded by a local cat.

Photos by Michael Gregory

On Wednesday 3/30/10 Micheal Gregory and I explored Sully Woodlands and Popular Road Parks to look for -well anything we could find that crwled or flew. At the Woodlands we did spot a Yellow Belly Sap Sucker -which is a first for the two of us. Chorus frogs were heard calling in the vernal pools as well.

After our tour of the Woodlands we headed for Popular Road Park on Bull Run Post Office Road a more recent  addition of park land aqcuired by  FCPA. There we encountered Yellow Rumped Warbler, a Red Headed Woodpecker, and a Brown Creeper. These birds were spotted along the riparian zone of Bull Run. Here the zone is mostly a mixed deciduous tree lined barrier separating Bull Run River and an open meadow.  In addition to the birds we stumbled upon a female Painted Turtle basking on a muddy bank along the river.

Found near intersection of Henderson and Yatesford Road just above Bull Run Marina

Above: Lead Back Salamander (Plethodon cinereus)

(Thamnophis sirtalis) Eastern Garter Snake

(Desmognathus fuscus)Dusky Salamander

Red Back Salamander (Plethodon cinereus)

Two lined Salamander (Eurycea bislineata)

Well didn’t exactly find skinks on this sunny October morning but were successful at finding three different species of salamanders and one species of snake.  Pictured are three from the genus plethodon (Red and Lead back sal),one from Euryecea (Two lined salamander) and one Desmonagthus (Dusky Sal). The snake is a Thamnophis sirtalis or Eastern Garter Snake. Overall a productive program.

What a lucky day today. Finding a tree climbing black rat snake was one thing finding another consuming a meadow vole was an added bonus on this field trip. Below is a condensed sequence of the event. Note I was able to hold the snake while it was gulping its prey down.

While doing programs at Walney you never know what you might encounter.  Today’s program  focus was about  northern water snakes but when this adult black rat snake presented itself clinging to a tree I couldn’t resist the temptation of showing one of its unique adaptations as a climber.  The snake was surprisingly docile and allowed me to keep it confined to the the trunk during this teachable moment.