Finally, I was able to capture a Herp in the field! When we arrived at our first site, I grabbed a dip-net and hit the mud. At one site, i just threw the net into a puddle and scooped out some mud. Upon observation, I noticed some movement in the net, and was surprised to find a Banded Water snake (Nerodia fasciata)! It was very small, no more than about 10 inches in length, and our TA Keith thought that it must have been around a year old. We were able to identify it by its underside; it showed the characteristic large square dark spots. It was covered in mud, but after taken out, we were able to see it's cross-bands as well. Because it was so young, we were unable to determine its sex. It was no surprise that I found it in a stagnant pool, as all Nerodia live in or around freshwater and salt marsh habitats. I was a bit surprised to find it because i was just randomly dip-netting. And to top it all off, I got musked.
Vince Cellini (SC)
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