Every now and then I'm provided an unforgettable day in nature. As much as I'd like to keep every outing stored in some precious memory bank (I think they call those, brains?), many are reduced to photographs filed in my computer. 5 days after marrying my life partner, I had a day which would set the bar for as good a day in the field as I've ever had. Luckily, I was alongside my wife every step of the way. What's a honeymoon without a little herping? Especially in a region like the coastal plain of North Carolina.
As I might've stated in previous posts, herping the coastal plain is much different than herping the piedmont and mountains. The former involves less flipping (typically) and more roadcruising due to a lack of rocky habitat. Hence, Kate and I woke up early Thursday morning to drive around some sandy roads in an expansive forest. A huge storm swept through the day prior, so I suspected reptiles would be out looking to replenish their energy deficits. It didn't take long for nature to support this hypothesis. Just before entering the forest, on a road transecting the surrounding farmland, Katelynn spotted this tiny little Testudine making its way across, step by tiny step.
The next hour or so was relatively slow. We made a few wrong turns and ended up at a dead end. After righting the ship, we were back on the main road (which shall remain nameless). Shortly after, from the corner of my eye I seen a squiggly, green figure contrasting the bright white sand. It was a relatively new addition to my pattern recognition database, as just a few days prior I'd seen my first Rough Green Snake (Opheodrys aestivus) stretched out on the same road. They're extremely slender creatures, and I can't help but think I may have bypassed some on previous trips to the south. Luckily, this handsome fellow was spotted and helped across.
As nice as it was to have seen a Rough Green and a juvenile Eastern Box Turtle, the day became infinitely more interesting at around 11:00AM. We were still slowly making our way down the same road, when to my right, I spot a black s-shaped figure sitting within a roadside puddle. It contrasted so well with the seemingly white water, just as its white pattern did on its pitch black body. Black snake, with thin white stripes. Almost immediately I knew we'd found exactly what we were looking for. I present, for the first time on the Outside Blog, the Eastern King Snake - Lampropeltis getula:
This spectacular non-venomous Colubrid is a species I'd been longing to see. I might've even tweeted earlier this year that atop my list of desirable lifers was Lampropeltis getula. It's contrasting colors and respectable dietary habits make it an awesome species to behold. As its name suggests, it feeds on other serpents, venomous species included. In addition to snakes it feeds on turtle eggs and other small prey as well. While baby turtles and snakes represent two of my absolute favorite things, I can't help but marvel at a species that helps recycle their matter back into the environment. Even after seeing the Eastern King for the first time, the day was yet to peak. At around 11:30, on my way out of the park, I encountered an animal just a little more spectacular.
I came to an intersection I'd driven through a few times previously, and being the good citizen that I am, I looked both ways before making my turn. With intentions to turn right, I looked left, then right, then aggressively left. The reason for damn near breaking my neck was a very large snake, basking on the edge of the road. I crept slowly towards it with my car until I realized it was beginning to react to my encroachment. Just before acknowledging ITS acknowledgment, I recognized the species. One that I seen just once before, about 30 minutes prior. But this one was so much bigger, at least twice the size of the other and even more beautifully patterned. Hence, in a scurry of urgency I parked the vehicle and sprinted down the road towards it, hoping with every bone in my body I wouldn't miss a chance to capture this reptile. But, as nature can be utterly cruel, the snake scurried deep into the brush. The vegetation was so thick I'd be both crazy and irresponsible to jump into it. I'll prove to be be both crazy and irresponsible in just a minute. I walked back to the car, visibly defeated and frowning to my wife who mirrored my facial expression. Normally I'd let an instance like this go and move on about my day. However, I had the idea that maybe the snake had just eaten and would have to return to shortly to bask again. Why else would a kingsnake be out and about so late in the morning? I drove down the road a bit to buy maybe 8 minutes or so before making a U-turn. I crept slowly back to the spot I last seen the snake, got out of the car and cautiously approached the brush. Amidst the vegetation, low and behold, was the black and white pattern unmistakable in its beauty. The snake was longer than I anticipated, and I couldn't quite tell where the head was. Understanding that my previous attempts of running after it failed, I thought of a new strategy: channel my inner serval and pounce. So I did, and as a result, I got to capture the most magnificent snake I've seen to date. Another Eastern King, second of my life but one I'll remember likely for the rest of my time here:
I'd be a liar if I said the day got better from there, which I seemed to have stated once or twice in this post. However, the day wasn't over quite yet. Collateral species accrued as we left the forest. Spotted from quite a distance away were two large turtles, about 20 yards apart from each other but in plain sight sitting in the middle of the road. Just by their size and shape I new they had to be one of the larger pond turtle species. Upon closer examination, I identified both to be Yellow-bellied Sliders - Trachemys scripta scripta. While this species isn't particularly difficult to find, they're extremely tough to get your hands on outside of the nesting season. I was pleased to take a picture with both and help them get on their way.
The final find of this spectacular outing occurred just feet from the busy highway which borders the forest. I thought for sure the "Herp Gods" placed plenty in front of us that morning and that our luck had run out. But, for good measure, stretched out in front of our approaching vehicle was a long, non-venomous colubrid called the Rat Snake. It was clearly an integrate between the Eastern Rat and Yellow Rat Snake, but the conundrum that is the Rat snake complex is a headache. Here's a few pictures of the serpent:
And just like that, the day concluded. It seemed as though so many interactions were crammed into only 3 or 4 hours. The only comparable day I could think of would be an outing a few years back in South Carolina where it seemed to be raining Mud Turtles. We seen several, I think 16 in total on the road that day. But I've no adventure in my memory quite like this one. Two Eastern Kings, a Rough Green Snake, a juvenile Eastern Box Turtle, two Yellow-Bellied Sliders in hand, and an integrated Rat Snake isn't too shabby. I'm afraid this blog may have peaked with this post and we're only halfway through the year. I'll do my best to find more cool things and share them with you folks. Thanks for reading folks!
Until next time, there's a world we can visit.
