Michigan Herp Trips

As I do almost every year, I traveled to the great state of Florida for my spring break in early March. The weather was slated to be in the mid 80s all week with sunshine, perfect for some field herping with my cousin Robbie. After arriving late Saturday night, Rob and I were up bright and early on Sunday morning to hit the field. The sun was shining, and it was the beginning of what would be a fun week.

Pinelands - Polk County, Florida

We began our hike through the sandy Longleaf Pine and Turkey Oak forests of central Florida about 9:30 AM. It was still a tad bit cool for anything to be out just yet but we knew that has the sandy understory began to warm in the morning sun, snakes would be soon to follow. About quarter after ten, we spotted our first serpent of the trip sunning itself right in the middle of the trail. It was healthy Eastern Garter Snake, only the second I've ever seen in Florida and a first for the both of us at this site.

Eastern Garter Snake - Thamnophis sirtalis

We also spotted an adult Racer sunning itself not too far from where the garter had been sitting, but it bolted before we could get our hands on it. We continued on through the woods back towards some cypress swamps which are home a few water snakes species and water moccasins. This site used to regularly produce moccasins, but poor management has resulted in severe loss in water levels and only small pockets of water exist within the five-hundred acres or so. But a little persistence led us to a few areas which still had some water in them.

Cypress Swamp - Polk County, Florida

We spotted a few water snakes on the move here and there but couldn't grab any of them. We were checking some pockets of water when Rob spotted a small Cottonmouth on the move.

Florida Cottonmouth - Agkistrodon piscivorus conanti

After spending a little time with the little moccasin, we headed back to our grandparents house for the remainder of the day. We did our usual cruise around the neighborhood in the evening and after dark and came up with some of the usual, but still interesting finds.

Southern Toad - Bufo terrestris

Sandhill Cranes

Florida Red-bellied Turtle - Pseudemys nelsoni

Green Tree Frogs - Hyla cinerea

On tuesday morning, we headed over to some of central florida's upland habitats. We met up with FHFer Jason to check some tin sites and walk some habitat. Some of the tin sites had been cleared and the others did not produce anything. So we decided to head to a nearby site which is home to a few of the state's protected species like the Eastern Indigo Snake. Upon arrival, it was quite a site to see.

Xeric Uplands

We searched the area for a few hours, and only got a glimpse of a single black racer. But nonetheless, it was a nice area to visit and we did turn up a few Florida Scrub Lizards.

Florida Scrub Lizard - Sceloporus woodi

On wednesday, Robbie and I headed down to south florida to hit a few areas. The weather was going to be in the mid 80s and in the 70s at night, which meant the weather was perfect for herp acitivity. We stopped off at an area to check out some Alligators and wading bird species. As we arrived, the lagoons were alive with the sounds of the nesting Anhingas and Cormorants. Here's the scene we saw.

Morning Glory

There were tons of wading bird species in and around the lagoon and the canals. And most of them seemed pretty used to people being around and so they were very cooperative for photographs. Here's a few shots of some of the aves in the area.

Double-crested Cormorant

Rob checking out a very friendly Cormorant

Double-crested Cormorant

Green Heron

Great Blue Heron

Purple Gallinule

Anhinga

Great Egret

After spending a lot of time photographing the bird species, we decided to concentrate on the crocodilians in the area. To say the least, there were a few American Alligators nearby.

American Alligators - Alligator mississippiensis

Me photographing a big Gator

After spending some time with all the gators, we decided to head farther south to look for the close relative of the American Alligator. Our search brought us to the brackish waters of the mangrove swamps and canals of south florida. This area is home to the federally endangered American Crocodile.

Saltwater Canal - Home of the American Crocodile

It only took us a few minutes to spot what we were looking for. While walking across a bridge, we caught site of a decent sized crocodile right near the edge of the mangroves. The crocodile was probably around six or seven feet in length.

American Crocodile - Crocodylus acutus

Me and Rob came back at night to see if any crocs were hanging out in the canals. It's a much different ballgame at night and that became evident quite clear in a short amount of time. First off, we spotted this cool bird walking the banks of the canal.

Night Heron

Not too far from where the night heron was hanging out, we spotted a large crocodile near the bank. There's no doubt that it was the same big male we saw last June.

American Crocodile - Crocodylus acutus

The next day, we headed farther north to check some areas. We drove past a couple miles of dwarf cypress stands that looked perfect for florida cottonmouths and some water snake species, so we decided we would cruise through the areas later in the night, and check some of the pockets of water as well.

Dwarf Cypress Swamp - Home of the Florida Cottonmouth

As we were driving through the area, we noticed that there were a few dead snakes on the road. Even though its unfortunate to see wildlife losing their lives on the roads, it gave us a clue as to what kind of species in the area. We saw a few dead cottonmouths, ribbon snakes, and sadly a dead striped crayfish snake. Luckily, we did see a live one on the road later on, but it escaped before photos could be taken.

Peninsula Ribbon Snake - Thamnophis sauritus sackenii

Striped Crayfish Snake - Regina alleni

As the sun began to set, we set out for a night of road cruising. With temperatures only being in the low 80s, we only had about and hour and a half window after dark to see stuff on the road. Just before sundown, we were cruising along and I noticed brightly colored carapace just off the edge of the road. It was one of my favorite kinds of herps, a little female florida box turtle.

Florida Box Turtle - Terrapene carolina bauri

Not too long after dark, the snakes started to show up on the roads. We saw a pretty good diversity for about and hour after dark before things really slowed down.

Peninsula Ribbon Snake - Thamnophis sauritus sackenii

Florida Water Snake - Nerodia fasciata pictiventris

Scarlet Snake - Cemaphora coccinea

We eventually started cruising through the dwarf cypress areas that we had checked out earlier in the day. There were tons of dead snakes on the roads, but our first live one was the species we were looking for.

Florida Cottonmouth - Agkistrodon piscivorus conanti

Since the road cruising really slowed down around 9:30, we decided to start doing a little night hiking through the habitat to check pockets of water in the dwarf cypress areas for snakes. Since its technically the dry season in florida, the snakes will be very concentrated around the water. The first ditch we checked was successful, we spotted this big cotton right near the edge of the water in ambush position.

Florida Cottonmouth - Agkistrodon piscivorus conanti

It seemed like every ditch and pocket of water we checked had cottonmouths in or around the water. We ended up seeing about 30 or more in a little more than an hour and a half. Some people consider cottonmouths to be trash snakes, however they've always been one of my favorite species.

Rob photographing a juvenile Cottonmouth

Sights like this were common throughout the night...

The thing with cottonmouths is that they're so common, that you really need to be careful where you step. The most unnerving moment of the trip was when I was photographing these two big cottons near a pipe.

Anything jump out about this photo?

The scary moment was that I didn't even notice the third cottonmouth on the right side of the picture. I did notice him when I almost stepped on him. This species is almost too common. We saw quite a few more cottons and a few nerodia around the ditches, but we decided to call it a night, or so we thought. On our way home, we saw a big snake going of the edge of the road and pulled over and walked up on this big healthy cottonmouth.

Me with a nice adult Florida Cottonmouth

Florida Cottonmouth - Agkistrodon piscivorus conanti

And with that the week came to and end. It was another awesome trip to one of my favorite places to herp, and as usual it certainly didn't disappoint. We got to see a lot of cool herps and it was a great way to kick off the 2009 field season.

Species Observed:

• Green Anole
• Cuban Brown Anole
• Six-lined Racerunner
• Florida Scrub Lizard
• Tropical House Gecko
• American Alligator
• American Crocodile
• Florida Red-bellied Turtle
• Peninsula Cooter
• Florida Softshell Turtle
• Florida Box Turtle
• Pig Frog
• American Bullfrog
• Southern Leopard Frog
• Green Tree Frog
• Cuban Tree Frog
• Southern Toad
• Eastern Garter Snake
• Peninsula Ribbon Snake
• Southern Black Racer
• Florida Green Water Snake
• Florida Water Snake
• Brown Water Snake
• Scarlet Snake
• Striped Crayfish Snake
• Florida Cottonmouth

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