Archive for the ‘Amphibians & Reptiles’ Category

With the 3rd edition of House of Herps right around the corner, I made it a priority to go outside to see if I could find any herp-life around my backyard pond. Thanks to one of my dogs, I found a herp – but alas, it was not alive. The really interesting discovery was that this lifeless snake was tied in a knot! Read the rest of this entry »

(Cross-posted at Nature Blog Network)

How can it be that “someone” has not already created a blog carnival for such a popular and important group of animals? I guess the blogosphere has been waiting on me!

Who am I? My name is Amber Coakley, blogging at Birder’s Lounge. Sure, I blog about birds, but I have a great love for all animals. I’m a Texas Master Naturalist, a budding conservationist, and an avid supporter of wildlife rescue and rehab efforts.

One day, late this past summer, I read a post at 10,000 Birds, and it struck me that I had never heard of a blog carnival dedicated to amphibians and reptiles (herps). I don’t recall the post, but I do remember that another blogger, Ted C. MacRae of Beetles in the Bush, commented as well. He had not heard of a herp carnival either, and tossed out a few catchy names. That little exchange stuck with me, and I searched all over the web for any sign of a herp carnival. No luck. And I decided that just wouldn’t do.

My next step was to look up all of the blogs listed in the Nature Blog Network (NBN), listed in the Amphibian and Reptile category. My plan was to send an email to all of the herp bloggers to see if they were interested in participating in a herp carnival, would they be willing to host on occasion, etc.

I found eight. Eight! I was shocked, given the hundreds and hundreds of blogs in the NBN. I went ahead and sent an email to seven of them (one was not English-speaking, and English is my only language). I heard back from one blogger, and he was supportive.

Over the next couple of months, Read the rest of this entry »

I invite you to take a look at my glorious day in Port Aransas, TX – rain and all! The area has been dry for so long that the residents have been on water restrictions. This rain was welcomed by wildlife and the locals…so I decided to have fun with it myself. I have lots of pictures to share, so sit back and enjoy! Read the rest of this entry »

Believe it or not, I spotted this tiny turtle in the road while driving home from the grocery store. This newly-hatched Alligator Snapping Turtle (Macrochelys temminckii) {Update: Thanks to readers of this post, I have learned that I found a baby Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina) – just as cute, not as imperiled. Thanks for the ID help!} , had his neck fully extended, and his dark color contrasted sharply against the paved road.  I saw  him just in time to make sure that my car tires passed on either side of him, then pulled to the curb. When I saw that I had been right, I didn’t hesitate to pick him up. Read the rest of this entry »

water snake (Nerodia sp.)

I think this is a species of Nerodia, which is a non-venomous water snake. This is a young one, maybe 14 inches long. The best thing about this little snake is that he has made his home in my pond. I figure his parents must be around somewhere, but I haven’t seen them yet. I wonder who is king of the pond…the snakes or the bullfrog? Read the rest of this entry »

Turtle Tracks

This will be the last post about my trip to the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas. Did I save the best for last? You decide. Read the rest of this entry »

Bullfrog - "Froggie"

When I returned home from a friend’s house, I lowered the blind in my big living room window. When I looked down at the windowsill, I saw “Froggie.” He was sitting INSIDE my house, on the windowsill! I’ll never know for sure how Froggie got in, Read the rest of this entry »

Don’t worry, this is not a poisonous snake! This is a nonvenomous water snake, probably a Diamond-backed Water Snake (Nerodia rhombifer rhombifer). See the round pupil? If this were the similar-looking Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorous), it would have elliptical “snake eyes.” I admit, that distinction is not one I’d like to be close enough to see in real time!

Read the rest of this entry »

This is my BIG frog pond – as opposed to my first, small frog pond that I wrote about in an earlier post. Do you like the edging? Mr. Green Thumbs (my neighbor, I mention him from time to time) says that there is nothing as permanent as “temporary.” I’ve had my “temporary” pond edge for a few months, so I decided to play weekend warrior and fix it. I took pictures along the way, as well as a few things I found under the logs. Read the rest of this entry »