Gene's notes

Week ending 08-03-03

I ended the month like I had spent most of the other days...with very little herping. Around home, I cruised one night and one day after a rain but saw very little.

Gene Ott

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Joey's notes

Week ending 08-03-03

If you ever want to enjoy yourself, please let me suggest the coast of South Carolina. Heping is good, bugging is good, birding is good, food is good, life is good. My wife, son, and I spent the majority of the week on Seabrook Island (Charleston County) and the surrounding area with our old friend and her sons. They had flown in from Minnesota and it was great to spend some time with them. We had never met the boys, and had not seen our friend since our wedding in 1983! Time flies!

Monday (7-28-03), It was a bit overcast and stormy. We went up to Charleston. Shopping, walking, and eating out took priority!

Tuesday (7-29-03), Collected a few Tiger Beetles (Cicindela dorsalis media, C.marginata, and C.trifasciata). We took a nice tour of Charleston, and when we visited the waterfront, and even saw a Snowy Egret, Yellow-Crowned Night Heron and Black Skimmer. Nice to see great birds like this right in a big city. Back at Seabrook, I saw a Loggerhead Shrike. Now I have not mentioned butterflies, but Gulf Fritilaries, Giant Swallowtails, Tiger Swallowtails, Buckeyes, and Sulfurs were all there to be admired.

Wednesday (7-30-03), We visited Folly Beach. The surf there was better for swimming. The ladies lounged, the boys swam, and I explored the north end of Folly Island, where few people go. There was a beach, inlet, shoreline with mud flats. It was all nice. I found a few Tiger Beetles, C.dorsalis media and marginata, and enjoyed the birds and gentle wind.

Thursday (7-31-03), I got up fairly early and headed out towards Edisto Beach. That is Colleton County’s only beach, so I needed to go there to collect certain beach Tiger Beetles in Colleton County. Easily accomplished. I also wanted to stop off at the Edisto Serpentarium. It was right on the way. I even got to have a nice visit with Heyward and Ted Clamp, and Heyward even gave me a personal tour of the facility. It is very nice. The animals seemed well cared for. The exhibits were nicely decorated. I was impressed. After leaving, and less than a mile up the road, I saw a Swallow-Tail Kite. Great bird! I explored a bit more of southern Colleton County, going to the Bear Island/Bennetts Point area. Saw lots of great wading birds Snowy Egrets, American Egrets, White Ibis, Wood Storks, and several species of Heron! Birders Paradise! Even got to score some Tiger Beetles, C.trifasciata that make for a new county record. Along the way I flipped a few boards/debris and found a few Eastern Narrowmouth Toads and some Southern Cricket Frogs but little else.

Friday (8-1-03), I had some work business to tend to over near Beaufort. Stopped in Beaufort at a patch of sand by the road and collected a Tiger Beetle, C.punctulata, but did not spend much time outdoors. I did find a Copperhead shed skin (pattern still quite visible) and a DOR Armadillo that was in the Beaufort city limits. That is cool. Later, back on Seabrook, we had some pretty bad (and overpriced) pizza and on the way back to the room found a pretty little AOR Copperhead. Neat.

Saturday (8-2-03), Up too early, we loaded the vehicles and hit the road. My wife and son would drive our friends to the airport and I would make a few stops along I-26. Orangeburg County did not give me anything I needed, nor did Calhoun. In Lexington County I flipped some plywood (from an old billboard) and finally got my Lexington County snake! A smallish, thin, butt-ugly, sub-adult, mutt Ratsnake. No points for beauty, this snake at least gives me a catch in that county. Now I have scored snakes in 40 of the 46 counties in South Carolina! Not bad, if I do say so myself! Edgefield! Bamburg! Barnwell! Lee! Darlington! Dillon! I am coming soon!

Sunday (8-3-03), Crashed after the vacationing. I pinned some beetles, wrote some notes, updated some maps, tried to get the laundry done, and went to the grocery store. I had a full week.

Joey Holmes

Gene's notes

Week ending 07-27-03

July has not been a good month for me to herp. I spent half of this week in a desert of suburbia near Chicago. I have no significant observations to report.

Gene Ott

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Joey's notes

Week ending 07-27-03

I know this is a week late but I have a good excuse, I have been out of town, rambling a bit, vacationing, on holiday, and even off work! The details will soon be revealed.

Monday (7-21-03), Work as usual. I did find a crushed Hercules Beetle at the store around the corner.

Tuesday (7-22-03), Found a live female Hercules Beetle at a store near work. Also got some coffee and then had another day at work, as usual.

Wednesday (7-23-03), Stopping at stores (as usual) on the way to work, I found a live female Hercules Beetle and a great nocturnal Tiger Beetle, the largest in our area, Megacephala virginica. This was in Spartanburg County and will serve as the county record.

Thursday (7-24-03), Work as usual. My wife went to the airport and picked up an old friend (we had not seen in 20 years) and her two sons. They had come in from Minnesota to vacation with us in SC. We went out, her boys, my son, and I, for some nature time. Right out of the driveway a car pulled up close behind us. I pulled over. It did not pass. I pulled back on the road. It followed. We turned. It turned. A mile or two later blue lights flashed and we pulled over. The car behind us was from the sheriff’s department. The officer questioned why I had pulled over (to let him pass), and was driving so slow (looking for snakes). He mentioned that drunk drivers occasionally drove like that, sniffed a bit, checked my ID, and then realized that he knew who I was, we chatted a bit. We thanked him for keeping the community safe, he went back to work, and we went back to our task. At the stores we found some neat Insects (

Pseudolucanus capreolus, Calosomas, Royal Walnut and Imperial Moths, lots of smaller stuff) but no herps. Oh well, the boys from Minnesota seemed to have fun meeting new and strange animals.

Friday (7-25-03), I went in, but did not work all day. I had some other stuff going on. After sunset, making the rounds with our young visitors, we found a dead Hercules at the gas station and returning home, found a Megacephala virginica right in the front yard! Cool, now they are coming to me!

Saturday (7-26-03), By late afternoon, we had loaded an appalling amount of stuff in my truck and my wife’s car. With my wife and son, our friend and her two sons in the car and me riding solo in the truck, we took off heading towards Seabrook Island in Charleston County. Several hours later, we arrived, unloaded and flopped.

Sunday (7-27-03), Seabrook is a beautiful island. Nice beaches to walk, dunes, and maritime forests. Of course homes, condos, and golf courses are there, but it is still very nice. Hooded Gulls, Herring Gulls, Terns, Brown Pelicans, Shrikes, and other birds abound. The evening air was always filled with the calls of Green Treefrogs and Squirrel Treefrogs (these even hunted around the condo lights at night) . Deer were seen almost every day. My first morning out, I found great Tiger Beetles (Cicindela dorsalis media, C.punctulata, C.marginata, and C.trifasciata) and all in good numbers! In the evening my son and I walked a bit on the golf course. Shining the pond edges we saw Southern Toads, an 11ft Alligator, several deer and (lurking around behind a deer family) was a large Bobcat! Perhaps he had an eye on one of the fawns? A good day completed, but more to come.

Joey Holmes

Gene's notes

Week ending 07-20-03

Another slow herping week. Too many other obligations and too hot. Not seeing many herps on the roads.

During the weekend, I walked about the farm during the heat of the day. Did not see many herps, a Green Anole and a newborn skink.

Outside my daughter's home window a Mourning Dove has taken over an old nest of some other bird. She is faithfully brooding her eggs. I hope to be able to get pictures of her tending her young.

Sunday, my wife and I celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary with a family cookout.

Gene Ott

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Joey's notes

Week ending 07-20-03

It is hot. The work load takes a toll. Personal obligations take a toll. The heat takes a toll, The humidity takes a toll. The heat/humidity also takes your ambition. Time outdoors is limited.

Monday (7-14-03), Got a box of assorted Tiger Beetles from friend who collects all over the US and Canada. Neat stuff that I have never seen.

Tuesday (7-15-03), Found a crushed male Hercules Beetle at the local store, and a dead female at the store near work. On campus we found the first baby skinks of the year.

Wednesday (7-16-03), Stopping for coffee on the way to work, found a live female Hercules Beetle.

Thursday (7-17-03), My wife has her birthday, and we celebrate our wedding anniversary. Twenty years together!

Friday (7-18-03), Found a live female Hercules at the big truck stop over on the interstate.

Not much else going on here. We are in a point in the year when most herptiles are settled down. There is no rush to or from any hibernation or breeding or feeding areas. Eggs are incubating. Activity is in a slump. There is plenty of vegetation to hide in, nights are warm, and tin gets too hot during the day. On top of all that, we have been in a bright moon phase (although clouds have kept it fairly dark most nights) so herping has slowed down.

Joey Holmes

Gene's notes

Week ending 07-13-03

This week was hot and wet. I did not get to do any herping. I put up a bench swing and a concrete picnic table beside the farm pond. That table was heavy!

While commuting, I saw a few AOR Box Turtles and Mud Turtles on the road, as well as a few DOR snakes. The night serenade has been taken over by the Katydids. The frogs and toads are just backup singers.

Gene Ott

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Joey's notes

Week ending 07-13-03

Finally took a week off. Finally got out of town this week. Finally made it to the coast.

Sunday (7-6-03), Loaded the car, and truck, with assorted stuff/gear and headed to the coast. Holmes family and some of my son’s friends. Our destination was James Island County Park (part of the Charleston Parks System). We arrived around sunset, set up the tents (two of them) and other elements of a comfortable camp. It was HOT.

Monday (7-7-03), After a sweaty night’s sleep, we headed for the beach. Folly Beach. I had not been there since I was a small child. It was nice, not too crowded, but far from pristine/natural. The kids surfed on rented longboards, my wife relaxed, I chased Tiger Beetles. I only found Cicindela dorsalis media. That’s cool, as I really like them. After dark, I walked by a pond at the park/campground and found some Megacephala carolina (a very neat, multicolored, nocturnal Tiger Beetle). Very nice Beetles. I also found a large female Bullfrog, heard Green Treefrogs in the distance, and saw a few Southern Toads feeding under the lights over by the campground’s bathhouse. Another sweaty day behind us.

Tuesday (7-8-03), After a second sweaty night in a tent, we returned to the beach. It was a close repeat of the previous day. No C. marginata. No C. trifasciata. No C. hirticollis. No C. togata. No C. striga. Just a few C. dorsalis media. At night, a few more M. carolina. Still no herptiles. Still hot and sweaty.

Wednesday (7-9-03), Another sweaty hot night behind us. Some more morning beach time. I followed a C.dorsalis media about 200 yards as it prowled the beach. It drank from the wet sand, flew over a small tide pool, and found a few minutes of mating time with another C. dorsalis media. Neat observing their lives. Fun way to spend the morning. By the heat of the day, my folks had enough of the beach, and were desperate to cool off, so they headed off to Charleston. I headed away from town. Saw a Wood Stork over the park as I departed. I made stops here and there, mostly at boat landings, and saw some Great Dragonflies but did not collect any. I did get some Tiger Beetles, C. punctulata, in Charleston County and in Dorchester County. And, having never collected any Tiger Beetle in Colleton County I just had to go there. I was too close not to. It took a few minutes, but I found another C. punctulata. I have now collected Tiger Beetles in 45 of 46 counties in South Carolina! One to go! Bamburg, you are next! Snakes? Nothing more exciting than a DOR Mud Snake in Charleston County.

Thursday (7-10-03), The day was pretty much taken up with breaking camp, loading, traveling home, unloading, unpacking, and of course, sweating.

Friday (7-11-03), Still off, and still wanting to spend some time outdoors, I made my goals. I still needed to catch a snake in Anderson County. I went to a bridge over the Saluda River, and started looking. It did not take too long. I found a water snake. A Brown Water Snake. Kind of cool to catch this “low-country” species in Anderson County (and looking across the river at Greenville County)! I also grabbed a Tiger Beetle, C. rufiventris. I headed into Abbeville county and found another C. rufiventris but that was about it for the day.

Saturday (7-12-03), I spent a little time at the river pasture, but had a lot of other obligations.

Sunday (7-13-03), Did some stuff in the yard, family stuff. No time outdoors.

It has been a nice week,

Joey Holmes

Gene's notes

Week ending 07-06-03

Thursday morning (07-03-03) I took my granddaughter with me on a couple of errands. We moved an Eastern Box Turtle off the road. Later, we saw a Wild Turkey hen just off the side of the road. It was reluctant to leave, indicating it had biddies hidden nearby.

Friday (07-04-03)we had a holiday dinner (southern, midday meal) for our children and their families. We bought BBQ hash cooked by the local volunteer fire department, rice, creamed corn, baked beans, deviled eggs, tomatoes, cantaloupe, and water melon. Great! While walking around the pond, my son, Win, found a gravid Eastern Worm Snake hiding under a piece of tin.

Saturday morning (07-05-03) I tackled some cleanup chores around the yard. To my surprize, I spotted an Eastern Kingsnake digging up a turtle egg nest. The soil was moist from a light rain in the early morning. The nest was less than a foot from the outside wall of a storage shed. The snake had its head in the hole it had dug so I was able to get my camera and approach very closely. After close to an hour of work, the snake finally withdrew an egg. From the egg's shape and size, I think it was an Eastern Box Turtle. The snake saw me and froze for about 15 minutes, then moved beneath the shed. Later, it went back into the hole and searched for another egg. Apparently there were no more eggs, so the snake disappeared under the shed. After a couple of hours without the snake checking the nest again, I dug the nest up. There were no more eggs.

Sunday morning (07-06-03) I drove over to Greenwood to pickup Win for a morning of herping. I had not traveled far before I saw a odd little shape on the road. It was not a baby turtle, but it moved as I drove past. I turned around and drove by it again. It was a Dung Beetle rolling a ball of dung across the road. I had never seen one of these beet.les actually rolling a ball!

Win and I rode to McCormick County and looked around Bakers Creek State Park and parts of the National Forest. We saw a Coyote, Eastern Mud Turtle, and a large female Spiny Softshell Turtle. We saw many DOR snakes, some identifiable (Black Rats, Rough Green, and Copperhead), but no live ones.

Gene Ott

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Joey's notes

Week ending 07-06-03

Weather has been typical. A few storms (had a tropical storm come ashore on the Gulf Coast and it came through our area on Tuesday) and weather hot enough to make folks complain. Standard stuff for this time of year. Toads, Fence Lizards, various Skinks are all easy enough to find. Some snakes and turtles still getting hit on the roadways. Seen several opossums amble about in the roads at night. Deer and rabbits are no problem to find as you drive along (at the right time of day).

Monday (6-30-03), Last day of June. The year is half over. At this point, I usually try to have caught 100 snakes. This year my count is now 110. Not bad, considering I have stayed fairly local this year. Unusually high numbers of Eastern Worm Snakes and Southern Ringnecks have done a lot to make the total look good.

Tuesday (7-1-03), Work as usual.

Wednesday (7-2-03), After work/after dark, I cruised to the big gas station over on the interstate. Found a male Hercules Beetle! Finally a male! Pristine and beautiful. I also found a DOR Copperhead, caught an AOR Redbelly Watersnake, and lost another Redbelly Watersnake. I was going too fast and had a car right on my bumper. I turned around and went back, but it was gone.

Thursday (7-3-03), On the way to work, I found a crushed Hercules at the gas station. At work, we turned tome logs and found a great Tiger Beetle, Megacephala virginica. Super beetle.

Friday (7-4-03), As part of an ongoing experiment, I offered the Megacephala virginica to a Five-Lined Skink. She attacked, killed and ate it, taking about 10 minutes. It was a big prey item for her to take on. So far this year, she has eaten; Cicindela punctulata, C. repanda, C. rufiventris, C. sexguttata, C. scutellaris, and C. tranquebarica. As other species, that share the range/habitat of the Five-Line Skink become available, I will try them, and see if she will accept them as prey. Maybe write it all up at the end of the year.

Saturday (7-5-03), DOR Copperhead.

Sunday (7-6-03), I am writing this early Sunday morning, so I have nothing of interest to report at this time. Maybe something will come up as the day progresses.

Joey Holmes