SC Reptile and Amphibians

RECENT OBSERVATIONS

October 2003

Gene's notes

Week ending 11-02-03

I finished October with no time for herping. Anoles have been everywhere about the house.

During the months from November through February, I will be posting observations on a monthly basis.

Gene Ott

====================================================

Joey's notes

Week ending 11-02-03

November already? Christmas is NEXT MONTH? Wow! I hardly understand how time can fly like it does!

Monday (10-27-03), Mild and drizzly. We prowled campus a bit and found Upland Chorus Frogs, American Toads, a Brown Snake, and Redbelly Snake. The snakes counted onto our Caught-in-2003-list as number 164 and 165! Our best year ever was 2001, when we had 165! We are now tied for the record, dare we think we might break it?

Tuesday (10-28-03), No chance to break the record today, it is too cool and rainy.

Wednesday (10-29-03), Warm and pretty. Lizards are abundant on campus. Green Anoles and Fence Lizards mostly.

Thursday (10-30-03), Warm and pretty. Trying for snake number 166, we flipped everything in sight on campus. Nothing. I arrived home and went straight to my tin. I thought about what snake number 166 would be. Something exciting? Something dinky? I flipped piece after piece. As I approached the final sheets of tin I remembered the female Mole Kingsnake of 10-22-03, and thought of a re-capture. I flipped another sheet of tin. There it is! Mole Kingsnake! Snake number 166 is a Mole King! Super! I checked the tail and it was a Male! Different snake! This makes 2003 the best year ever for numbers of snakes caught! It also means I have caught 3 adult Mole Kings in my backyard this season. Not bad. Not bad at all!

Friday (10-31-03), The male Mole Kingsnake gets his time on the copy machine at work. His belly pattern forever recorded on paper, I release him in the backyard when I get home. The data and photocopy get filed. I hope to see him again someday. Saw a female Whitetail Skimmer. Nice treats today. No tricks!

Saturday (11-1-03), Very warm and sunny. I spend several hours on the yard, mowing. Not my idea of a fun day, but it needed to be done. Later, the Holmes family went to the movies to see RADIO. Nice film about a SC man.

Sunday (11-2-03), Again very warm and sunny. Again I had obligations that kept me out of the outdoors. Too bad.

As the days of 2003 dwindle away, I would like to encourage everyone to enjoy the natural world, and share it with others!

Joey Holmes


Gene's notes

Week ending 10-26-03

Monday (10-20-03) I visited the spring-well on my farm to see if the Three-lined Salamanders had returned to breed. I did not see any salamanders, but there were a couple dozen spermatophores attached to debris in the well.

Tuesday(10-21-03) was warm. The early night was pleasantly in the 70s F, so I cruised local roads for an hour. I found a young DOR Copperhead and a small AOR Garter Snake.

Wednesday(10-22-03) morning as I drove into work, a Red-tailed Hawk flew up from a field and landed on a power line just as I was passing. In the bird's beak dangled a Brown Snake. The most interesting aspect of this sighting was that overnight temperatures had been in the 40s F and at the time of the observation, temperatures were only about 50 F.

Sunday(10-26-03), my granddaughter and I found the same Worm Snake under the same coverboard. She was moulting. Green Anoles were seen climbing up the window panes at home.

Gene Ott

====================================================

Joey's notes

Week ending 10-26-03

This week started warm and pleasant, but ended cool and wet. Along the way, I went from feeling well and sporty, to being subdued by a horrible cold. Oh well, I would hate to feel bad in great weather. I would feel like I was missing out on all the action, all the fun outdoors.

Monday (10-20-03), Warm day. At work, we walked a bit on campus and found a Redbelly Snake, Smooth Earth Snake, and baby Black Ratsnake. All very nice. We also found Slimy Salamanders, Cricket Frogs, Fowlers Toads, Green Anoles, Ground Skinks, and Fence Lizards. Fair herp varieties for this time of year.

Tuesday (10-21-03), Warm day. I found myself in Laurens county, driving home on a nice section of road at sunset. Stopped for a AOR snake. Corn Snake! It was an adult, female, rather dark corn. A few miles later I found a male Mole Kingsnake DOR. I put it, with complete data, in the freezer.

Wednesday (10-22-03), It was a bit cooler. At work I made copies of the Corn Snake’s belly pattern so I would know her if I ever saw her again. After work, I released her where she had been found, then I checked tin in several locations. I arrived home empty handed, and checked my tin as well. Under the next-to-the-last piece, I noticed a brown tail silently slipping down a hole. Mole Kingsnake! I grabbed the tail and held on until its owner tired of straining to pull away. I was then able to ease it out of the tunnel. It was an adult female.

Thursday (10-23-03), Cooler temps. At work I put the new female Mole King on the copy machine and by making the copy darker, I got a good shot of the pattern. When I arrived home, she went back to the same piece of tin that I had found her under. Sleep well.

Friday (10-24-03), Again it was cool. Herp activities and herp hunter activities were limited. Saw a few Green Anoles and Fence Lizards, not much else.

Saturday (10-25-03), Spent some time in Brevard, NC. Saw some Grey Squirrels that were solid white, and a Groundhog.

Sunday (10-26-03), Cool and rainy. The sickly feelings of my bad cold made me feel utterly worthless and I did not look much, but I did see a Green Anole on my front porch.

So even at this point in the year, good herps are still around, and with good weather and timing, one can find them.

Joey Holmes


Gene's notes

Week ending 10-19-03

This week was spent mostly working and recuperating.

However, on Sunday (10-19-03) my granddaughter and I flipped a few coverboards and found an adult Eastern Worm Snake. Young Anoles and Fence Lizards continue to bask on the patio, and my granddaughter has become good at catching them unaided.

Gene Ott

====================================================

Joey's notes

Week ending 10-19-03

This week has been very nice. Reasonable weather. Cool nights and warm days.

Monday (10-13-03), A friend needed some live Tiger Beetles for a study. I went by the sandbar at the creek and netted about 16 Cicindela repanda and then at the quarry in Whitmire I got 12 C. tranquebarica. Not bad. I put them in film canisters with small air holes and a bit of paper towel with a couple of drops of water on for moisture. One beetle per canister.

Tuesday (10-14-03), Put the Tiger beetles in a box and sent them out UPS next-day. Never shipped live Tiger Beetles and really hoped they would be okay.

Wednesday (10-15-03), Found a Brown Snake at work. When I arrived home I checked the tin and found a Black Racer and Eastern Kingsnake. I checked the belly pattern and found the Kingsnake was one I had caught in August and again in September. Checked my email and found the beetles had made it across the country in good condition.

Thursday (10-16-03), I noticed several Tiger Beetle larval burrows on campus. Small, and where we normally see C. rufiventris in the summer. After work, a colleague stopped by campus for a visit. He picked up some stuff I had for him and left us a small African Rock Python. Neat snake. First thing it did was strike at me! I can accept that from a 4-5 foot snake. Later, might be a bit of a handful! We will have to see how he calms down.

Friday (10-17-03), Everglades Ratsnakes at work are starting to hatch. After work I stopped at the pond and found a Black Racer under some debris. Took a few minutes to road cruise after dark but it was too cool and I found nothing active.

Sunday (10-19-03), After Church and lunch, my brother-in-law and I took the canoe and our sons used their kayaks, and we spent about 6 miles/2 hours floating down a peaceful stretch of the Enoree River. Saw the expected Whitetail Deer, Great Blue Herons, Belted Kingfishers, a Midland Watersnake, etc. What a great way to enjoy the afternoon and the beauty of the woodlands in autumn. Nice ending to a good week.

Joey Holmes


Gene's notes

Week ending 10-12-03

Monday (10-6-03) morning, as I drove to work I came upon two Eastern Box Turtles crossing the road. It was a small female followed by a male. As she crossed, the male tired to mount her. About 200 feet up the road, I found a DOR adult Copperhead. Later in the day I found another Box Turtle on the road.

Unfortunately, I was sick for the remainder of the week.

Gene Ott

====================================================

Joey's notes

Week ending 10-12-03

This week has been beautiful. Cool nights and warm days. Really nice.

Monday (10-6-03), This turned out to be a pretty good day! At work we found two Redbelly Snakes. One was oddly pale, with a yellowish belly. It was kind of neat. After work I stopped by the pond, flipped through the debris pile, and uncovered a Black Racer. At home, in my tin, a Redbelly Snake and Eastern Worm Snake. After sunset, I could not resist a run up the road to see what was crawling. In nearby Union County I found two AOR Copperheads and two DOR Copperheads. Got one more DOR Copperhead back here in Spartanburg County as I approached my mailbox/driveway. This was a nice one, measuring 42 inches. Too bad he could not have been found alive!

Thursday (10-9-03), Smooth Earth Snake at work. Small, but pretty.

Not much else to mention. Just kicking back, enjoying nature!

Joey Holmes


Gene's notes

Week ending 10-05-03

This week I did not see any herps, other than small lizards around the house and basking turtles in the farm pond. Wooly caterpillars can be seen rippling across the roads. I found a large black and red wooly that curled into a defensive ball.

I have been seeing more hawks along the roadsides. Three Broad-wing Hawks frolicked in a large oak tree on the farm.

Gene Ott

====================================================

Joey's notes

Week ending 10-05-03

This week, nature is showing off seasonal change. Cool mornings make the heater in the truck appreciated, but warm afternoons call for shorts and T-shirt! By evening, a light jacket is called for.

Monday (9-29-03), We decided to bring our Caiman in from his outdoor pen. At about 48 inches, he is getting to be a bit much for indoors living!

Wednesday (10-1-03), Taking my class for a walk in the cool of the morning, we were happy to find a good sized Black Ratsnake. A male, about 74 inches, he was old, crusty, and had tons of scars. He also seemed a bit lean to be going into hibernation. I hope he has a easy winter.

Friday (10-3-03), We had a light frost in the morning. Took the class to the creek (on campus, right behind my classroom) and found some Salamanders (Three-Lined, Two-Lined, Dusky, Slimy, and Northern Red) and Green Frogs. Neat diversity of Amphibians in just a few minutes. Under a log, we found a Tiger Beetle, Cicindela sexguttata. That was a neat find for this time of year.

Saturday (10-4-03), Saw an Osprey fly over as we crossed the bridge over the river. Spent most of the day in Laurens at the BBQ festival. Wow! I love BBQ!

It is nice outdoors, I hope you all get a chance to enjoy this special time of year.

Joey Holmes



November 05, 2003
Contact: South Carolina Reptiles and Amphibians


Return to SC Reptiles and Amphibians Observations Page

Return to SC Reptiles and Amphibians Home Page