This Alligator is Norma, Norm's wife, giving a big yawn at Norm's pond.
Norm himself was basking 30 feet to the right. They guard the heron rookery.
#alligator #fieldherping #insituherps #littlestsimonsisland
Green Treefrogs
To orient you, they're sheltering in the handle of a broom leaning against the wall of a bird blind. It was in the upper 30s with 20 mph winds and they were cold!
Little St. Simons, GA 11.10.25
#greentreefrog #fieldherping #insituherps
Hard to believe something so small can grow into something so big.
#alligator #fieldherping #insituherps
Treefrog tubes!
Treefrogs shelter in PVC tubes on cold nights because they hold moisture. The frogs emerge to bask as temps rise in the morning. First a Green Treefrog, then a Squirrel Treefrog.
Little St. Simons, GA, 11.09.25
#treefrog #greentreefrog #squirreltreefrog #fieldherping #insituherps
Plain-bellied Watersnake
Those vertical bars on the lips are one characteristic that differentiates harmless common water snakes from venomous Cottonmouths.
Jackson County, IL 9.26.25
#plainbelliedwatersnake #watersnake #fieldherping #insituherps
Peek a boo!
Timber Rattlesnake looking out from his den, high in the bluff some 10 to 12 feet above the ground.
Jackson County, IL 2.26.25
#timberrattlesnake #fieldherping #insituherps
Two cooperative Northern Cottonmouths on the trail. Which one of these is the cell phone shot?
Jackson County, IL 9.26.25
#cottonmouth #fieldherping #insituherps
Portraits of two Eastern Copperheads: an adult and a neonate. They tend to raise their heads when approached, but don't open their mouths like closely related Cottonmouths do.
Jackson County, IL 9.26.25
#copperhead #fieldherping #insituherps
Neonate Eastern Copperhead
Both Copperheads and closely related Cottonmouths have neon-yellow tails when they are first born, which they wiggle to lure small frogs and lizards to within striking range. The bright yellow color fades as they grow.
#copperhead #fieldherping #insituherps
How not to be seen.
Plain-bellied Watersnake, Jackson County, IL 9.26.25
#plainbelliedwatersnake #fieldherping #insituherps
Here's a habitat shot of yesterday's Rough Greensnake.
Union County, IL, 9.25.25.
#roughgreensnake #fieldherping #insituherps
Rough Greensnake, Union County, IL 9.25.25
"Rough" because each scale has a longitudinal keel or ridge, unlike the Smooth Greensnakes found in Lake County, IL. Rough Greensnakes also are far more arboreal than Smooth Greensnakes.
#roughgreensnake #fieldherping #insituherps
Neonate Cottonmouth (left) and neonate Copperhead (right). Compared to adults, juvenile Cottonmouths are brightly colored and people sometimes confuse them for Copperheads. When you see them side by side the differences are dramatic.
Jackson County, IL 9.26.25
#fieldherping #insituherps
Snakes in unlikely places. Here's an Eastern Copperhead on a narrow ledge above a deep pool of water in a cave-like indent in a tall, vertical limestone bluff.
Jackson County, IL 9.26.25
#easterncopperhead #fieldherping #insituherps
In the first 10 minutes of our arrival in southern IL, we hiked up this large Timber Rattlesnake with a squirrel-sized lump mid-body. What a beauty! The rest of the weekend only got better. 9.25.25
#timberrattlesnake #fieldherping #insituherps
Did you have a nice weekend, Steve?
Why, yes. Yes I did.
Timber Rattlesnake #4, Jackson County, IL 9.26.25
#timberrattlesnake #fieldherping #insituherps
Turtles are great but frogs are pretty cool too.
American Bullfrogs can be invasive in some parts of the country but they are native here. They eat any prey they can fit into their mouths.
Cook and Lake County, IL
#americanbullfrog #fieldherping #insituherps
Walking up on a snake is more rewarding than finding it under a board/rock or crossing the road.
My favorite EDB of the trip was found while walking. It's not the best photo but that's how I found it.
#6 of 16, SE Georgia, 4.26.25.
#easterndiamondbackedrattlesnake #fieldherping #insituherps
That adrenaline surge when your target species is crossing the trail.
Eastern Diamond-backed Rattlesnake, SE Georgia, 4.26.25
#easterndiamondbackedrattlesnake #easterndiamondback #rattlesnake #fieldherping #insituherps
Flat-tailed Horned Lizard
A species of special concern in CA, it has declined mainly due to habitat loss and has the smallest range of any horned lizard.
Anza Borrego 6.5.25
#flattailedhornedlizard #hornedlizard #fieldherping #insituherps
Desert Iguana
Their scientific name, Dipsosaurus, means "thirsty lizard." This desert-dwelling herbivorous lizard likes it hot and stays active at body temps of 115 F (46C).
Borrego Springs, CA, 6.3.25
#desertiguana #fieldherping #insituherps
Banded Rock Lizard
These guys are really hard to spot on their granite boulders unless they move. Another lifer for me.
Anza Borrego, CA, 6.5.25
#bandedrocklizard #fieldherping #insituherps
Long-tailed Brush Lizard sleeping in a thorny bush for protection from would-be predators. This one was a lifer for me.
Borrego Springs, CA, 6.5.25
#longtailedbrushlizard #fieldherping #insituherps
He's not hungover, he's basking in the early morning sun to heat up.
Flat-tailed Horned Lizard, which has the smallest range of any horned lizard in the US, as found and left undisturbed. San Diego County, CA, 6.5.25
#flattailedhornedlizard #phrynosomamcallii #fieldherping #insituherps
Faye sitting out on a cool, drizzly afternoon East Texas. #Crotalus #timberrattlesnake #crotalushorridus #herpingtheglobe #herpetology #nature #naturephotography #wildlife #wildlifephotography #wildlifebiology #beauty #art #Texas #insituherps #explore #photooftheday #hike #hiketexas #conservation
A juvenile Red Diamond Rattlesnake coiled next to the road on a cool, very windy night.
Anza Borrego, CA, 6.4.25
#reddiamondrattlesnake #rattlesnake #fieldherping #insituherps
Me: "I'm so bored I'm photographing cacti!"
MB: "You're not bored any more."
I look down at my feet and see this.
Rosy Boa #3 of 8, in situ. Anza Borrego Desert State Park, CA 6.2.25
#rosyboa #fieldherping #insituherps
The squirrel hunter
Timber Rattlesnake in ambush in situ.
#Crotalus #timberrattlesnake #crotalushorridus #herpingtheglobe #herpetology #nature #naturephotography #wildlife #wildlifephotography #wildlifebiology #beauty #art #Texas #insituherps #explore #photooftheday #hike #hiketexas #conservation
