Herping in Virginia

Hello all Naturalists and Naturalists in training,

I am glad to see everyone getting out and posting some cool stuff! I am typically a Herper/Birder/Fisherman but I have been having an absolute BALL submitting as many species as possible for September Bioblitz of several sorts. I just wanted to share some of my expertise and experiences from this month to our inspiring Herpers.

First off, "Herp" is short for Herpetofauna, which is the Latin term for any organism that is a Reptile or Amphibian. In Virginia these would be Turtles, Snakes, Lizards, Salamanders, and Frogs. September is a month where everything is starting to wind down before the cold soon to come. My main targets in September are the salamanders, as they are not too bothered by the cooler temperatures, but several snakes are moving right now as well. Female Copperheads are searching for locations to birth their 3-21 live young. These snakes are venomous, so caution should be taken in approaching this species, but this species is not going to chase anyone, but will strike if it is irritated. My advise is, DO NOT, UNDER ANY CONDITION, SHOULD YOU APPROACH ANY SNAKE UNLESS SOMEONE THAT ABSOLUTELY KNOWS SNAKES SAYS IT IS SAFE.

So, lets talk about salamanders. Salamanders are some of my favorite animals. They are incredibly diverse, and there are numerous rare species. I spent some time this month chasing some incredible and rare species in Virginia. So, I wanna share a few of my experiences this month, so you all may learn some tips to find some of these amazing animals.

I kicked off the month in the coastal plains with @koaw and had some incredible animals. For starters we had a juvenile Carpenter Frog (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/58347426) and Mud Sunfish (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/58347366). Both of which are rare species in the state that lives in very few of the swamps. I was happy with that, until later, as we were walking the road on that wet night, we found a rare Atlantic Coast Slimy Salamander in the road (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/58347578). Now, first I must caution anyone who is road herping, that this can be dangerous. Keep in mind there is hundreds of people, some of which are not paying attention (texting, speeding, distracted, or any other driving malfeasance), driving 1,000+ pound machines at high rates of speed. Practice extreme caution. Herping from road though yields many, good herps.

My second trip I was actually targeting salamanders with my bestfriend @easpears , most importantly the Shenandoah Salamander. This salamander is extremely rare, and only found on the north ridge of three mountains. They are living in direct competition with Eastern Red-backed Salamanders, which are common and winning the competition. We searched the north side of one of the mountains which they are found, and found many Eastern Red-backed Salamanders (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/59968057). Finally, I found a small over hang in a talus slope, where water had clearly been running off. Salamanders require wet areas, as they have permeable skin. So, I flipped one rock here, and found a beautiful Shenandoah curled up underneath (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/59939917).

This week we went down to the Cumberland Plateau. We had several great Salamanders. Flipping Rocks in the creek gave us several species such as Black Mountain Salamanders (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/60670561), Long-tailed Salamanders (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/60669044), and the third state record of Kentucky Spring Salamander (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/60663214). We searched in the cracks of the rock walls as well, and found several more awesome species. This technique yielded Cumberland Plateau Salamanders (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/60670702), Northern Slimy Salamanders (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/60671116), and Green Salamanders (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/60669813). Now, be cautious when handling salamanders. Their permeable skin can suck-up salts, oils, and perfumes from your hands and insert them in the animal's blood stream. This intern can poison the animal, and cause it to die. So, if you have to handle salamanders use a clean, wet hand. I recommend using a container like a clear, plastic cup. You will see in many of my observations, I have plastic sauce cups I use, and they are great.

On my way home, we swung by White Top Mountain. Here we searched the creeks and found this gorgeous Black-bellied Salamander (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/60714013). This salamander is the reason I like using clear containers, as you can clearly see the black belly of the animal. I recommend, when submitting a salamander to iNat, take a photo of the top, side, and bottom of the animal. This should yield the best ID results. Other great salamanders included Northern Gray-cheeked Salamander (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/60712652), Blue Ridge Two-lined Salamander (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/60713237), and the rare Weller's Salamander (https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/60712705). All of which were under logs.

So, get out there, and safely explore! Carefully flip logs, rocks, and boards; and find some cool stuff! Thanks for the opportunity to help all the wonderful students and thanks to the Naturalist across the globe helping as well.

Posted on 26 de setembro de 2020, 03:47 AM by tysmith