Herps of the Choctawhatchee

Lately I've been using a camera better designed to take videos than stills. But I'd still like to share some images of reptiles and amphibians I've seen out here. Remember to click on the image to enlarge it! And don't be bashful about correcting me if I've made an identification blunder.




A type of map turtle. According to range maps, we are just west of the range of the endemic (to Apalachicola) Barbour's Map Turtle, and just east of the range of the more widespread Alabama Map Turtle. Apparently we have both in here. Anyone wanna help ID this critter?


I caught this Green Tree Frog napping on a lazy southern afternoon.


This is, best as I can tell, a Gulf Coast Spiny Softshell Turtle.



Though I generally eschew "disturbing the wildlife" I couldn't resist the opportunity to pick up this silver-dollar-pancake-sized young Yellow-bellied Slider. Cute li'l devil!


A charismatic and cooperative River Frog.


I think that this grumpy-looking animal is a Loggerhead Musk Turtle.


Green Anoles are masters of camouflage. They appear to be bright green against leafier backdrops.

One more month in the swamp

We're entering the home stretch of this year's search.

Five months is a long time to spend in such a remote wilderness setting! I'm of mixed minds about my imminent departure from the swamp. On one hand, it will be difficult to leave the lush eden that the Choctawhatchee River system has become. Ivory-billed Woodpecker or no, the area is a treasure and preserves a vestige of a southern hardwood bottomlands ecosystem that few get to see. I'll miss the critters and the trees, the human camaraderie, and the general dynamism of the swamp. On another hand, I'll be ready to move on to a new adventure. While I don't miss the world of walls and wires, my impatient side is starting to get curious about what's happening away from the Florida panhandle.

Still alive on the Choctawhatchee!

I apologize for not having posted for several months! My routine hasn't really changed since February, though the dynamic forest around me has in spectacular fashion. I'll be posting some photos and updates over the next couple of days. Just now, though, I've got to shower and shave. It's nice to be out for a couple of days!

And we are still looking for the woodpecker!

I have tons of photos and a few good stories, and hope I can get them up before too long.

I haven't had anything that might constitute a personal "detection" since my last posts, though some of my teammates have reported some interesting sounds.

I've become rather curious about the whole drama surrounding the search for this bird. There are multiple searches underway in several states. I'm aware of at least two documentaries (one by a Hollywood filmmaker) about the Ivory-billed that are works-in-progress that should be out before too long. Books come out from time to time, including one by Dr. Geoff Hill of Auburn, the top dawg on my project. No matter where you stand on whether or not this elusive critter still exists, you will find "The Ivorybill Hunters" to be a very readable and informative book.

The controversy over whether or not the Ivory-billed Woodpecker exists draws out some interesting behavior from the fringes. I feel insulated from the controversy because the company that keeps me is a team of pragmatic biologists. But I'm fascinated by the Internet reports and blogs I read when I come out of the swamp. On one hand, you have people who claim to have seen the bird in three states (!!!) now. On the other, you have people who advocate using McCarthyist tactics to discredit any biologist who dares associate himself or herself with an Ivory-billed Woodpecker search!

My opinions on whether the bird still exists vary from hour to hour. Some moments I truly expect to round the bend of the river in my kayak and see one gliding over. Generally, though, I feel that, while the bird still *could* be out there, perhaps even in the area where I'm searching, it is also very possible that we haven't shared our planet with this creature for 50 plus years. My enthusiasm for searching for the bird hasn't waned, and I look forward to hitting some under-explored areas of the river system in my last month here. Yet in some ways, I've become much more interested in what is perceptibly and tangibly in the river system NOW. The Ivory-billed Woodpecker may or may not be gone, yet the dazzling array of flora and fauna that currently make the Choctawhatchee Valley home perhaps ought to be the real issue.

More Choctawhatchee birds (as always, click to enlarge)

Finally, a diagnostic photograph of a Pileated Woodpecker! I've probably seen PIWOs 150 times now in the Choctawhatchee River system, and have heard them countless other times. If the IBWO truly is extinct, then this is the largest woodpecker species in the US. It bears a few superficial similarities to IBWOs, though a trained eye should be able to sort out even the most cursory glimpse of a large woodpecker in a few seconds. Nonetheless, trying to get a snap of a PIWO provides excellent practice for that moment if/when the IBWO does come visiting, and also serves to illustrate how difficult it will be to get that sharp, irrefutable IBWO photo. After all, if I can only get one set of diagnostic PIWO photos per 150 sightings....

Another shot of the same, beautiful, red-crested Pileated Woodpecker.

A Barred Owl. We hear 'em all the time, but see them less often.

Another Barred Owl.

Click and you shall see a rusty-tailed Hermit Thrush.

Eastern Phoebe. These cute tail-waggers are ubiquitous on the Choc.

A camp visitor....

This opossum came into camp one night to gnaw on some discarded catfish bones. Cute l'il feller, ain't he?

Another Choctawhatchee update

Hello!

I'm sorry for not updating this more frequently. I think I've explained in previous posts that I am in the woods without Internet access for 6 to 7 days at a time, and then rotate out for two. When I cycle out, my first priorities are shaving, showering (usually multiple times!), getting a good meal (though we do eat well in camp), laundering my clothes, shopping for the next rotation in, checking my email, and opening letters, packages, and bills. You get the picture.

It was another week without any suggestive "detections," though I did find some interesting bark scaling on a Tupelo tree close to camp. A couple of parties in my study area heard and recorded some kent notes that resemble the vocalizations of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, though without a corroborative sighting or photo we can't be sure what the sources of the noises were. One set in particular, however, sounded really interesting, and for the next few days may have tilted me a millimeter or so towards the believing side of the fence of IBWO agnosticism.

It has been cold and wet out there. Temperatures sometimes dip to the low 20s at night. Nonetheless, we're plugging away, covering a lot of ground in our efforts to find promising nesting/roosting cavities and foraging signs.

I'm enjoying other aspects of life out there. I've kayaked through some beautiful wooded areas and waded through some dark, impressive cypress swamps. Plus, the camaraderie is excellent. The Cornell University mobile swat team has been stationed in our camp, and I've picked their brains for nuggets of expertise on large woodpecker behavior.

Interesting birds are plentiful. I've seen a few Yellow-throated Warblers, and their more abundant cousins the Yellow-rumped Warblers have been engaging in frenetic courtship behavior in the forest. It's been too cold, though, for reptile sightings. I'll put up a wildlife photo post momentarily.