Alyrium is That Damn Good At Wildlife Photography (No 56k)

[Alyrium Denryle]

Here we have a collection of cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorous) photos. No zoom lens, often taken from within strike range.



This particular individual was pregnant. Yes pregnant, they give live birth.



Found this cool customer hiding behind a cyprus knee waiting for frogs to come hopping along.



This little guy was found under a log



This was found in a root overhang and when he was yanked out, immediately started hunting rather than giving us a care in the world.



He however was not at all pleased to see us when initially found





Caught this one in a dip net, seen in the photo. Also not pleased to see us.





Here is off the net.



Here is is hunting before he was netted.

Here are some copperheads (Agkistrodon contortix)



Caught on a sidewalk heading away from a flooded forest. She was trying to sink a fang into my friend's hand.



Little guy on sidewalk in a park



Found this little baby in the grass at the same park.



Here is with no flash, curious about the camera.



Here we have a big female Slider (Trachemys scripta) laying her eggs





Grey treefrogs (Hyla versicolor) in amplexus on a road after it rained.





I tracked this little Hyla squirella by call.



Here he is on my hand



Me with a bullfrog



Here is a little make Acris crepitans trying to get some sweet lovin







Here is the object of his lust



And because I can, my treefrog tank at home



One of my Hyla cinerea



Another view of my tank.



And here is Chuckles, the Hyla versicolor that calls whenever there is a loud noise in the house.

[Anguirus]

Very cool shots!

[Dave]

Indeed, very good pictures!

Was the flash very disruptive? (Did it spook the animals much?)

[Xess]

Great pictures. The copperheads were my favorite, they're adorable.

[Alyrium Denryle]

Indeed, very good pictures!

Was the flash very disruptive? (Did it spook the animals much?)

Not at all. They did not even seem to notice the headlamps. They just kept on doing their thing

[Zixinus]

Not at all. They did not even seem to notice the headlamps. They just kept on doing their thing

REally? Why so? Are their eyes so weak or are they somehow adjusted to bright lights at night or something?

[Alyrium Denryle]

Not at all. They did not even seem to notice the headlamps. They just kept on doing their thing

REally? Why so? Are their eyes so weak or are they somehow adjusted to bright lights at night or something?

The eyes are perfectly good, they just dont give a shit. No idea why. Of course the pit vipers are using Thermovision anyway so I dont think the visible light matters at that point.

[Shroom Man 777]

How do you take pictures of snakes so up close? Are you not afraid of getting your face bitten?

[Zixinus]

How do you take pictures of snakes so up close? Are you not afraid of getting your face bitten?

Take a close look: he is usually makes a photograph of a snake when its held or from a respectable distance (plus, zoom is your friend).

[Shroom Man 777]

No zoom lens, often taken from within strike range.

[Alyrium Denryle]

How do you take pictures of snakes so up close? Are you not afraid of getting your face bitten?

Take a close look: he is usually makes a photograph of a snake when its held or from a respectable distance (plus, zoom is your friend).

Nope. Some are held, most are well within strike range. The lens is such that what you see is closer than it appears. Most of those snakes, particularly the cottonmouths, easily could have injected my fingers with a nasty flesh-eating-clot-and-refuse-to-clot-in-random-places-so-you-have-infarctions-and-bleed-from-orifices venom.

I just know how to read the snake and back off when it looks like they are thinking about biting me.

[Ziggy Stardust]

Out of curiosity, where do you do your field work? My mother does research on frogs (mostly bullfrogs and Xenopus, but she will go after anything really), and is always looking for new places to go get some data.

I just know how to read the snake and back off when it looks like they are thinking about biting me.

I, unfortunately, have not spent as much time around snakes as I would like. One thing I have begun to notice, though, is that they have a very distinctive musky odor. A friend of mine who grew up on a farm down in South Carolina says that, having grown up around them, he can smell a snake before he sees it. I was just wondering whether this is something you've experienced or not (or if he is just pulling my leg).

[Alyrium Denryle]

Out of curiosity, where do you do your field work? My mother does research on frogs (mostly bullfrogs and Xenopus, but she will go after anything really), and is always looking for new places to go get some data.

I just know how to read the snake and back off when it looks like they are thinking about biting me.

I, unfortunately, have not spent as much time around snakes as I would like. One thing I have begun to notice, though, is that they have a very distinctive musky odor. A friend of mine who grew up on a farm down in South Carolina says that, having grown up around them, he can smell a snake before he sees it. I was just wondering whether this is something you've experienced or not (or if he is just pulling my leg).

Angelina CO Texas. Who is your mother? I may be familiar with her research. I do my actual work with bullfrogs. This stuff was just for fun.

It depends on if the snake is annoyed or not. Sometimes if you piss them off just by being there they will musk. The odor comes from a fluid secreted by a gland in their cloaca, so they expel it when irritated.

[Broomstick]

Great pictures. I've always found snakes fascinating and lovely - I know, atypical for a girl but then that's me in several respects - but I keep my distance from the poisonous ones because I know I don't know enough to get close up to them safely. Non-poisonous I love to handle, their skins have that silky texture over solid muscle, it's really neat. (Not that I go out and snag wild animals for a lark - I stick mainly to pet snakes that are used to humans, though with my mother-in-law I'll remove wild (non-poisonous) snakes from her property because her alternative is to shoot them. She hates snakes.)

Wouldn't mind seeing more turtle pictures - last few years I've become more interested in them, but most stuff out there seems geared towards kids keeping pets. I don't want a pet turtle, I want to know more about wild turtles.

[PhilosopherOfSorts]

unfortunately, have not spent as much time around snakes as I would like. One thing I have begun to notice, though, is that they have a very distinctive musky odor. A friend of mine who grew up on a farm down in South Carolina says that, having grown up around them, he can smell a snake before he sees it. I was just wondering whether this is something you've experienced or not (or if he is just pulling my leg).

Not sure about other snakes, but copperheads smell like cucumbers. At least that's what I was taught as a kid, the better to avoid them when camping.

[Broomstick]

All snakes have some sort of musky odor to me, at least all that I've gotten close enough to smell. I don't find it particularly unpleasant, just different. Some species seem to have a stronger odor than others (I'm looking at you, Mr. Musk Snake) but they all have it to one degree or another.

Most noticeable, of course, in confined spaces.

[Alyrium Denryle]

unfortunately, have not spent as much time around snakes as I would like. One thing I have begun to notice, though, is that they have a very distinctive musky odor. A friend of mine who grew up on a farm down in South Carolina says that, having grown up around them, he can smell a snake before he sees it. I was just wondering whether this is something you've experienced or not (or if he is just pulling my leg).

Not sure about other snakes, but copperheads smell like cucumbers. At least that's what I was taught as a kid, the better to avoid them when camping.

Maybe their musk... but not generally. The smell of cucumbers does not herald their arrival.

[PhilosopherOfSorts]

Hmm, minus one for Old Hillbilly Wisdom, I guess. I wonder how many backwoods cucumber patches I've given wide, stomping berths to over the years.

[Ziggy Stardust]

Angelina CO Texas. Who is your mother? I may be familiar with her research. I do my actual work with bullfrogs. This stuff was just for fun.

Andrea Simmons.

[Alyrium Denryle]

Angelina CO Texas. Who is your mother? I may be familiar with her research. I do my actual work with bullfrogs. This stuff was just for fun.

Andrea Simmons.

Cool! I have read a couple of her papers.