onward, westward

Razorback Musk Turtles in TX

2011-09-04T17:46:00.000-05:00

Razorback Musk Turtle (Sternotheros carinatus)

Pitcher plants in bloom

2011-09-04T07:46:00.006-05:00

I love carnivorous plants, and pitcher plants are among the most spectacular of these. They are incredible plants to see, and I feel very fortunate to work in an area that has lots of them. Enjoy!

Whitetop Pitcherplant (Sarracenia leucophylla)

Yellow Pitcherplant (Sarracenia flava)

Gulf Purple Pitcherplant (Sarracenia rosea)

Gulf Coast Redflower Pitcherplant (Sarracenia rubra gulfensis)

Parrot Pitcherplant (Sarracenia psittacina)

Hybrids

I've always thought that the pitcher plant flowers are unique and interesting. Click HERE to see a clearly-labeled diagram showing the pitcher plant flower parts.

Atlantic Ridley Sea Turtle and Moon Jelly

2011-09-03T14:59:00.000-05:00

Atlantic Ridley (Lepidochelys kempii)

Moon Jelly (Aurelia sp.)

Orchids

2011-09-03T14:58:00.004-05:00

Rose pogonia (Pogonia ophioglossoides)

Tuberous grasspink (Calopogon tuberosus)

Pale grasspink (Calopogon pallidus)

Upland Spreading Pogonia (Cleistes bifaria)

Yellow Fringed Orchid (Platanthera ciliaris)

White Fringed Orchid (Platanthera blephariglottis var. conspicua)

Waterspider False Reinorchid (Habenaria repens)

Common Snapping Turtle family photo

2011-09-03T14:13:00.006-05:00

Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina)

I jumped into a local stream to grab what I thought was certainly an alligator snapping turtle (Macrochelys temminckii), and only realized after grabbing it that it was a huge common snapping turtle! Elliott was understandably both impressed and intimidated. It was fun and funny to me to take a little family photo with the turtle! I put the turtle down a few meters back from the water just to see how it would do on land. It was a surprisingly strong walker, lifting its plastron completely off the ground rather than sliding, as it made it's way into the water and promptly disappeared in the shadows. (photos by William, a friendly guy at the park who had already been pointing at the turtle when we walked up)

Nesting nocturnal birds

2011-05-14T17:11:00.013-05:00

When people think of nocturnal birds, owls are usually the first, and often the only thing that comes to mind. In addition to owls, birds from the family Caprimulgidae add their voices to the already interesting suite of night time sounds. There are two species that breed in the Florida panhandle.

Female Common Nighthawk (Chordeiles minor) and eggs
This video shows the rapid throat movements (gular fluttering) in the nighthawk's throat that help her stay relatively cool in the heat of the day while incubating her eggs. Lesser nighthawks (Chordeiles acutipennis) have apparently been observed sustaining this thermoregulatory behavior for eight hours a day on very hot days!

Female Chuck-will's-widow (Caprimulgus carolinensis) and eggs

Chuck-will's-widow doing broken wing display and gaping when I approached her eggs

Scaly Beasts

2011-05-13T16:13:00.011-05:00

Rough Green Snake (Opheodrys aestivus)

Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus) in Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) burrow

Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus)

Florida Pine Snake (Pituophis melanoleucus mugitus)

Eastern Fence Lizard (Sceloporus undulatus)

Six-lined Racerunner (Aspidoscelis sexlineata) copulating in a not so comfortable looking position

The other flatwoods salamander

2011-03-19T12:23:00.000-05:00

For the past few years I've had the opportunity to work with one of the two species of flatwoods salamander, Ambystoma bishopi. Though they don't really look different to my eye, I've wanted to see the other species, Ambystoma cingulatum. A couple friends have taken me to see some of the habitat they use, but it wasn't at the best time to see the animals. During a great extended weekend trip that Sarah and I took last week we visited one of the breeding sites shortly after dark. We were fortunate to spot this larval individual in the shallow water!

Frosted Flatwoods Salamander (Ambystoma cingulatum)

Calling frogs, including Spring peepers, made our evening even more enjoyable.

Spring peeper (Pseudacris crucifer)

Note: All the little light-colored flecks on the water and on the Spring peeper are pine pollen, which was on everything!

Winter frogs

2011-02-19T17:16:00.000-06:00

I was pleased to see this large, rare, and secretive frog that my friend Stephen spotted on a recent rainy night while we were out in the field.

Carolina gopher frog (Lithobates capito)

Ornate chorus frog (Pseudacris ornata)

Eastern spadefoot (Scaphiopus holbrookii)

Eastern spadefoot burying itself after coming to the surface during a heavy winter rain. Eastern spadefoots certainly come out in the winter, but will be active seemingly any time of year during, or immediately following, heavy rains.

All it takes is a warmer day

2011-02-10T22:52:00.007-06:00

In Florida, winter does not equal the deep sleep for cold-blooded animals that it does in the more northerly states. We've had a few warm nights recently, and I've enjoyed seeing what comes out to take advantage of it.

Scarlet kingsnake (Lampropeltis elapsoides)

Eastern hognose (Heterodon platirhinos) in gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) burrow.

Eastern garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis)

A botanical icy surprise

2011-02-07T22:23:00.002-06:00

We've had quite a few nights with temps below freezing down in the Florida panhandle this winter. While out checking some of our wetlands in the morning, I was surprised to see dozens of these delicate and beautiful ice structures formed out of plant fluids being drawn up through nearly dead annual herbs (seemingly all one species of asteraceae but not sure on id in this shape). The vascular tissue had apparently ruptured from the expansion of the freezing fluid, yet the fluid continued to flow, freezing as it left the plant tissues to form numerous fine sheets of ice. That is what seemed to make sense to me, but I would love to hear your thoughts if you have any. I would also be interested to hear if anyone has seen or heard of this before. The structures were very fragile and would shatter easily and pieces would melt in the hand rather quickly. I was impressed, and thought that it would be difficult for any human to form anything quite so delicate out of ice.

Follow up: My friend Ben told me the term for these icy structures is "Frost flowers." Here's a link to a more in depth description of how they form. Thanks Ben!

Salamander beginnings

2011-01-27T22:40:00.003-06:00

Reticulated flatwoods salamander (Ambystoma bishopi) eggs with embryos showing yolk sac, head, tail, and gill slits

Reticulated flatwoods salamander (Ambystoma bishopi) eggs with well-developed embryos, ventral surface up, and showing larval pigmentation (note: the cloudy solid whitish egg near the bottom of the photo is not viable)

Reticulated flatwoods salamander (Ambystoma bishopi) egg with well-developed embryo showing larval pigmentation, one of the balancers (structure protruding from side of head), and gills

Reticulated flatwoods salamander (Ambystoma bishopi) larva recently hatched from the egg

I found these eggs after getting some good tips from a friend who had some success at finding the eggs of Frosted flatwoods salamanders (Ambystoma cingulatum) this winter. It was really neat to get to see this part of these secretive animals' life history!

I just added this photo that I took yesterday of a larva that I found within three inches of the eggs above. It is very likely one of the individuals that can be seen in those eggs. It's been out of the egg for about two weeks, and has a nice, full belly. Pretty neat.

Scorpion under black light

2011-01-26T21:27:00.001-06:00

So I know this has been done before, but I had to see for myself how our little bark scorpions would look in black light. The following two photos are essentially the same photo, but with the first under white light only, and the second under black light. I think it's pretty neat. I found it interesting that the tip of the stinger and the tips of some of the mouth parts are black and do not respond to the black light as does the rest of the animal.

Lunar eclipse

2011-01-25T21:39:00.002-06:00

Sarah and I occasionally take the time to enjoy events like meteor showers, visible comets, and lunar eclipses like the one photographed above. This one got a lot of attention for coinciding with the winter solstice. Here's a link to some information on this particular eclipse.

Non-herp animal encounters

2010-11-24T13:25:00.007-06:00

Northern Saw-whet Owl (Aegolius acadicus)

My friend Lori set up an opportunity to capture and band these fantastic little owls while we were up in Virginia. I had assisted in this (mostly as a tourist) in Indiana one year, but this was my first time removing the owls from the nets and banding and measuring them myself.

American Robin (Turdus migratorius)

This robin just looked stuffed beneath an American persimmon (Diospyros virginiana) tree that had dropped a lot of ripe fruit. I partook of some of the fruit and then photographed this bird that may have been too full to be very concerned with my proximity!

Virginia Opossum (Didelphis virginiana)

Even though these animals look like oversized rats, I really enjoy seeing them. Interestingly, they are the only marsupial that occurs in the U.S.

Unknown fungus. I just liked how these looked.

Catching up on some fall photos

2010-11-16T20:16:00.016-06:00

male Marbled Salamander (Ambystoma opacum)

adult male Reticulated Flatwoods Salamander (Ambystoma bishopi)

gravid female Reticulated Flatwoods Salamander

Rusty Mud Salamander (Pseudotriton montanus floridanus)

Rusty Mud Salamander larva

Southern Two-lined Salamander (Eurycea cirrigera)

Dwarf Salamander (Eurycea cf. quadridigitata)

Apalachicola Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus apalachicolae)

Central Newt eft (Notophthalmus viridescens louisianensis)

juvenile Two-toed Amphiuma (Amphiuma means)

Eastern Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis alleganiensis)

habitat

Japanese Giant Salamander (Andrias japonicus) in National Zoo in Washington, DC in the same salamander family (cryptobranchidae) as hellbender

Carolina Gopher Frog (Lithobates capito)

Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus)

River Frog (Lithobates heckscheri) and Bronze Frog (Lithobates clamitans clamitans) on left and right, respectively

Northern Cricket Frog (Acris crepitans)

juvenile Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus)

juvenile Southern Hognose Snake (Heterodon simus)

Eastern Indigo Snake (Drymarchon couperi)

All photos are of animals found in Florida except for the hellbender, giant salamander, and indigo snake.

Neat arthropods on plants

2010-10-20T12:08:00.008-05:00

Green lynx spider (Peucetia viridans) on Variableleaf sunflower (Helianthus heterophyllus)

Blister beetle (family Meloidae) on Pineland false foxglove (Agalinis divaricata)

Crab spider (family Thomisidae) on Variableleaf sunflower

likely Pink prominent (Hyparpax aurora) moth larva on underside of turkey oak (Quercus laevis) leaf

Spotted apatelodes (Apatelodes torrefacta) moth eating gallberry (Ilex glabra)

Long-tailed Jaeger

2010-09-26T16:48:00.016-05:00

intermediate juvenile Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus)

In the past year, mostly since Elliott was born, I've really scaled back my hobby of birding to the level of only opportunistically enjoying birds that happen to be near me when I'm outside for reasons other than birding. Recently, I saw the jaeger in the photos above while pompano fishing on the beach in Escambia County, FL with my friend Steve and my Uncle Jim and Aunt Gayle.

I have relatively little experience with pelagic species, so needed some help with the identification of this potentially confusing juvenile jaeger. My friends Bob and Lucy were very helpful in correctly identifying this bird. I'll include some points that Lucy made below, as well as one additional point made by another birder experienced in jaeger identification.

1. very strong, crisp-edged barring of the undertail coverts. Parasitic has weak, blurry barring, Pom has strong, but bill is not Pomarine.

2. virtually no pale tips to the wing tips; Parasitic has pale tips to the wing

3. bill shape (gonys incl) matches Long-tailed and has a hook at the tip more dominant in Long-tailed than in Parasitic

4. amount of dark on the bill looks to be about 40-50% dark, which is just right for LT

5. barring on the back is crisp and white, not buffy as in Parasitic or Pomarine.

Kemp's Ridley Turtle and some neat frogs

2010-09-10T18:13:00.005-05:00

Kemp's Ridley Turtle (Lepidochelys kempii)

Can you see the frog in this photo?

Cope's Gray Treefrog (Hyla chrysoscelis)

Pine Woods Treefrog (Hyla femoralis)

Strange bright green morph of Pine Woods Treefrog (wouldn't have guessed it except for watching it sing like a pine woods). I had never seen this before. After some discussion, I've begun wondering if this and one other found nearby were Hyla femoralis x andersonii hybrids. I might pursue this further.

Follow up: After looking into this further, I found out that a Hyla andersonii x femoralis hybrid has already been documented.

Cool predatory insects

2010-08-28T18:04:00.004-05:00

I was struck by how beautiful and impressive this dragonfly was.

Southeastern Spinyleg (Dromogomphus armatus)

I recently took this short video of a female solitary wasp carrying a subdued Broad-tipped Conehead (Neoconocephalus triops), which is a type of katydid, down into a burrow in which the wasp will lay a single egg. When the egg hatches, the young wasp larva will begin feeding on the katydid until it is fully grown and can metamorphose into an adult wasp. It will then go find a mate, breed, and begin the cycle once again. I was impressed by seeing the wasp actually fly in with something that is close to twice its size!

Gulf Saltmarsh Snake and other neat herps

2010-08-16T20:49:00.001-05:00

I was excited to finally get a chance to photograph a Gulf Saltmarsh Snake. I had seen them in the past, but without a camera. The other species are simply ones I've enjoyed seeing in the past few weeks.

Gulf Saltmarsh Snake (Nerodia clarkii clarkii)

Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus)

male Six-lined Racerunner (Aspidoscelis sexlineata sexlineata)

River Frog (Lithobates heckscheri)

Trapdoor Spider

2010-08-12T20:49:00.007-05:00

Living in Florida, I don't get to see tarantulas like I did when we were in Texas. While not as large, Trapdoor spiders are a really neat relative of tarantulas. Here's a male that I found crossing a road recently.

Trapdoor spider (Ummidia sp)

Trapdoor spiders are so named because they build burrows in the ground, and cover the entrance with a hinged, camouflaged "trapdoor." They wait inside for vibrations of potential prey near their entrance, throw open the door, and grab the unsuspecting prey.

NW Florida beach snorkeling

2010-07-31T15:42:00.026-05:00

While out surf fishing with a couple friends this week, I went out snorkeling to see what things looked like where we were casting our lines. Since we were mostly catching fish that we didn't care to eat, I wasn't missing out on anything too important.

Atlantic Mole Crab (Emerita talpoida)
"Sand flea"

Lettered Olive (Oliva sayana)

Shark Eye (Polinices duplicatus)

Roughtail Stingray (Dasyatis centroura)

Smooth Butterfly Ray (Gymnura micrura)

Gulf Kingfish (Menticirrhus littoralis)

Florida Pompano (Trachinotus carolinus)

Leatherjacket (Oligoplites saurus)

Hardhead Catfish (Ariopsis felis)

juvenile Great Barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda) and Ladyfish (Elops saurus)

Gulf Flounder (Paralichthys albigutta)

Sharksucker (Echeneis naucrates)

This little Sharksucker followed us for about a half hour and would almost stick onto me while I was swimming; occasionally venturing away from me just long enough to grab little morsels before returning. I had assumed there wouldn't be all that much to see along our sandy beaches, so was pleasantly surprised to see such an interesting variety of animal life.

Milkweeds!

2010-06-30T14:37:00.008-05:00

I've always enjoyed milkweeds. I remember breaking off the developing seed pods as a child and seeing the white, milky sap flowing from the break. Because I really enjoyed butterflies while growing up in Minnesota, making the connection between milkweeds and Monarch Butterflies (Danaus plexippus) solidified milkweeds' place in my mind as a noteworthy type of plant. The following species are ones I've found around where I live and work in the Western Florida panhandle.

Butterfly Milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa)

Clasping Milkweed (Asclepias amplexicaulis)

Longleaf Milkweed (Asclepias longifolia)

Largeflower Milkweed (Asclepias connivens)

Whorled Milkweed (Asclepias verticillata)

Pineland Milkweed (Asclepias obovata)

Carolina Milkweed (Asclepias cinerea)

Pinewoods milkweed (Asclepias humistrata)

Michaux's milkweed (Asclepias michauxii)

Savannah milkweed (Asclepias pedicellata)

Assorted goodies and more cool snakes

2010-06-24T17:12:00.002-05:00

Though busy with stuff, I've still been fortunate to see some cool things recently. High on the list is my first fully-grown adult Reticulated Flatwoods Salamander.

Adult Reticulated Flatwoods Salamander (Ambystoma bishopi)

Adult Mole Salamander (Ambystoma talpoideum)

Dwarf Salamander (Eurycea cf quadridigitata)

Three-lined Salamander (Eurycea guttolineata)
This one was found by Sam, our seasonal hire working on birds, who has a great eye for spotting cool things like this.

Pine Barrens Treefrog (Hyla andersonii)

Pine Barrens Treefrog eggs in shallow acidic pool

This next one is a really special one. It may not be quite as rare as some of the other species I've gotten to see, but it may be one of the more difficult to find. My friend John spotted this in the Eastern panhandle of Florida. Because there aren't many photos of this species available online, I've included a few different angles here.

Mimic Glass Lizard (Ophisaurus mimicus)

Mimic Glass Lizard

Mimic Glass Lizard

Mimic Glass Lizard

What a shame that so many folks hate snakes. Every time I see a snake that I don't see very often, I'm reminded of how much amazing diversity of form and habit there is across even our local snakes in the Southeastern US. Here are a few that I've greatly enjoyed seeing in recent weeks.

Southern Black Racer (Coluber constrictor priapus)
Though quite common to see, this species deserves an appreciative closer look once in a while. I love the simple elegance of shiny black, combined with acute eyesight and impressive quickness.

Queen Snake (Regina septemvittata)
This is the first of this species that I've found. This one was basking over one of our beautiful, clear, sandy streams. Like all other species in the genus regina, it specializes in eating crayfish. Thanks to John for encouraging me to take a closer look at these photos, as I had assumed any crayfish snake around here would be Gulf Crayfish Snake (Regina rigida).

Southern Hognose Snake (Heterodon simus)
This is only the second one that I've been fortunate enough to find. I think Sturgeonnose snake would be a better descriptive name, but doesn't really roll off the tongue too well.

Southern Hognose Snake feigning death

Juvenile Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus)

Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake in short grass, showing how well they can blend in with even a little bit of vegetation as cover

Beautiful systems vulnerable to oil

2010-06-19T23:08:00.008-05:00

I recently had the wonderful opportunity to assist some biologists in collecting blood samples from Brown Pelican nestlings, and to help survey for Ornate Diamondback Terrapins. The Brown Pelican was recently removed from the endangered species list, and terrapins have experienced steep enough declines to elicit proposals for endangered status. Both of these species rely on a healthy coastal ecosystem for their survival. If oil covers their habitat, they have no where to go.

Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) on nest

Brown Pelican nesting colony with Gulf of Mexico in background

Brown Pelican nestlings

Male Ornate Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin macrospilota)

Female Diamondback Terrapin swimming in shallow water

Female Diamondback Terrapin with barnacles growing on shell

Marsh Periwinkle snails (Littorina irrorata) that make up large part of terrapin's diet

Oil on our beaches

2010-06-19T19:55:00.015-05:00

Like countless others who live along the gulf coast, along with many who don't, I'm feeling pretty lousy about what's been going on with BP's runaway oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico. I don't really know who to direct my frustration towards, since I am a part of this society that demands so much oil to continue our way of life.

As long as the oil was washing up on shores other than those that I can see, it still felt somewhat surreal to me. A couple days ago, nearly two months after the oil rig sank on April 22, Sarah and I finally saw mats of oil sheen and tar balls that have begun washing up on our beaches in Okaloosa County, FL. I feel thankful for the delay we enjoyed with clean water and beaches, but now have begun feeling a sense of dread at how fouled things will become as this mess plays itself out.

Beach within walking distance of our apartment pre-oil

Tar balls amidst oil sheen washed up on beach

Random boom ready to be deployed at a city park

A short video of the clean surf on the sand

Yet more snakes

2010-05-16T19:47:00.009-05:00

Eastern Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula getula)

Eastern Corn Snake (Pantherophis guttatus)

Rough Green Snake (Opheodrys aestivus)

Southern Ringneck Snake (Diadophis punctatus punctatus)

Southern Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix contortrix)

Spring flowers part 3

2010-05-11T20:05:00.000-05:00

Atamasco lily (Zephyranthes atamasca)

Flattened pipewort (Eriocaulon compressum)

Grassleaf goldenaster (Pityopsis oligantha)

White fringetree (Chionanthus virginicus)

More snakes

2010-05-06T22:06:00.000-05:00

Florida Pinesnake (Pituophis melanoleucus mugitus)

Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus)

Southeastern Crowned Snake juvenile (Tantilla coronata)

Northern Scarlet Snake juvenile (Cemophora coccinea copei)

Eastern Coachwhip (Masticophis flagellum flagellum)

Spring amphibians

2010-05-03T14:21:00.001-05:00

I'll start this off with a few photos of the very special
Reticulated Flatwoods Salamander (Ambystoma bishopi).
Some of these photos are obviously of a posed individual, but three of these are individuals as they were found, and they were not touched. I like when that can be done, especially with salamanders, which are so often under objects.

This last flatwoods salamander is in metamorphosis (larval striping still present, but gills absent, metallic iridophores developing in darkly-pigmented areas, head shape nearly adult-like).

Central Newt larva (Notophthalmus viridescens louisianensis)

Southern Two-lined Salamander(s) (Eurycea cirrigera) typical color and possible erythristic morph

typical color and possible erythristic morph from above

Southeastern Slimy Salamander (Plethodon grobmani) melanistic

Eastern Tiger Salamander larva (Ambystoma tigrinum)

Dwarf Salamander larva (Eurycea quadridigitata)

Dwarf Salamander (Eurycea quadridigitata) river swamp breeder

Dwarf Salamander (Eurycea cf. quadridigitata) Seepage bog breeder

Bronze Frog (Lithobates clamitans clamitans) x Florida Bog Frog (Lithobates okaloosae) hybrid male in calling location near Spoonleaf sundew (Drosera intermedia)

On left: Bronze Frog
On right: Florida Bog Frog
In middle: Bronze Frog x Florida Bog Frog hybrid

Same three frogs from above

Southern Cricket Frog (Acris gryllus)

Eastern Narrowmouth Toad (Gastrophryne carolinensis)

Ornate Chorus Frog larva (Pseudacris ornata)

Pea family (family Fabaceae)

2010-05-02T15:13:00.007-05:00

I'm going to put some effort into familiarizing myself with our local legumes this year. Some of these will be introduced species, but there are many native ones, so I shouldn't get bored. I'll keep adding to this post as I find and identify more species.

Sensitive Brier (Mimosa quadrivalvis var. angustata)

Partridge Pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata)

Skyblue lupine (Lupinus diffusus)

Lady lupine (Lupinus villosus)

Sundial lupine (Lupinus perennnis)

Buckroot (Pediomelum canescens)

Hairy Florida Wild Indigo (Baptisia calycosa)

Pineland baptisia (Baptesia lanceolata)

Goat's rue (Tephrosia virginiana)

Sidebeak Pencilflower (Stylosanthes biflora)

Dollarleaf (Rhynchosia reniformis)

Royal Snoutbean (Rhynchosia cytisoides)

Spurred Butterfly Pea (Centrosema virginianum)

Mimosa (Albizia julibrissin) non-native

Chinese Wisteria (Wisteria sinensis) non-native

Rattlebox (Sesbania punicea) non-native

Spring flowers part 2

2010-04-25T16:34:00.003-05:00

Mountain azalea (Rhododendron canescens)

Osceola's plume (Stenanthium densum)

Swamp sneezeweed (Helenium pinnatifidum)

Owls

2010-04-18T12:52:00.004-05:00

One small part of my job involves going to various places at night to listen for calling frogs and toads. While this is interesting on its own, I really like all the other things that I can hear and sometimes see along the way. Last night, I had the pleasure of seeing two owls.

Eastern Screech Owl (Otus asio)

Barred Owl (Strix varia)

profile

Spring flowers part 1

2010-04-09T16:34:00.035-05:00

Yellow star grass (Hypoxis hirsuta)

Blue-eyed grass (Sisyrinchium sp.)

Dwarf violet iris (Iris verna)

Fetterbush lyonia (Lyonia lucida)

Carolina frostweed (Helianthemum carolinianum)

Florida anisetree (Illicium floridanum)

Trailing phlox (Phlox nivalis)

Flowering dogwood (Cornus florida)

Hairy-flower spiderwort (Tradescantia hirsutiflora)

Bluejacket (Tradescantia ohiensis)

Roundleaf bluet (Houstonia procumbens)

Early blue violet (Viola palmata)

Primrose-leaved violet (Viola primulifolia)

Bog white violet (Viola lanceolata)

Evening trumpetflower (Gelsemium sempervirens)

Spring serpents

2010-04-08T21:17:00.007-05:00

It's that time of year again when all sorts of interesting things come out of the woodwork and move around where I can see them. After a winter of rarely seeing any snakes, it's refreshing and exciting to begin seeing them again.

Eastern Ribbon Snake (Thamnophis sauritus sauritus)

Rough Earth Snake (Virginia striatula)

Dusky Pygmy Rattlesnake (Sistrurus miliarius barbouri)

Eastern Coral Snake (Micrurus fulvius)

Not the face you'd want to see coming around the corner if you were a small snake or lizard

Breaking a long blogging fast.

2010-02-21T21:23:00.015-06:00

There is a rare species of snake that I've wanted to see more than any other species for years. It is the Eastern Indigo Snake. It may still occur in low numbers where I work on Eglin Air Force Base, but it hasn't been documented from there in over a decade. I've gone to a couple different locations that I've heard still have fairly healthy populations, but after many fruitless hours of searching, this snake begins to take on a phantom-like persona in my mind. Recently, my friend Brandon and I went on one more search for this elusive serpent. Delayed gratification leads to satisfying success!

Eastern Indigo Snake (Drymarchon couperi)

The individual that we found looked to be over 6.5' long, and almost as thick around as my forearm. It was basking near this Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) burrow.

At first glance, this snake looks to be simply a large, shiny black snake, but it has some beautiful iridescence in the black, as well as some neat reddish tones around the face.

Here's a close-up of part of the snake where you can see the individual scales and the skin between them.

This snake had probably shed very recently, and had such clear eyes. If you zoom in on this photo you can see trees, sky, and the sun reflected in them.

A tired loon

2009-11-14T23:31:00.011-06:00

Tropical Storm Ida didn't hit here with the ferocity that was originally predicted, but it did churn things up for a while, and made things a bit more difficult for some of the animals that can't retreat into a house. This Common Loon, which may have recently arrived in Florida from its breeding grounds up North, had apparently been worn out by all the wind and churning water and worked its way up onto the beach, where it was exposed to predators. While I understand letting nature take its course, I decided to take this bird across the dunes to the protected bay side of the barrier island where the water was calm, and where there were many small bait fish for it to eat. Shortly after we released it, it began looking under water to search for food.

Common Loon (Gavia immer)
The placement of the loon's legs make it an excellent swimmer, but a very awkward walker.

Willet (Catoptrophorus semipalmatus)
Large shorebirds that are fun to watch

House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)
I've been noticing doves and House Sparrows like this one taking advantage of acorns that have been crushed by cars and pedestrians, when they might otherwise not be able to eat them due to their inability to crack the hard outer shell.

Our local treefrogs' breeding season ended a few months ago, and without the loud choruses it sometimes seems as though the frogs simply disappear for a few months. Fortunately, the frogs don't disappear, and it's nice to still see one once in a while.

Pine Woods Treefrog (Hyla femoralis)

Green Treefrog (Hyla cinerea)

Amorous feral hogs and some nice birds

2009-11-09T22:12:00.005-06:00

I recently witnessed some wild boar (Sus scrofa) behavior that I hadn't seen before. I wonder what they could be up to...

Sarah and I went to Fort Pickens with our friend Don Ware to try to see the third Green-tailed Towhee ever to be reported in Florida. After a couple hours of patient waiting, this striking little bird tentatively emerged from the brush.

Green-tailed Towhee (Pipilo chlorurus)

Along with the towhee, we enjoyed seeing some other birds in the area.

White-winged Dove (Zenaida asiatica)

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

2009 October herping trip

2009-10-26T13:39:00.038-05:00

My coworker and friend Brandon and I recently drove to Blacksburg, VA for our annual "Big Meeting" of Jeff Walters' various employees, grad students, and post-docs. As I've done in past years, I augmented the trip to and from Blacksburg and did some herping/hiking and visited family. I'll cover some of the highlights in the brief (ha ha) series of photos below.

These next four photos are of my favorite salamander of the trip.

Green Salamander (Aneides aeneus)

Green Salamander in damp rock crevice where it spends much of it's time.

Pigeon Mountain Salamander (Plethodon petraeus) in deep crevice, similar to Green Salamander behavior

Pigeon Mountain Salamander out on the prowl

Northern Slimy Salamander (Plethodon glutinosus)

This Allegheny Woodrat (Neotoma magister) was an amusing addition to our experience. It was constantly scampering past us, to and fro, as it gathered acorns to store for the winter. You can only see it's little snout with an acorn sticking out from under the log.

I wasn't expecting to find scorpions under logs at high elevations in Northern Georgia, so this made a good consolation prize in the absence of the salamanders I was hoping to find at this location. If anyone knows what scorpion species occurs in Chattooga County, GA, I'd be interested to know.

Adult Northern Red Salamander (Pseudotriton ruber ruber)

Showy Gentian (Gentiana decora)

Blue Ridge Two-lined Salamander (Eurycea wilderae)

Southern Appalachian Salamander? (Plethodon teyahalee)

Peaks of Otter Salamander (Plethodon hubrichti)

Dixie Caverns variant of Wehrle's Salamander (Plethodon wehrlei)

I'll only say we were driving in the correct lane...

I appreciated the similar growth forms of this Lycopodiella and Selaginella.

A curious White-footed Mouse (Peromyscus leucopus)

Valley and Ridge Salamander (Plethodon hoffmani)

Many-lined Salamander (Stereochilus marginatus)

Flash photo of Many-lined Salamander to show the thin lateral streaks for which this animal is named

Southern Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus auriculatus) This species has experienced one of the steepest declines of any amphibian species in North America in recent decades, and for reasons unknown in some areas that still have pristine habitat. I was glad to at least see a few individuals where we found this one.

Atlantic Coast Slimy Salamander (Plethodon chlorobryonis)

Chamberlain's Dwarf Salamander (Eurycea chamberlaini)

Carpenter Frog (Lithobates virgatipes)
This species of frog is one of the most closely related to Florida Bog Frogs, which we work with on Eglin.

On our way back to Florida, our friend Kevin was generous with his time, and took us out to see some of the areas where he works. There were many neat things to see, but my favorite was seeing Venus Flytraps (Dionaea muscipula) growing as a wild native plant instead of in little pots. Despite the approaching dormant season, many of them were looking quite attractive.

Venus Flytrap and Sundew (Drosera sp.); two carnivorous plants growing side by side.

Does "PHROG" = FROG? If so, I think we spotted some more amphibian lovers.

Among all the local food signs, this one seemed to boast some pretty exotic flavors...

Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina)

Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus)

I just liked this shroom

Forked Bluecurls (Trichostema dichotomum)

A small but secretive snake

2009-10-04T09:08:00.005-05:00

Yesterday, while in the field, I finally caught an animal that previously I'd only seen once, and then only momentarily before it slipped away into murky waters at night. The snake is a Gulf Crayfish Snake (Regina rigida sinicola). As it's name would suggest, it specializes on eating crayfish; specifically ones that have recently shed their hard outer shell. However, it opportunistically eats other things as well, including other aquatic invertibrates, fish, sirens, frogs, and salamanders. This species is probably fairly common, but just difficult to find.

Blue Thread (Burmannia biflora)

2009-10-01T22:11:00.010-05:00

Blue Thread (Burmannia biflora)

I spotted two of these diminutive plants (<10 cm tall) in a cypress dome swamp in the Florida panhandle today, and have no idea what they are, or even where to look to find out. They were herbaceous with tiny (<2 mm) leaves near the base that are pressed against the stem. The stem has one branch just below the visible flower that supported what was presumably another flower, or the bud of what will become a future flower. The flower structures were in threes, including three light violet rounded vertical "wings" and three yellowish ridges surrounding an opening at the apex, which presumably is where the flower is pollinated. The stem and leaves have some green color, but this plant may be some sort of parasite. The conspicuous leaves in the photos are not part of the mystery plant, but are mostly Eriocaulon compressum, and the nearest shrubs/trees were Nyssa sylvatica. If you have any tips, I'm all ears.

UPDATE: My friend Stella figured this plant out for me. It's called Blue Thread (Burmannia biflora), and is a myco-heterotrophic plant, which basically means it relies on underground fungus for energy production and would not survive without the fungus. The growth form with little to no leaves for photosynthesis is usually a giveaway that a plant is relying on another plant or fungus. Neat stuff. Also, here's a neat website that is all about the Burmanniaceae family.

Nodding Nixie (Apteria aphylla)

This species is also in the family Burmanniaceae, but unlike plants in the genus Burmannia, it has no "wings" on its flowers. Thus the genus name Apteria (wingless).

Seepage bog leps and flowers

2009-08-16T09:23:00.010-05:00

I went scoping for skippers and flowers in a nice seepage bog with my friend Mary Ann.

Dusky Roadside-Skipper (Amblyscirtes alternata)

Arogos Skipper (Atrytone arogos)

Little Metalmarks (Calephelis virginiensis)

Pine Lily (Lilium catesbaei)

And lastly, a species that my friend Ben recently found in Indiana

Yellow Fringed Orchid (Platanthera ciliaris)

Search for sirens, baby sea turtles, and other highlights

2009-08-09T13:49:00.016-05:00

I recently went with my friends John and Brandon on a long and intense day-long search for 5-6 siren species in the Florida panhandle; most of which I hadn't seen. The weather was hot, and our efforts involved hauling what felt like tons of water and swampy muck and vegetation up onto the bank, followed by meticulous searching through all of it to look for anything long, slimy, and wriggly. To make a long story short, we traveled hundreds of miles to about half a dozen sites, drank gallons of fluids to replace all that we sweat, and physically wore ourselves out with no sirens to show for all our efforts...

until we were at our last site and about ready to give up. John said "one more scoop," and in the thick fluffy mud that was oozing out of his dipnet was a tiny movement that caught John's attention first. He yelled out and tried to grab it, only to have the mud shift and obscure the object of our intense interest. Brandon and I joined the frenzied search and after a couple more brief glimpses, I cupped a double handful of mud in my hands and dumped it into a net and sifted through it. To all of our delight there was our target in all it's tiny glory.

undescribed "Least" Siren (Siren cf intermedia (dwarf))

Sarah and I like to see baby sea turtles. We've gone to see them a few times since living here, and had a chance this weekend to see a species we hadn't seen yet.

Loggerhead (Caretta caretta)

My friend Dave caught this snake

Florida Pine Snake (Pituophis melanoleucus mugitus)

and this frog, which I had only seen in tadpole stage!

Carolina Gopher Frog (Lithobates capito)

While out scoping a seepage bog for skippers and flowers with my friend Mary Ann, I found something I had never found before in the middle of the day.

Pine Barrens Treefrog (Hyla andersonii)

I just liked this photo.

Ground Skink (Scincella lateralis)

Catching up with some half year highlights

2009-08-08T10:48:00.012-05:00

Here are some memorable (for me) little gems from my past few months.

My friend Kirk spotted one of these Okefenokee Zale Moth larvae (Zale perculta) while we were out looking for other things. It turned out to represent a ~100 mile extension to their previously known range. They feed exclusively on Climbing Fetterbush (Pieris phyllyreifolia), which is a pretty neat plant that you can learn more about HERE.

This Portuguese Man-O-War (Physalia physalis) is doomed to be churned in the surf and washed up on the beach. They float at the surface, have no ability to propel themselves, and are completely at the mercy of where the wind and surface currents direct them.

I was fortunate to be involved in the capture of this Black-banded Sunfish (Enneacanthus chaetodon) while seining for Greater Sirens (Siren lacertina). This beautiful little species hadn't been documented in Florida for many years, and my friend John recognized it for the special find it was.

While following a group of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers (Picoides borealis), I flushed up this young Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) which had just caught a Southern Black Racer (Coluber constrictor priapus). I took this low quality photo through a scope mounted on a gun stock, so the quality isn't very good, but I still like it.

This Oldfield Mouse (Peromyscus polionotus) was caught in a funnel trap set out to sample herps. I rarely see more than a glimpse of small mammals unless they're being trapped for, so this was a treat to see.

I happened upon this domesticated Muscovy Duck hen tending her recently hatched young back in a swampy area while looking for sirens. I'm including this photo for my mother, who has a special place in her heart for domesticated waterfowl. Also, the cute factor is admittedly pretty high.

New blog!

2009-07-28T12:39:00.008-05:00

With only three weeks to go until our son enters the world, we decided to create a more personal space to post updates, pictures, videos, etc. of the "family" side of our lives. Of course, it will largely feature the kiddo, but we'll try to keep it interesting with other things as well. Kelly will keep updating Onward, Westward with all of his great nature finds and photography, but if you're interested in following our personal side as well, check us out at htpp://us-plus.blogspot.com. We've also included a link under the "Links" heading on the right-hand sidebar to make it easy to go from one blog to the other.

If you decide to follow us there, we hope you'll enjoy it! If you're here just for the nature/biology fun, then keep coming back! Kelly will still maintain this site just like always -- and you won't have to scroll through baby pictures to find your target species. :)

Polygala

2009-06-25T16:05:00.020-05:00

I've recently been enjoying seeing the unique blossoms of plants in the genus Polygala.

Candyroot (Polygala nana)

Orange Milkwort (Polygala lutea)

Chapman's Milkwort (Polygala chapmanii)

Hooker's Milkwort (Polygala hookeri)

Procession Flower (Polygala incarnata)

Tall Pinebarren Milkwort (Polygala cymosa)

Linear to lanceolate basal leaves of P. cymosa

Low Pinebarren Milkwort (Polygala ramosa)

Elliptic to spatulate basal leaves of P. ramosa

Drumheads (Polygala cruciata)

Littleleaf Milkwort (Polygala brevifolia)
Similar to Drumheads, but with longer peduncle, typically shorter leaves, and blunter wings on each flower.

Showy Milkwort (Polygala violacea)

Scalloped Milkwort (Polygala crenata)

Racemed Milkwort (Polygala polygama)

Do scales and no legs always = snake?

2009-06-25T15:24:00.005-05:00

No. There are a number of lizards with no legs (represented in North America by some members of the families Anguidae and Anniellidae, glass lizards and legless lizards, respectively), which are often mistaken for snakes. This confusion sometimes results in the stomping of these harmless lizards by highly sophisticated folks who think that "the only good snake is a dead snake" in their crusade to rid the land of the evil serpents, and other people simply miss an opportunity to recognize and appreciate a beautiful and unique lizard.

Here are a couple glass lizards, followed by some neat snakes I've recently found:

Subadult Eastern Glass Lizard (Ophisaurus ventralis)
In this photo, one can see the external ear opening just behind the jaw, which is one of the visible characteristics that distinguish a lizard from a snake.

Adult Eastern Glass Lizard

A new form of this species for me - "Yellow" Eastern Rat Snake (Scotophis alleghaniensis)

North Florida Black Swamp Snake (Seminatrix pygaea pygaea) almost ready to shed (notice the cloudy eyes)

Black Swamp Snake - with brightly-colored belly showing

A new species for me - Florida Green Water Snake (Nerodia floridana)

Of things with slimy skin

2009-06-21T20:00:00.012-05:00

Love is in the air for summer breeding amphibians.

Amplexed pair of Pine Woods Treefrogs (Hyla femoralis)

Amplexed pair of Barking Treefrogs (Hyla gratiosa)

Amplexed pair of Squirrel Treefrogs (Hyla squirella)

Amplexed pair of Eastern Narrowmouth Toads (Gastrophryne carolinensis)

Not to be confused with a love struck pair, this photo is for anyone who in hopes of seeing an Oak Toad (Anaxyrus quercicus) tried to make a juvenile Southern Toad (Anaxyrus terrestris) into an Oak Toad. Though potentially confusing, the Oak Toad (left) will always have a well defined mid-dorsal light stripe, whereas the juvenile Southern Toad (right) will have a low contrast, poorly defined mid-dorsal stripe, often with dark "warts" breaking the stripe. There are other helpful characteristics, but this alone will do the trick.

Calling male Oak Toad

Recent metamorph Eastern Spadefoot Toad (Scaphiopus holbrookii)

Adult Eastern Spadefoot Toad

A new one for me and North America's smallest frog (they're tiny!)
Little Grass Frog (Pseudacris ocularis)

A new subspecies for me
Florida Leopard Frog (Lithobates sphenocephalus sphenocephalus)

Also new for me - larval Striped Newt (Notophthalmus perstriatus)

Calling male Cope's Gray Treefrog (Hyla chrysoscelis)

My favorite - young Pine Barrens Treefrog (Hyla andersonii) staying on the outskirts of where the big males were calling

Adult male Pine Barrens Treefrog

This video is pretty funny, with the male's calls shaking his whole perch.

Turtles, old and young

2009-06-21T09:22:00.006-05:00

Old adult Gulf Coast Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina major)
I think this is the oldest looking one I've ever seen.

Juvenile Florida Cooter (Pseudemys floridana)
Their markings never look better than when they're young like this.

Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macroclemys temminckii)

Me holding the same turtle for scale. They get much larger than this, but to me this is still a large turtle.

Yellowbelly Slider (Trachemys scripta scripta)

Some of Florida's aquatic salamanders

2009-06-18T20:43:00.008-05:00

I've recently spent some effort searching for sirens (only have two front legs, which are large enough to be functional, and have obvious external gills) and amphiumas (have all four legs, but legs are tiny vestigial structures which are essentially non-functional, and have gill slits instead of obvious external gills), both of which are eel-like salamanders that spend most of their time in water and mud. Because of their habitat preferences, they aren't something I would likely see without going out of my way. They're also not the easiest to get natural looking photos of, unless you have an underwater camera, or a clear-sided container to photograph through. Not sure these are all that enjoyable to look at, but they sure were neat to find and see.

Greater Siren (Siren lacertina)
These babies can grow to over three feet in length, and get pretty bulky as well. They can filter small invertebrates from soft substrates, and they will opportunistically grab any larger organisms that will fit in their mouths.

baby

baby and adult

habitat

Two-toed Amphiuma (Amphiuma means)
These toothy predators can reach a length of nearly four feet! They will sometimes sit with only their heads sticking out of the mud, waiting for prey to come close enough to grab, and other times will actively wander around in search of prey. They will eat any animal that they can hold on to and swallow, which includes a lot of things. They have all four legs, but they are tiny, and of course include two toes per foot.

Narrow-striped Dwarf Siren (Pseudobranchus axanthus axanthus)
Last and least, these sirens are tiny in comparison to the previous two species mentioned. These sirens eat tiny aquatic invertebrates.

Special Birds

2009-06-01T18:38:00.001-05:00

Here are some memorable birds I've seen lately.

We found this unfortunate Common Loon (Gavia immer) lying on the beach. Some of the loons that winter down here end up dying for various reasons. Some of them, like this one, seem to get weak and don't feed as well, and end up washing up on the beach where they die. This one probably hadn't been doing well for quite some time, as it should've molted into breeding plumage over a month ago. We gave it to a rehab center. Sometimes they make it. Sometimes they don't.

While our friends Ben and Joy were visiting, we got to see some Burrowing Owls, which have an isolated population on Eglin Air Force Base on the bombing ranges.

Eastern Gray Squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) have chewed through the fuel lines on two of our work trucks to sharpen their teeth. This Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) made sure that this individual wouldn't be doing that again. I actually like watching the squirrels, but also don't mind nature taking it's course like this.

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to go see this Greater Sand-plover (Charadrius leschenaultii) that showed up near Jacksonville, FL at Huguenot Memorial Park for 12 days (he's the one alone next to the water in the middle). Below, you can get an idea of how people were "flocking" to see the bird. This is only the second time this species has been recorded in the Western Hemisphere. It was neat to see him catching fiddler crabs (probably Uca pugnax) and eating them.

Florida has great herps

2009-05-30T20:32:00.001-05:00

Here are some nice lizards, snakes, and turtles I've seen recently.

Adult Eastern Glass Lizard (Ophisaurus ventralis)

Juvenile Eastern Glass Lizard

Eastern Fence Lizard (Sceloporus undulatus)

Southeastern Crowned Snake (Tantilla coronata)

Peninsula Crowned Snake (Tantilla relicta relicta)

Adult male Common Musk Turtle (Sternotherus odoratus)

Juvenile Common Musk Turtle

Juvenile Peninsula Cooter (Pseudemys peninsularis)

Juvenile Striped Mud Turtle (Kinosternon baurii)

Adult female Florida Softshell Turtle (Apalone ferox) (photo by Ben Hess)

Pitcher plants of Eglin

2009-05-23T17:00:00.002-05:00

I've been really enjoying seeing our beautiful pitcher plants in bloom this Spring. I thought I'd put up some photos of some of the pitchers (modified leaves) and their flowers. We're fortunate to have at least five species in the area.

Sarracenia leucophylla flower

Sarracenia leucophylla flower with two pitchers below

Sarracenia leucophylla pitchers

Sarracenia flava pitcher

Sarracenia flava flower

Sarracenia rubra flowers

Sarracenia psittacina flowers

Sarracenia purpurea flower

Sarracenia purpurea pitchers

Sarracenia flava pitchers with a couple very red Sarracenia leucophylla pitchers

I've always thought that the pitcher plant flowers are unique and interesting. Click HERE to see a clearly-labeled diagram showing all the flower parts.

An ode to the toad eaters

2009-05-13T17:06:00.018-05:00

Yesterday, I found North America's rarest and most secretive toad-eating specialist, the Southern Hognose Snake (Heterodon simus). It may not look all that different from its more common relative, the Eastern Hognose Snake (Heterodon platirhinos), but it occurs in a much narrower range and in much lower numbers.

Southern Hognose Snake:

This last one is a video:

Now I'll include some examples of the more common and more variable Eastern Hognose. A photo and a video have been included on my past blog posts, but I like them and felt like reusing them.

juvenile doing some impressive displaying

juvenile playing dead (if you try to flip them over, they'll flip back to belly up to continue playing dead)

adult displaying

Here's a video:

I've also recently been seeing individuals of the black (or melanistic) morph of the Eastern Hognose

Here's a video:

And now to make good on the "ode"

Oh stocky serpent with upturned nose,
unarmed with weaponry, but with bravery you bluff.
Capable of consuming toxic toads,
you're a behavioral wonder; what great stuff!

A Tale of Two T-Shirts

2009-05-07T14:23:00.006-05:00

Those of you who see me regularly or know me well might recognize my favorite T-shirt, since I wear it all the time.

This T-shirt has a special story behind it, which, aside from it being an awesome shirt, adds to the reasons why it's my favorite.

I got this T-shirt when Kelly and I lived in Oregon. It's from a vendor called Cretin Art that sells T-shirts with hand-drawn designs at the Portland Saturday Market. While most of the drawings are a little fantastical for my taste, he had this amazing scraggly tree that Kelly and I just fell in love with. Unfortunately, they didn't have any shirts with this drawing on it in my size, so they offered to make one specially for me. I got to choose the color of shirt and the ink color, and they mailed it to me since we didn't live in Portland and wouldn't be back at the market the following week. Since then, it's been my favorite T-shirt ever, and Kelly always loves when I wear it.

So as you can imagine, it was a sad day a few months ago when I had to pack up my "tree shirt" along with the other clothes that won't fit my growing belly anymore. I know it's a temporary condition, but even a few months -- and hot, summer months at that -- when I can't wear my favorite shirt are sad ones.

That is, until the other day, when I opened my closet to pack clothes for our recent anniversary get-away to St. Augustine, and discovered a white T-shirt mysteriously back in place after having gone missing for about a month. Where had it gone? How had it returned? Did Kelly find it somewhere and quietly hang it back in its place without mentioning it to me, even though he knew I had been confounded by its disappearance for weeks?

I moved the surrounding clothes back to take a look at the shirt, and what did I find? [GASP!]

Evidently, a couple of months ago, Kelly had secretly contacted the makers of my original shirt, asking them if they sold maternity T-shirts. They didn't, but said that if he could send them one they would print on it, or if he found one online, they would buy it, print it, and just charge him the total price. So my sweet husband, who loathes shopping, tried to shop for a maternity T-shirt online, but to no avail. When I happened to purchase one, he stole it from my closet, sent it to Oregon with a special request for the tree, and then returned it to my closet for me to find! Happy pregnancy to me!! My favorite shirt now comes in maternity size! It was the sweetest, most thoughtful gift ever! I just had to share my excitement, and brag on Kelly for being so amazing.

Ultrasound #2

2009-05-02T08:51:00.012-05:00

At my doctor's appointment last month, we had an ultrasound done to check all the pieces and parts of our baby to make sure everything was in working order. During the appointment, he was being a little uncooperative, and didn't want to smile for the camera. He kept moving and turning away just when they tried to take a freeze-frame of his little face and brain. So they finally gave up, and scheduled me for a repeat ultrasound this month.

This time, he was a little more subdued, but he's kind of wedged with his head down in a little pocket, so the angle was still difficult for them to get. Eventually, however, they were able to see everything they needed, and it all looked great! It was cool to see our little guy again, and get to see how much he's grown in just four weeks!

If you compare this profile to the one we posted last month, you can see how much he's changed, and how much more space he's taking up.

He looks so much older! :)

Here are a few videos we took during the ultrasound:

This video is his heartbeat again. It sounds like a drumbeat this time! I think the doppler must have been directly over his heart! His heart beats at 143 beats per minute, which is right in the perfect range for a fetus.

In this video, you can see him swallowing, and it's cool to see his heart beating. Babies swallow lots of amniotic fluid, which helps them practice for their first snack right after being born, and it helps their digestive systems learn how to process substances. And though his taste buds are developed enough by this time to actually taste it -- it's "flavored" by what I eat -- he's not actually getting any nourishment from the amniotic fluid. All of his nutrients come from the placenta.

In this video, you can see that he has his hand up by his face. Because of the depth of focus of the ultrasound, you can usually only see one at a time -- either the arm or the face -- but a couple of times you can see both...as well as him fluttering his eyelids and swallowing some more at the end! He was yawning a lot this time, too, but unfortunately we didn't get to capture that on film.

A visit from a friend

2009-04-26T17:46:00.017-05:00

This past week, our friend Kirk visited us from Indiana. It was great to see him, and being that he likes going out and finding interesting plants and animals as much as I do, we spent quite a bit of time doing that. As might be expected, we put special effort into finding herps. Here are some of the highlights:

Kirk holding adult Loggerhead Musk Turtles (Sternotherus minor), with male on left and female on right

Gopher Tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) in burrow

Southern Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix)

Southern Black Racers (Coluber constrictor) copulating

Southern Coal Skink (Eumeces anthracinus) - this was an unexpected find and a lifer for me. We actually weren't herping at this point, but were actually helping my friend Mary Ann and Dr. Minno look for larvae of rare butterflies on food plants. We had pretty limited success with the leps, so this skink was a nice bonus instead.

Occasionally, we had to take a break and recharge. Not sure if this was more or less appropriate given our searching for things like frogs, but we enjoyed some excellent frog legs and BBQ at Doobie Brothers Barbecue in Bristol, FL.

One-toed Amphiuma (Amphiuma pholeter) - I've tried to find this species before, but without luck. My friend John came out with us to look for these, and luckily for Kirk and me, he ended up finding this one.

John also ended up finding this adult Reticulated Flatwoods Salamander (Ambystoma bishopi).

Eglin Ravine Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus cf. conanti)

Southeastern Slimy Salamander (Plethodon grobmani)

This was the first of a few calling male Florida Bog Frogs (Rana okaloosae) that Kirk spotted.

River Frog (Rana heckscheri)

An unusual find at this time of year, this young Ornate Chorus Frog (Pseudacris ornata) was out and about in the middle of the day.

Kirk and I were able to spend one fun but challenging evening looking almost exclusively for the seven species of treefrog that occur in the area. We succeeded in hearing and seeing all seven species in about four hours. Some were more or less challenging than others, with this Bird-voiced Treefrog (Hyla avivoca) being one of the more challenging to actually see. This may have been due in part to the water being deeper than our waders under most of the singing males. We ended up getting pretty soaked, and I was glad I had put my phone and camera in ziplock bags.

The Jewel of our treefrogs, in my opinion, this Pine Barrens Treefrog (Hyla andersonii) took a while to find, but was well worth the effort.

Though early in the season, we found evidence of breeding in a few spots. This egg mass is probably from Cope's Gray Treefrogs (Hyla chrysoscelis).

We didn't find as many snakes as expected, but we did find some other things while looking under large pieces of tin. This female Eastern Woodrat (Neotoma floridana) was one of a few that we found with babies spread out under different cover objects.

We spooked up this Hispid Cotton Rat (Sigmodon hispidus) while walking around in a wet area.

It's that time of year when it isn't uncommon to see Swallow-tailed Kites (Elanoides forficatus) flying around. This one was eating a large grasshopper on the wing.

This is a video of Pine Warblers (Dendroica pinus) bringing food to their nestlings. This was the first Pine Warbler nest I've found.

We saw many beautiful flowers, including this Florida Flame Azalea (Rhododendron austrinum) in full bloom.

Kirk spotted this Upland Spreading Pogonia (Cleistes bifaria), one of three orchid species we saw during the week.

Orchid #2 - Pale Grass Pink (Calopogon pallidus)

Orchid #3 - Rose pogonia (Pogonia ophioglossoides)

This lucky little Stone Crab's (Menippe mercenaria) claws were both too small for eating and it was returned to the water. We did get some large stone crabs later, as well as some large Blue Crabs (Callinectes sapidus) that were delicious in garlic butter and in crab omelets.

I'll add a link here soon to a list of the herp species we found during Kirk's visit.

My first Florida pompano

2009-04-22T15:26:00.004-05:00

I've been wanting to catch Florida pompano (Trachinotus carolinus) since I first tasted one that I bought at a fish market shortly after moving to Florida. My friend Steve is quite the fisherman, and he's taken me out a few times to try for fish like pompano. I've also been trying to shoot a turkey during this Spring turkey season, but have been quite unsuccessful. I decided to give up a morning hunt to go pompano fishing, and it was definitely the right call. I was fortunate to catch not just one, but four pompano! I have to give Steve props for helping me get a feel for the pompano scene. I also have to give Mark Walker props for pointing me in the right direction on using small tackle. I just did what the experts told me to do, and the fish had no chance.

me with pompano (great to catch; great on the table)

Steve with pompano (the real pompano fisherman)

Interesting recent stuff - Strange Birds!

2009-04-08T20:12:00.014-05:00

I've enjoyed some interesting birds recently. The first was a second-year female Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) that was all black and white, missing it's red and yellow. My guess was that the bird was not incorporating any carotenoid pigments into its feathers, but I really don't know much about this sort of thing.

The second interesting bird was this American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) that followed me around in the woods while I was working for an hour and forty-five minutes, and for over half a mile from where it first found me. The video is somewhat long, but pretty interesting. You will need to have the volume up pretty high to hear the odd sounds the crow makes. This video is pretty representative of how the bird was acting around me for most of the time. I was dressed like a hunter, so my hypothesis is that the crow has ended up getting a pile of deer guts from the last person that looked like a hunter, so it thought it would get the same prize if it followed me around. That's just my guess.

Our Next Big Adventure

2009-03-31T18:53:00.017-05:00

We've moved across the country multiple times. We've turned long and short weekends into memorable excursions. What's next on our adventure agenda? A baby BOY! After almost seven years of marriage, Kelly and I finally decided to take the plunge into parenthood, and today, we got to put a face with a...well, not quite a name yet, but that will come soon enough. See our pictures and video below for the first glimpses of our little man!

In this profile shot, he's facing up with his spine going to the left.

Here you can see his legs at the top of the photo. They look at little disjointed, but I swear he has knees! The ultrasound is just picking up the hard bone structures rather than what right now are soft growth plates at the knees. (You can see his body diving down to the very right of the picture. The structure just below the legs is the placenta.)

Fortunately, he does not have 6-7 toes on one foot...his two feet are just overlapping in this one -- since his legs are crossed like in the above photo.

Here he's facing upward, head at right, with his hand near his face.

And this is a video of his sweet little heartbeat! The "false starts" at the beginning are just the ultrasound technician getting the doppler in the exact location to hear it the best:

And for those of you who have asked for it, here's a photo to show how "pregnant" I look these days. I'm 19 weeks (out of 40) -- almost half-way!:

Kelly wants me to point out the Common Loon I'm looking at in the water to the left and back. :)

Earth Hour

2009-03-28T12:05:00.002-05:00

Sarah and I will be turning our lights out tonight as a small gesture to participate in Earth Hour.

The places I'll go to find rare birds...

2009-03-15T19:27:00.005-05:00

For all the beautiful places that we go to see neat birds and other stuff, we occasionally visit a not so beautiful place to find a particular species. This weekend was one of those cases. There was a rare gull species that I hadn't seen, and one of the best places to find rare gulls is the dump. It's not that rare gulls in particular prefer dumps. It's that SO MANY gulls are attracted by all the food we throw away that there is a high probability that any species in the region is more likely to be found at the dump than in some small group of gulls on the beach.

Here's the dump that our friends Bob and Lucy Duncan took us to find the gulls.

The target bird: Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus) adult (bird in the middle)

A 2nd winter Lesser Black-backed Gull (the partly blocked bird in the middle)
I found a 1st winter bird, but didn't get a photo. It was a real treat to see all the ages on my first day seeing this species. Other gulls at the dump were Laughing Gull (Larus atricilla), Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis), and Herring Gull (Larus argentatus). We later saw a Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus), which was an unexpected bonus, and some Bonaparte's Gulls (Larus philadelphia), so it was a pretty gully day.

We visited some less smelly birding places later in the day, and found this 25-30 lb Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina) out of the water; perhaps a large female looking for a place to lay her eggs.

Spring is in the air down here

2009-03-09T15:47:00.011-05:00

I've felt pretty busy lately, but I've managed to get out a few times to see some neat stuff in the past couple months. This is a really nice time of year in the FL panhandle. Amphibians have been breeding, flowers are beginning to bloom, wintering birds are beginning to sing before heading North, and the first breeding birds are beginning to arrive from further South. For those of you living in MN, we've had your loons for the past 5-6 months, and they're starting to look good, and should begin their long journey back to you in the next few weeks.

This Chapman's Butterwort (Pinguicula planifolia) is a rare plant that grows in some of our ephemeral wetlands. It can easily go unnoticed when not in bloom, as its leaves stay very close to the ground and are usually overshadowed by grasses and other plants during most of the year.

This Hog? Plum (Prunis umbellata?) was attracting some small and uncooperative butterflies with its fragrant blooms. I like how the blossoms on this twig form an arc to the left, and the lichen growing on the twig forms almost a mirror arc to the right. The lichens don't hurt the plants they grow on.

I've always liked spiderworts, and this hairyleaf spiderwort (Tradescantia hirsutiflora) is no exception. I like the effect created by the numerous filaments in the center of the flower.

I've been working toward finding all 27 anuran (frogs and toads) species in this area. Going into 2009, I only had two to go, Dusky Gopher Frog (Lithobates sevosus), and Little Grass Frog (Pseudacris ocularis). I recently visited a known breeding pond for the gopher frogs with some FWS biologists. We caught some of the tadpoles, though without good photos, and as an added bonus, we also found three Rough Earth Snakes (Virginia striatula), which I'd never seen before.

Rough Earth Snake (brown individual)

Rough Earth Snake (gray individual)

Ornate Chorus Frog (Pseudacris ornata) larva with hind leg buds

This year has been another dry one in a long series of drought years in the Southeast. Last year was the first in seven that our flatwoods ponds held water long enough for the endangered Reticulated Flatwoods Salamanders (Ambystoma bishopi) to successfully breed in three of the roughly 20 historic known breeding ponds. This year has been just good enough for the best pond to hold what appears to be enough water to get the salamanders through to metamorphosis. One pond is pretty bad, but it's a lot better than the zero we had for six consecutive years.

larval Reticulated Flatwoods Salamander

The next two species are closely related to the flatwoods salamander.

Larval Mole Salamander (Ambystoma talpoideum)

Adult female Marbled Salamander (Ambystoma opacum)

I'll end with this video of a Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis) excavating a nesting cavity in a turkey oak (Quercus laevis) snag while its mate keeps watch nearby.

A most excellent trip to WA and AK

2009-03-01T19:14:00.024-06:00

In late February I went to Anchorage, Alaska for my good friend and college room mate, Kevin's wedding. On my way, I stopped in Seattle for a few days to visit some good friends that live there. I spent most of the time with my good friends Mark and Gaby, who Sarah and I knew from our time in Muncie, IN. Mark and I spent a few days birding, fishing, and camping on the Olympic peninsula.

This is my first Redtail Surfperch (Amphistichus rhodoterus), which Mark showed me how to catch on the beautiful west coast of the peninsula.

We tried for Steelhead (anadromous form of Rainbow) Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in a few of the beautiful streams and rivers throughout the peninsula. Mark caught this one in a neat river where we had to use ropes to get down the steep ravine to the water.

I just liked this picture of the sun getting ready to set over the Pacific.

These River Otters (Lontra canadensis) were not shy at all. In fact, I got the feeling that it would not have been wise for me to get any closer than I did. These are probably one of my favorite North American mammals.

Here's a video of the two otters. I had to use Youtube because the video was too large to put directly on the blog. Acording to a friend of mine, the odd tail-shaking they do to each other in the video between seconds 25 and 37 is called sprainting, and has to do with scent marking.

This is Crescent Lake. It was formed long ago by a natural landslide, and is 624 feet deep.

I like how the smooth cobble on the water's edge looks in the early morning light. This is the Hoh River, about a mile upstream from where it empties into the Pacific.

It was great to spend time with Mark and Gaby, and I also enjoyed spending an evening with our friends Troy and Lisa from our time in Astoria. Now, on to Alaska.

I began my first full day in Alaska by heading north into Arctic Valley to do some snowshoeing and birding. It was beautiful in every direction, and the weather was perfect; 20 degrees F, and not windy.

This is a video of a cow Moose (Alces alces) and her calf. I had to include this iconic Alaskan animal.

I put in about 1.5 mi on snowshoes in the arctic valley. Everywhere else had shallow enough, or packed enough, snow to just use boots. Here, I saw an adult Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) flush a flock of male Rock Ptarmigan (Lagopus muta) off of a ridgetop.

I visited a couple other spots to hike, including the Eagle River Valley, which had a lot to offer in terms of scenery and wildlife. This is just a little side stream that flows into the Eagle River.

Sarah and I saw our first Black-backed and American Three-toed Woodpeckers (Picoides arcticus and dorsalis, respectively) in Northern MN over Christmas. Black-backed Woodpeckers are less common in the Western part of their range, so I felt fortunate to find this female.

It was neat to see this male American Three-toed Woodpecker drumming on this resonant piece of dead wood to warn other males not to mess with his territory. A neighboring male could be heard in the distance.

One great bonus of my trip to Anchorage was getting to spend some time with my cousin Sean and his wife Colleen, which was coincidentally the name of Kevin's bride to be. They took me to the Bear Tooth Theatre to eat and then attend the Alaska Ocean Film Festival, which was really a neat new experience for me. We also went for a really enjoyable night hike the next day, which is when this photo was taken.

I didn't get all the way down to the coast, but I did take the new Seward Highway South from Anchorage for a ways. One of the highlights of that trip, besides all the great scenery, was getting to see these Dall Sheep (Ovis dalli) foraging near the road. I could see their hoofprints leading back towards an almost vertical cliff from which they had descended. Being excellent climbers and having a thick coat of white fur, they are well adapted to an inhospitable and snowy alpine terrain.

After I had been in AK for a couple days, some of the guys started arriving. It's always great to see good friends. Here's Dave and me at Kaladi Brothers, looking sleep deprived and ready for some high quality Joe.

I enjoy going out hiking alone, but it's also nice to enjoy the outdoors with good friends. Here's Dave, Willy, and me on an outing before the rehearsal dinner. Not too shabby.

Kevin has made some excellent friends along the way. It was really a special time to get to know all these great guys from different stages of Kevin's life. Sometimes these times can be a bit awkward, but this felt almost like we already knew each other. Very cool.

A few of us shot out for a quick hike before the wedding. I already miss that place.

Not being the type to miss an opportunity at foosball, we all got in some quick play before the ceremony.

The actual wedding was beautiful but not drawn out. For all the planning that goes into these things, they sure come and go quickly.

I'll end with an icon of all places cold and rocky, the Common Raven (Corvus corax).