Gene's notes

On February 13, I began hearing Upland Chorus Frogs singing in earnest.

On February 24, Leopard Frogs began their chuckling soundtrack.

On Friday morning (February 27), I left about 5 inches of snow at home and drove to Ridgeland for the meeting of SE PARC. We had a day and a half of meetings, two evenings of socializing, and a day of herping in the pine flatwoods. It was great. I especially enjoyed meeting many new friends and colleagues.

As an experiment, I have created a simulated night road cruise for herps. Try it out and let me know if you think it would be interesting to young people. I'm trying to stick to simple html programming. The slidebar control is a little too gross. If anyone can suggest a solution, please let me know. (I have now divided the hunt into 7 one-mile segments. This improves the sensitivity. Also, I have added 8 more animals.)

Things are warming up herp-wise. March should be a good month.

Gene Ott

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Joey's notes

Not much to say. Winter is winter. The weather has had us subdued AND delighted. Some cold stuff and some warmer days.

(020-4-04), Anoles were seen basking on campus. This is the case on many of the warmer winter days.

(02-13-04), I hear Upland Chorus Frogs calling on campus. This is a trend that will continue for the rest of the month on the warmer days.

(02-19-04), A warm day! Fine for shorts and t-shirt. I find a Chorus frog and some egg masses in Newberry county and catch a Comma Butterfly.

(02-21-04), I walked by the pond a bit. Tons of Eastern Painted Turtles were basking, various lizards were out, Upland Chorus Frogs were calling, and under some debris I even found a baby Eastern Narrowmouth Toad.

(02-24-04), I trade vehicles. No more blue Dodge truck. I now drive a Jeep Cherokee. Now I have room for the whole family and my gear does not have to get wet when it rains.

(02-26-04), It is cold and snow begins to fall early in the morning. By evening we have about 8-9 inches of snow in my yard.

(02-27&28-04), I leave the frozen upstate and travel away from the snow/ice to Ridgeland, SC (Jasper County) to attend a PARC (PARC is Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation) meeting being held there. About 90 people attended, the meetings/sessions were good, the socializing was good, and it was great to see everyone. I left the meeting, business to see about at home, and returned to the snow and ice of the upstate.

I now look forward to the wonders that spring holds. I hope for warm sunny days, so I can prowl the state in search of herptiles, beetles, and dragonflies. I have several solid goals for 2004:

• Loose weight.
• Get back into the swing of writing my weekly reports (on time)
• Catch a snake (any species) in Edgefield, Barnwell, Lee, Dillon, and Darlington Counties.
• Ramble the lowcountry to look for Rainbow Snakes, Southern Hognose Snakes, and rare Tiger Beetles (Cicindela hirticollis, C. striga, and C. togata).
• Ramble the mountains to look for Timber Rattlesnakes, Eastern Milk Snakes and rare Tiger Beetles (C. patruela, C. purpurea, and C. splendida).

Of course I will take about any chance I can get to look around anywhere I can. I may manage to score a few new county records, maybe do a little study project with treefrogs, and would like to start saving a few herps in formalin/alcohol from time to time (hate to waste a good road-kill).

Still so much to be done.

Joey Holmes