Nature Photography (Formally Spring is in the Air)

[Newt]

Better safe than sorry of course. But I ain't been bit yet! By a pit viper, anyway. Wild reptiles I have been bitten by include:

five-lined skink
broadhead skink
eastern fence lizard
green anole

eastern box turtle
red-eared slider
river cooter
common map turtle
Ouachita map turtle
stinkpot
stripe-necked musk turtle
eastern mud turtle
common snapping turtle
alligator snapping turtle
spiny softshell turtle

gray rat snake
black kingsnake
prairie kingsnake
black racer
common garter snake
eastern ribbon snake
western ribbon snake
common water snake (3 different subspecies!)
banded water snake
diamond-backed water snake
plain-bellied water snake
eastern worm snake

But no pit vipers, elapids, or crocodilians. Because I am cautious and prudent!

[Doug Watson]

Better safe than sorry of course. But I ain't been bit yet! By a pit viper, anyway. Wild reptiles I have been bitten by include:
But no pit vipers, elapids, or crocodilians. Because I am cautious and prudent!

Holy cow! You have me beat! What the heck are you doing to those non-snapping turtles to get them to bite you! I hear the Stinkpot and softshells can be snappy too but I still haven't caught them yet, but a Map Turtle!

[Newt]

In my college days I helped with various field studies, including some turtle mark-recapture and radio-telemetry studies. Some turtles do not appreciate being restrained and having power tools applied to their shell margins.  There seems to be a small percentage of individuals in each turtle population who don't believe in waiting it out. They go on the offensive!

To be fair, the snappers that have bitten me have all been juveniles. I am cautious with adults of those species. The worst turtle bite I ever received was from a stripenecked musk turtle - an old "loggerhead" male - who I was holding in my hand and not paying enough attention to. They're very small turtles, but anything that routinely crushes periwinkles and clams can do a number on your finger.

[Doug Watson]

In my college days I helped with various field studies, including some turtle mark-recapture and radio-telemetry studies. Some turtles do not appreciate being restrained and having power tools applied to their shell margins.  There seems to be a small percentage of individuals in each turtle population who don't believe in waiting it out. They go on the offensive!

To be fair, the snappers that have bitten me have all been juveniles. I am cautious with adults of those species. The worst turtle bite I ever received was from a stripenecked musk turtle - an old "loggerhead" male - who I was holding in my hand and not paying enough attention to. They're very small turtles, but anything that routinely crushes periwinkles and clams can do a number on your finger.

I kind of figured it would be something like that, at least you weren't trying to kiss them like some people on Youtube.
My worst animal bite other than a neighbour's dog was a black squirrel that I was trying to feed a peanut. It was hanging upside down in a bush, made a grab for the peanut and got my finger instead, down to the bone on both sides of the finger, ouch?

[Newt]

Yeesh, rodent bites are the worst. One of my friends made me hold her pet prairie dog once, it immediately gashed my finger open. It wouldn't bend properly for weeks. I thought the rotten dirt-squirrel had caused permanent damage.

[Gwangi]

Not too many bites from wild animals to report from me. I was bitten by a gull once that I untangled from some electric fencing but I had the sense to wear gloves. I'm glad I did because that bird bite surprisingly hard.

Most of my animal bites are from captive animals. One of the worst that I'm still recovering from was from my own cat who had escaped outside and freaked out when I caught him. Aside from the numerous scratches he bite through the tip of my left index finger. He also bite my right index finger and although it didn't look bad it got infected and swollen. Had to go to the doctor for a shot and some antibiotics. This occurred on March 29th and it still hurts to bend that finger down all the way. Anyway, that's why in a few pictures that I posted awhile back of a spotted salamander you can see my fingers wrapped up in band aids.

I agree with rodent bites being the worst. Working at a pet store it is funny how people react to snakes and such vs. the cute hamsters, rats, mice etc. I'm very cautious of the furry critters, I'll take a snake bite over a hamster bite any day.

[Doug Watson]

I agree with rodent bites being the worst. Working at a pet store it is funny how people react to snakes and such vs. the cute hamsters, rats, mice etc. I'm very cautious of the furry critters, I'll take a snake bite over a hamster bite any day.

I have had the same discussion with my daughter who is terrified of snakes. She thinks nothing of having a wild chipmunk take seeds from her hand but will not touch a wild snake that I am holding, I ask her which bite will do the most damage and of course she picks the snake....wrong.

We had a neighbour growing up who let's say kept the breweries in business. We had dug a deep hole in the garden for some reason and a deer mouse had fallen in. He overheard us saying "go get some gloves so we can get it out" and he marches over saying "you don't need gloves for a little mouse". He grabs it and the "little mouse" proceeded to open one of his fingers up. Blood everywhere. Once he left the yard my brother and I pi..ed ourselves laughing. The mouse survived, but I think I heard it laughing too.

[Gwangi]

I agree with rodent bites being the worst. Working at a pet store it is funny how people react to snakes and such vs. the cute hamsters, rats, mice etc. I'm very cautious of the furry critters, I'll take a snake bite over a hamster bite any day.

I have had the same discussion with my daughter who is terrified of snakes. She thinks nothing of having a wild chipmunk take seeds from her hand but will not touch a wild snake that I am holding, I ask her which bite will do the most damage and of course she picks the snake....wrong.

We had a neighbour growing up who let's say kept the breweries in business. We had dug a deep hole in the garden for some reason and a deer mouse had fallen in. He overheard us saying "go get some gloves so we can get it out" and he marches over saying "you don't need gloves for a little mouse". He grabs it and the "little mouse" proceeded to open one of his fingers up. Blood everywhere. Once he left the yard my brother and I pi..ed ourselves laughing. The mouse survived, but I think I heard it laughing too.

People don't seen to understand that just because something is cute it does not mean that it's also cuddly. I blame "Bambi" and the "Disneyfication" of nature but I'm sure there is some psychology involved. Common sense tells you that rodents have chisels for teeth, and can chew through wood and plastic and just about anything that they want. Everyone has seen a squirrel chew a nut. A snake just has teeth for grasping (and injecting venom in some cases). Their bites are the equivalent of pin pricks. All that in mind, kids and adults alike all want to reach in at pet the hamsters but run away screaming from the snakes. People will run up and pet a strange dog that could rip their face off but they comment on how brave I am for holding a hatchling corn snake. It's all messed up!

[Newt]

Uh-oh, we're in danger of having a whole page of this thread go by without pictures!

Here, some toadpoles in a road puddle!

[Newt]

And speaking of adorable fuzzy animals that everyone wants to pet: big hairy spiders!

[Doug Watson]

And speaking of adorable fuzzy animals that everyone wants to pet: big hairy spiders!

The top one looks to me like a Dark Fishing Spider, Dolomedes tenebrosus (same one we have) but the other two look like Carolina Wolf Spiders, Hogna carolinensis, am I warm?

[Doug Watson]

Went kayaking in our usual spot yesterday on the opening of the Provincial Parks for summer and it was a banner day. We saw two and maybe three Grey Rat Snakes (last one could have been the first one again) and up until now I have never seen more than one in a day. We saw 157 Map turtles and 26 Midland Painted Turtles. Before we got to the Park we saw a porcupine and then we saw two male Wild Turkeys in full display trying to woo a single female Turkey, of course the camera was buried in the back with our gear.

Here is the first Grey Rat Snake and the only one I handled. I would estimate it at about five feet long. After letting it go it climbed a cedar and disappeared into a woodpecker hole.










This was the second Grey Rat Snake, it was lounging on a branch about ten feet up. This one could have been six feet long.



This is a young Northern Water Snake, because of the thick body it looks much bigger it is only about 10 inches long they get up to just over four feet and can be very heavy bodied.





Another young Water snake.



A medium sized Water Snake, about two feet long



I'll post some non-snake photos from that day later.

[Doug Watson]

The rest of my shots from the first day of kayaking

Blue Spotted Salamander



Green Frog



Map Turtles & Painted Turtles



Painted Turtle



Map Turtle



Baby Map Turtle



Old Beaver cut.



Muskrat



Caspian Terns with Ringbilled Gulls



Dolomedes spider



Millipede, they get bigger than this.

[Halichoeres]

Every time I see a Caspian tern next to something that puts it in scale, I'm surprised how huge they are.

[stargatedalek]

Superb! I think that's the same painted turtle subspecies I own.

Caspian tern, that's one from my bucket list!

[Gwangi]

You make it look so easy Doug! Although I'm really in awe from the rat snakes it's the picture of the caspian terns that I love the most. Wonderful shot!

[Doug Watson]

Superb! I think that's the same painted turtle subspecies I own.

Caspian tern, that's one from my bucket list!

Every time I see a Caspian tern next to something that puts it in scale, I'm surprised how huge they are.

You make it look so easy Doug! Although I'm really in awe from the rat snakes it's the picture of the caspian terns that I love the most. Wonderful shot!

I am surprised I didn't keep more turtles growing up, I had lots of snakes but only one turtle and they are such clowns.

I am glad everyone likes those terns they are so regal.

Sometimes it is easy but actually that day was windy and the Terns were on the big lake and I took about three fuzzy out of focus shots for that one good one, thank goodness for digital.
I had to time the shot in between bobs of the waves.

Oh after I took the shot I fired a rock at them since everyone knows "you should never leave a tern unstoned"  (That's a joke son, a joke I say)

[Newt]

Wow, great stuff, Doug!

You're dead right on the Dolomedes tenebrosus ID. It's relatively uncommon here; the six-spotted fishing spider is much more common. I'll take your word on the wolf; I don't know my lycosids.

By the way, your millipede is Narceus americanus (or possibly N. annularis).

[Doug Watson]

You're dead right on the Dolomedes tenebrosus ID. It's relatively uncommon here; the six-spotted fishing spider is much more common. I'll take your word on the wolf; I don't know my lycosids.

By the way, your millipede is Narceus americanus (or possibly N. annularis).

That's our biggest native spider and common here so I know it well, the Wolf I had to look up. When I was a teen in Quebec I was fishing one day when I caught my lure on the end of a tree that had fallen into the lake. I didn't want to lose the lure so I got down on my hands and knees and made my way out to it. Just as I got to it a very big female Dolomedes (about a four inch leg span) emerged from the water on my right, ran across both my hands and went into the lake on my left. I sort of clung there quivering for a couple seconds until I got my wits about me. I will pick up small spiders with my hands but when a big one like that surprises me it gives me the heebie jeebies.

[Newt]

Ha! For some reason, hunting spiders, even brown recluses, have never bothered me, but running into a spiderweb can still give me a shiver.

Once I was dipnetting through some weedy shallows, catching mosquitofish to feed to something or other. On one dip I came up with a six-spotted fishing spider clinging to the edge of the net. It quickly looked around, saw the wriggling fish in the net, hopped down, grabbed one, ran back up the side of the net and leaped into the swamp. All before I could do much more than think, "Hey, a spider!" That guy had his priorities straight!