Wintering Black-crowned Night Heron - Bartow County

12/12/2011 - I observed a juvenile BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON (Nycticorax nycticorax) while birding some Bartow County property last December. 


I was drawn to a grove of Water Oaks by the constant scolding of about 20-30 passerines. I figured a hawk or owl may be the culprit, but was surprised to find the heron instead! This is the first time I have observed this species during the winter in this part of the state. I can't recall other reports of wintering Black-crowned Night Heron in the mountain region, but there may be a
few. 

The Annotated Checklist of GA mentions one record from Whitfield County on February 19, 1962 
by Ann Hamilton. A nice surprise to an otherwise hum-drum day of birding.

Oak Hairstreak - Bartow County

5/11/2011 - The Oak Hairstreak (Satyrium favonius) pictured above was a nice bonus while conducting a bird survey in Bartow County. There are few records throughout the state. This is only the second individual I have observed personally. Ironically, my lifer was exactly one year earlier on May 11, 2010. This species appears to have a short flight period in GA, and this seems to be reflected in observation dates from other butterfly enthusiasts from around the state. LOOK HERE. Below is a photo of my 2010 Oak Hairstreak from Murray County.

Etowah Heelsplitter

6/14/2012 - I found a population of Etowah Heelsplitter (Lasmigona etowaensis) in a shallow tributary in southern Murray County. This species usually occurs in small spring-fed creeks in the Upper Coosa. It is one of the few native Georgia freshwater mussels that has not suffered the ill fate as many others. Several species are thought to be extinct, and many others have had a drastic decline over the last century. In contrast, the Etowah Heelsplitter is not rare, but appears to be abundant in suitable habitat. I found seven in a matter of minutes along a 50' stretch of stream. This is a very small trib that flows into Beamer Creek, which converges with Polecat Creek, and empties into the Conasauga River. Little is known about the life history of this species, but it is suspected to be similar to others of this genus. I photographed each specimen then carefully returned them to the stream-bed. 

 

Midland Watersnake, the Copperhead mimic?

6/13/2012 - At first glance, this snake appears to have characteristics of the venomous Copperhead (Agkistroden contortrix), but upon closer inspection one can clearly see it is indeed the Midland Watersnake (Nerodia sipedon pleuralis). The overall pattern and the head color is misleading to the intruder, not to mention the shape of the head that is flattened to give the arrowhead appearance, similar to that of a pit viper. Notice the pupil is round and not vertical. This is a dead giveaway that this snake is not venomous. See the photo of the Copperhead, notice the vertical pupil.

 Further study of the pattern reveals that these bands are broken on the rear portion of the body, and the solid bands of the front portion are not in the classic Copperhead "hourglass" shape. The habitat where I found this individual was at least one hundred feet from a small tributary in a pine forest. At first glance, I thought "Copperhead." Unfortunately, many of these snakes are killed by humans believing it is venomous. Below is a photo of a Copperhead for comparison.

The Midland Watersnake is a common inhabitant of aquatic habitats throughout north Georgia, as well as the Piedmont and western Coastal Plain.

Eastern Newt - red eft

6-12-2012 - This is an Eastern Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens) that I found along a Holly Creek tributary in Murray County. This individual is in the eft stage, which is the juvenile terrestrial stage of a newt.

For more information about this species,
GO HERE