Common Snapping Turtle family photo

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)

A visit from a friend

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

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)

A most excellent trip to WA and AK

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).

My first red drum

I've often seen Red Drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) while spearfishing, but they're only legal to catch with rod and reel, so I've never gotten one. I went surf fishing (standing on the beach, casting into the surf) this past weekend with my coworker and friend Steve, and among the fish we caught was this Red Drum.



I also caught a spiny puffer (Diodon sp.), and Steve caught a red drum and these three Florida Pampano (Trachinotus carolinus) below. I also went spearfishing this weekend, and shot a sheepshead, but it's cold and a little bit slow this time of year, so I think I'll try to do more fishing with rod and reel.

Catching up.

Throughout the summer, my friend Johnena and I ran three days a week together, with a goal of running a 10K in September. For one reason or another it kept getting put off until we finally ran it in early November. There weren't any official races in the area around that time, so Johnena's husband Joe mapped out a course for us in their neighborhood, and our friend Sarah decided to run with us! Our husbands biked along the route to give us water and encouragement, as well as directions for making the right turns along the 6.2 mile course. It felt good to accomplish our goal and we all had fun doing it together!


And we're off!


Here, Johnena and I are running through Ferry Park, which is part of our regular morning running routine. It's been fun to see the same people in the park at the same time every day. We don't know their names, but we always say hi and have come to recognize a lot of now-familiar faces.


For the finish!


The champions, modeling our awesome T-shirts that Joe made for us to commemorate the "Air Commando Wives 10K." (I was an honorary air commando wife that day...or maybe Kelly was an honorary air commando...something like that anyway.) :)