To Rattle Or Not To Rattle

Snakes rattle their tails as a warning, but not all snakes exhibiting this behavior are rattlesnakes.

Here an Eastern Cottonmouth rattles its tail to warn of its presence and desire to be left alone.

Rattlesnakes have evolved an amplification method for their tail twitching. Some dry skin remains at the end of their tail each time they shed skin, which allows for a rattle louder than a tail simply moving in dry leaves. Tail twitching is a method of announcing a snake's presence and the rattle is a highly effective design. However, rattling the tail is generally an action of last resort, so many snakes will not rattle even if a human is close.

There are stories suggesting that rattlesnakes are evolving back to quieter snakes without rattles, because non-rattling snakes go undetected and survive. However, there are not any studies that show snakes are rattling less frequently than in the past. Snakes obviously do not want to reveal their location to prey they are trying to eat and unnecessarily revealing their location to non-prey animals may result in death or injury (see the Internet for numerous images of snakes shot or chopped before they could do any "harm"). Remaining motionless and allowing camouflage to work likely allows  snakes to go unnoticed and unharmed. Conversely, if a snake feels that death or injury is imminent, rattling the tail may cause the source of potential danger to move away. It always works with me.

Besides the encounter shown in the video above, other Eastern Cottonmouth snakes have alerted me to their presence when they felt I was too close. While patrolling in the swamp, I saw snake tracks in the mud, but could not find the snake. I did not want to step any farther without knowing exactly what was sharing my close surroundings. The polite cottonmouth, a few feet to my right, rattled its tail against the dead log atop which it rested to let me know its location and that it preferred to be left alone. I obliged and safely moved away. It was possessive of space, but not aggressive.

Eastern Cottonmouth - Mark Musselman

After the great rain of October 2015, I was patrolling the edge of the swamp near the nature center for signs of wild pigs. I hoped that the high water would have them bunched at the edge of the swamp and vulnerable to elimination. I looked up long enough to identify a vehicle moving down the driveway, which was exactly the amount of time needed to step squarely on the back of a Timber Rattlesnake. Sensing the textural difference from my previous thousands of steps, I lifted my foot. The snake moved off a safe distance, coiled and then rattled its disapproval. I took an image, thanked it for its subdued reaction to my "attack" and moved safely away.

Timber Rattlesnake - Mark Musselman

Though the event listed below has become history, we do offer speaker presentations, including one on our friends the snakes. We can all benefit from a better understanding of these reptiles.

Swimming in the Swamp

We are swimming, figuratively not literally, in the swamp.  Humidity...check local listings.  Although we were casually strolling around the boardwalk at the Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest, it felt more like the 3000 meter freestyle.  Based on the wildlife we did not see, it appears that most of the animals are not any more eager to be out in the soup.

During the majority of our walk, we did not see a single reptile and saw or heard few birds.  However, as we approached the 1000-year-old cypress near #160, we spied a Timber Rattlesnake that visitors have been reporting for over a week.  We have seen several images of the snake, but nobody was able to remember quite where they had seen and photographed the snake.  Based on the images we have seen, it seems that the snake has not changed position for over a week!  That has got to be tough on the neck.

Timber Rattlesnake - Mark Musselman

Timber Rattlesnake - Mark Musselman

As we were returning across the upland area of the boardwalk (#106-#114), we spotted a few birds foraging together.  There was a noisy cast of Carolina Chickadees along with a Tufted Titmouse or two and a female Northern Cardinal foraging in a loose flock.  Nothing worth holding up lunch, but we have learned to stop, wait, and be surprised by the birds that are quietly mingling with the commoners.  We were not disappointed (see the complete list below) as first a pair of Prothonotary Warblers appeared on the boardwalk hand rail and hopped toward us.  They were followed by two Yellow-throated Vireos foraging quietly near a pair of White-eyed Vireos and a Northern Parula.  A Black-and-white Warbler worked its way around a tree trunk with only the sound scratching on bark giving away its location.  A male Hooded Warbler was the only bird to take any notice of us, but quickly directed his attention to chasing off the Prothonotary Warblers which had increased to a group of three males and a female (all unbanded).  A Mississippi Kite perched high and out of view called out and was immediately silenced by a raucous pair of Pileated Woodpeckers.  Finally, a Worm-eating Warbler worked its way through the thick vegetation checking curled, dried leaves and tangled vines for a meal.  Then, like an afternoon thunderstorms blowing quickly thorough, we were once again alone.

Francis Beidler Forest Audubon Center & Sanctuary, Dorchester, US-SC
Jul 30, 2012 9:45 AM - 12:30 PM
Protocol: Traveling
1.75 mile(s)
Comments:    Cloudy, humid, 70Fs
26 species

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)  1
Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea)  1
White Ibis (Eudocimus albus)  8
Mississippi Kite (Ictinia mississippiensis)  2
Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)  1
Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura)  1
Barred Owl (Strix varia)  3
Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus)  10
Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)  2
Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus)  6
Acadian Flycatcher (Empidonax virescens)  1
Great Crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus)  4
White-eyed Vireo (Vireo griseus)  3
Yellow-throated Vireo (Vireo flavifrons)  2
Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus)  1
American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos)  9
Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis)  16
Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor)  11
Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus)  8
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher (Polioptila caerulea)  7
Worm-eating Warbler (Helmitheros vermivorum)  1
Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia)  1
Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea)  4
Hooded Warbler (Setophaga citrina)  2
Northern Parula (Setophaga americana)  2
Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)  1

In the News

The winter season is the slowest of seasons in the swamp and at the Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest.  Some birds have migrated away, reptiles become inactive, and school groups are not interested in being out in the colder weather.  However, just because thinks have slowed down one should not get the idea that news is not happening.

The Post and Courier newspaper reported that Diamondback Rattlesnakes are being relocated instead of killed to preserve the species.  "The diamondback is a keystone species in the health of the longleaf savannah ecosystem, the pines that are the heart of the Lowcountry...and moving them to larger tracts of pinelands might be the best bet for conserving what is maybe the most hated native Lowcountry species -- a 6-foot-long, muscled arm-thick, venomous viper that people have stomped, chopped, shot and even dynamited for generations when they crossed paths."

We have several tracts of Longleaf Pine and plan to restore additional tracts as the land becomes available. We have made some cursory searches for Diamondback Rattlesnakes, but we have yet to detect any on Beidler Forest property.

The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources conducts a wading bird program.  From their site:  Researchers have placed metal bands, colored bands with engraved numbers and/or letters, wing tags, radio transmitters, and satellite transmitters on a small number of wading birds. We are interested in any sightings of marked birds. This information helps us to learn about the movement patterns and life spans of wading birds. More information about the purpose of banding birds can be found at the Bird Banding Lab website.

If you see a live bird with an engraved color band, we would appreciate it if you could attempt to read the numbers/letters on the band. Please also record the species of the bird, the color of the band, the color of the letters, which leg that band was attached to, and the location of the bird and send the information to wadingbirds@dnr.sc.gov. Photographs of the bird and the band are also very helpful.

If you find a dead bird of any species wearing a metal band, please report the band number to the Bird Banding Lab through their website or by calling 1-800-327-BAND (2263).

The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources also issued a news release regarding the value of snags.  The Post and Courier newspaper ran a brief article on the subject and used one of our images.

Using our image was appropriate as we have an ample of supply of snag in the old-growth swamp...

and as this Pileated Woodpecker shows, there is a bounty of food in the dead wood!

Using a Wasp to Catch a Beetle: The Quest to Save Ash Trees - The non-native Emerald Ash Borer arrived on a boat from Asia and is eating its way through millions of ash trees.  We have plenty of ash trees at Beidler Forest, so we don't relish the thought of these beetles making their way here.  The wasp technique described in the article was not used here when researchers checked for the Emerald Ash Borer two years ago.  Instead, traps with the attracting scent of a female were hung from trees.  Note: moving firewood to other areas is one way for these and other insects can reach and infest areas faster than they could naturally expand their range.

Images by Mark Musselman

Funky and Fearsome!

The beauty of working at the Audubon Center at Francis Beidler Forest is that no two days are the same. Today, even with two summer camp sessions under our belts, we discovered some funky and fearsome residents.

Here are a few images from the last two days:

Along the boardwalk, a crayfish threatened to take on 19 humans ranging in age from 5 1/2 to 45.

A pair of Barred Owl (Strix varia) siblings preened each other.

A Red-femured Spotted Orbweaver (Neoscona domiciliorum) waited for an insect to drop by for a meal.

A species of Robber Fly dines on a fellow insect at the edge of the powerline during our insect studies.

A blue wasp with red antennae hovered near the edge of the powerline during our insect studies.

A species of writing spider rested on a small web between the blades of grass in the powerline right-of-way.

A large Timber Rattlesnake remained in its ambush position along the low boardwalk as both groups of summer campers took pictures and made sketches on their maps! Can you see it?

A very old Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina) that appears to be blind in the left eye.

Images by Mark Musselman