Since 2005 we have been tracking and monitoring diamondback terrapins in the Florida panhandle. For those of you who are not familiar with the animal, it is a turtle in the family Emydidae. Emydid turtles include what we call “pond turtles” and also include the box turtles. Terrapins differ from the others in that (a) their skin is much lighter, almost white, and (b) they like salt water – more accurately, they like brackish water.
Diamondback terrapin (photo: Molly O’Connor)
The animals range from Massachusetts to Texas and within this there are seven subspecies. Five of these live in Florida, and three only live in Florida. In the Florida panhandle we have two subspecies: the Ornate terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin macrospilota) and the Mississippi terrapin (M.t. pileata). It is believed the that the Mississippi terrapin only exist in Florida within Pensacola Bay – more on that in a moment.
Image provided by FWC
There are literally no peer reviewed publications on terrapins from the Florida panhandle… none. And this was how the Panhandle Terrapin Project began. The first objective for the project was to determine if terrapins even existed here. We began surveying for evidence of terrapins in 2005 using students from Washington High School in Pensacola. The project quickly fell to myself and my wife due to the best time to do terrapin surveys was May and June. And the worst time to work with high school students was May and June. Between 2005 and 2012 we were able to verify at least one terrapin record in each of the panhandle counties. Yes… terrapins exist in the Florida panhandle.
The second objective was to assess their population status. To do this we used what I call the Mann-Method. Tom Mann, Mississippi Department of Wildlife, had developed a method of using nesting surveys to estimate relative abundance of terrapins within a population. Terrapins tend to have strong site fidelity – they are “home bodies” – and do not move from marsh to marsh. If you can find their marsh, you can find their nesting beaches. If you can find their nesting beaches you can use the Mann-Method to assess their relative abundance.
Tracks of a diamondback terrapin.
Photo: Terry Taylor
There are a couple of assumptions with the Mann-Method. (1) You are assuming every female in the population nest every year – we are not sure that is true. (2) You are assuming that each female will lay more than one clutch of eggs each season – we do believe this is true. (3) You are assuming that each female will not lay more than one clutch in a 16-day period – we are not sure this is true. (4) You know where all of the nesting beaches are – we are not sure we do. (5) The sex ratio of male to female is 1:1 – we are sure that is not the case. One study suggested that in the panhandle the ratio may be 1:3 in favor of males, another suggested 1:5 in favor of males.
Based off this model, and its assumptions, during a 16-day period of the nesting season, each track/nest would be an individual female. Using 1:1, 1:3, and 1:5 as your sex ratio you can get an estimate of relative abundance.
Another method for estimating relative abundance is counting the number of heads in a 30-minute period. It is understood that if I see different heads during periods of the survey, I may be seeing the same head, but the argument is that if I typically see 10-15 heads during a 30-minute and over time that becomes 15-20, or 20-25, the relative abundance of terrapins is increasing – and visa versa.
A terrapin swimming near but not entering a modified crab trap.
Photo: Molly O’Connor
And we now have a third and fourth objective. A third objective is to capture animals to place tags on them. Doing this can give us a better idea of how these terrapins are using the habitats in the panhandle, how far they may travel and how they are getting there. The fourth objective is to obtain tissue samples for genetic analysis. The purpose of this is to determine whether the populations in Pensacola Bay are Mississippi terrapins, Ornate terrapins, or hybrids of the two.
Since 2015 this work is now being conducted by trained volunteer citizen scientists – people like you – and we do the trainings in March if interested.
So… how did things go in 2022?
In 2022 we trained 47 volunteers to be survey beaches. 25 (53%) participated in at least one survey.
173 surveys were conducted between April 2 and July 31 at 14 nesting beaches between Escambia and Bay counties. Encounters with terrapins, or terrapin sign, occurred during 43 of the 173 surveys (25%) and three terrapins were captured for tissue and tagging.
Escambia County
Number of Surveys
Dates
Number of Surveys / Day
29
Apr 3 – Jul 31
0.2
Number of Encounters
Frequency of Encounters
Heads / 30-minutes
Estimated Relative Abundance
4
.18
No surveys conducted
4-12
Santa Rosa County
Number of Surveys
Dates
Number of Surveys / Day
58
Apr 4 – Jul 5
0.6
Number of Encounters
Frequency of Encounters
Heads / 30-minutes
Estimated Relative Abundance
15
.26
N=2, 0-49, X = 24
30-90
Okaloosa County
Number of Surveys
Dates
Number of Surveys / Day
43
Apr 18 – Jul 15
0.5
Number of Encounters
Frequency of Encounters
Heads / 30-minutes
Estimated Relative Abundance
25
.58
N=17, 0-32, X = 11
30-90
No surveys were conducted in Walton County
Bay County
Number of Surveys
Dates
Number of Surveys / Day
43
Apr 2 – Jun 30
0.5
Number of Encounters
Frequency of Encounters
Heads / 30-minutes
Estimated Relative Abundance
0
.00
No surveys conducted
0
Summary of 2022 Terrapin Season
Surveys of nesting beaches occurred in four of the five counties in the western panhandle.
Terrapins were encountered in each of these cand captured in two of them.
The relative abundance ranged between 0 (Bay County) to between 30-90 individuals (Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties) and was about 64-192 animals for the entire western panhandle (depending on the sex ratio you use).
We are sure that we have not found all of the nesting beaches in this region and will continue to look for more.
We are awaiting results from the tissue sampling to determine whether we have a distinct population of Mississippi terrapins in Pensacola Bay, but more samples will be needed.
We need to place satellite tags on some females to get a better idea of how they travel through the system.
And our relative abundance numbers suggest that populations in the Florida panhandle are relatively small compared to others within the terrapin range.
More needs to be done and we will continue to survey each spring. If you are interested in becoming a member of the Panhandle Terrapin Project, contact me (Rick O’Connor) at roc1@ufl.edu.
October is the premier wildflower month in the Panhandle. Nighttime temperatures drop, days shorten, pollinators emerge, and many native plants explode into flower. Of all the native fall-flowering Panhandle wildflowers, maybe the most striking is currently in full bloom, the Mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum)!
Blue Mistflower. Photo courtesy of Bill Booth / Natural Encounters.
Mistflower is a low growing, spreading native (1-2’ in height) found in sunny, moist areas of meadows and near rivers, ponds, and creeks throughout much of the United States from New York to Florida and even west as far as Texas and Nebraska. This common native wildflower is conspicuously one of the few native plants in our area that has blue flowers, making Mistflower easy to spot in a sea of yellow, orange, purple, pink, and white wildflowers. The flowers appear as little puffs of purply-blue due to the lack of ray florets (think of the outer yellow “petals” of sunflowers), possessing only disk florets (think of the inner part of sunflower heads) with long blue, fuzzy-appearing stamens. Mistflower is attractive to more than just wildflower watchers as well, it’s a magnet for nectar-seeking butterflies such as the Eastern Swallowtails, Great Purple and Juniper Hairstreaks, and others.
Great Purple Hairstreak butterfly on Mistflower. Photo credit Bill Boothe / Natural Encounters.
As lovely as Mistflower is in the wild, it’s probably best left for folks enjoy there, especially those who prefer an orderly yard. Mistflower will indeed grow great in moist areas of pollinator gardens and landscapes, requiring only ample sunlight and rainfall, but it is very aggressive. Its spreading nature via its rhizomatous root system and prolific seed production often lead to it becoming a weedy nuisance in more manicured landscapes. But, if chaos and fall bursts of blue erupting at random throughout your garden don’t bother you, by all means, seek out Mistflower for purchase through seed catalogs and local native nurseries. For more information on Mistflower and other fall-blooming native wildflowers, contact us at the UF/IFAS Calhoun County Extension office! Happy Gardening.
¿Está interesado en hacer algo que beneficie a su comunidad marina local? ¡Disfruta de días al sol, como un “Scallop Sitter” (cuidador de las vieiras)!
“Scallop Sitters” (cuidador de vieiras) es uno de nuestros programas de voluntariado cooperativo con Pesca y Vida Silvestre de Florida (FWC, por sus siglas en inglés). Históricamente, las poblaciones de vieiras de la bahía eran muy numerosas y podían sustentar las pesquerías en muchas bahías del norte de Florida, incluidas la bahía de San Andrés, la bahía de San Juan y el Puerto de los Caimanes (Condado de Franklin). Años consecutivos de malas condiciones ambientales, pérdida de hábitat y “mala suerte” en general resultaron en una escasa producción anual y provocaron el cierre de la pesquería de vieiras. La vieira de la bahía es una especie de corta vida que pasa de ser una cría a adultos que desovan y muere en un año aproximadamente. Las poblaciones de vieiras pueden recuperarse rápidamente cuando las condiciones de crecimiento son buenas y pueden disminuir drásticamente cuando las condiciones de crecimiento son malas.
En 2011 se presentó la oportunidad de poner en marcha la restauración de las vieiras de la bahía del norte de Florida. Con la financiación del derrame de petróleo de Deepwater Horizon, se propuso un programa de restauración de vieiras en varios condados, que finalmente se estableció en 2016. Los científicos de Pesca y Vida Silvestre de Florida (FWC, por sus siglas en inglés) utilizan vieiras criadas en criaderos, obtenidos a partir de progenitores o reproductores de las bahías locales, para cultivarlas en masa y aumentar el número de adultos reproductores cerca del hábitat crítico de las praderas marinas.
La Pesca y Vida Silvestre de Florida (FWC, por sus siglas en inglés) también creó otro programa en el que los voluntarios pueden ayudar con la restauración llamado “Scallop Sitters” en 2018 e invitó a UF/IFAS Extension a ayudar a dirigir la parte de voluntarios del programa en 2019, lo que llevó a esfuerzos específicos en los condados del Golfo y la Bahía.
Para ayudar a las vieiras, los “Scallop Sitters” trabajan con UF/IFAS Extension, Florida Sea Grant y los científicos de restauración de la Pesca y Vida Silvestre de Florida (FWC, por sus siglas en inglés) limpiando las vieiras y comprobando la salinidad una vez al mes desde junio hasta enero. Foto de Tyler Jones, UF/IFAS Extension y Florida Sea Grant.
Después del hiato de 2020 debido a COVID-19, el programa presumió de casi 100 voluntarios para la campaña de 2021. UF/IFAS Extension se asocia de nuevo con Pesca y Vida Silvestre de Florida (FWC, por sus siglas en inglés) en los Condados de Bahía y Golfo y Franklin. A pesar de los retos que suponen las lluvias, la escorrentía de las aguas pluviales y la baja salinidad, nuestros voluntarios de Scallop Sitter han proporcionado información valiosa a los investigadores y a los esfuerzos de restauración, especialmente en estos primeros años de nuestro programa. Los “Scallop Sitters” recogen información útil sobre la salinidad en las bahías de destino. Pero la mayor parte del impacto se produce al observar de cerca sus vieiras. Las vieiras que mantienen sus cuidadores tienen más posibilidades de desovar con éxito cuando sea el momento adecuado.
Una jaula “Scallop Sitter” lista para ser colocada cerca de las praderas marinas. Las jaulas son herramientas de restauración utilizadas para producir crías de vieira durante el ciclo anual de crecimiento. Foto de L. Scott Jackson.
¿Qué hace un cuidador de vieiras? Los voluntarios dirigen jaulas de exclusión de depredadores de vieiras, que quedan colocadas en la bahía o junto a un muelle. Los “Scallop Sitters” (cuidador de vieiras) vigilan la tasa de mortalidad y recogen datos sobre la salinidad que ayudan a determinar los objetivos de restauración y el éxito en las zonas seleccionadas.
¡Está invitado! ¡Cómo convertirse un “Scallop Sitter” (cuidador de vieiras)!
Las fechas de entrenamiento para 2023 se anunciarán en breve. Por favor, envíenos un correo electrónico si está interesado en ser voluntario o en recibir información adicional. Chantille Gooding, Coordinadora de Recursos Costeros del Condado de la Bahía. c.gooding@ufl.edu
Una institución con igualdad de oportunidades. UF/IFAS Extension, Universidad de Florida, Instituto de Ciencias Alimentarias y Agrícolas, Andra Johnson, Decana de UF/IFAS Extension. Las copias individuales de las publicaciones de UF/IFAS Extension (excluyendo las publicaciones de 4-H y de los jóvenes) están disponibles gratuitamente para los residentes de Florida en las oficinas de UF/IFAS Extension del condado.
October has been designated as Coastal Dune Lake Appreciation month by Walton County government. Walton County is home to 15 named coastal dune lakes along 26 miles of coastline. These lakes are a unique geographical feature and are only found in a few places in the world including Madagascar, Australia, New Zealand, Oregon, and here in Walton County.
A coastal dune lake is defined as a shallow, irregularly shaped or elliptic depressions occurring in coastal communities that share an intermittent connection with the Gulf of Mexico through which freshwater and saltwater is exchanged. They are generally permanent water bodies, although water levels may fluctuate substantially. Typically identified as lentic water bodies without significant surface inflows or outflows, the water in a dune lake is largely derived from lateral ground water seepage through the surrounding well-drained coastal sands. Storms occasionally provide large inputs of salt water and salinities vary dramatically over the long term.
Our coastal dune lakes are even more unique because they share an intermittent connection with the Gulf of Mexico, referred to as an “outfall”, which aides in natural flood control allowing the lake water to pour into the Gulf as needed. The lake water is fed by streams, groundwater seepage, rain, and storm surge. Each individual lake’s outfall and chemistry is different. Water conditions between lakes can vary greatly, from completely fresh to significantly saline.
A variety of different plant and animal species can be found among the lakes. Both freshwater and saltwater species can exist in this unique habitat. Some of the plant species include: rushes (Juncus spp.), sedges (Cyperus spp.), marshpennywort (Hydrocotyleumbellata), cattails (Typha spp.), sawgrass (Cladiumjamaicense), waterlilies (Nymphaea spp.), watershield (Braseniaschreberi), royal fern (Osmundaregalis var. spectabilis), rosy camphorweed (Pluchea spp.), marshelder (Ivafrutescens), groundsel tree (Baccharishalimifolia), and black willow (Salixnigra).
Some of the animal species that can be found include: western mosquitofish (Gambusiaaffinis), sailfin molly (Poecilialatipinna), American alligator (Alligatormississippiensis), eastern mud turtle (Kinosternonsubrubrum), saltmarsh snake (Nerodiaclarkii ssp.), little blue heron (Egrettacaerulea), American coot (Fulicaamericana), and North American river otter (Lutracanadensis). Many marine species co-exist with freshwater species due to the change in salinity within the column of water.
The University of Florida/IFAS Extension faculty are reintroducing their acclaimed “Panhandle Outdoors LIVE!” series. Come celebrate Coastal Dune Lake Appreciation month as our team provides a guided walking tour of the nature trail surrounding Western Lake in Grayton Beach State Park. Join local County Extension Agents to learn more about our globally rare coastal dune lakes, their history, surrounding ecosystems, and local protections. Walk the nature trail through coastal habitats including maritime hammocks, coastal scrub, salt marsh wetlands, and coastal forest. A tour is available October 19th.
The tour is $10.00 (plus tax) and you can register on Eventbrite (see link below). Admission into the park is an additional $5.00 per vehicle, so carpooling is encouraged. We will meet at the beach pavilion (restroom facilities available) at 8:45 am with a lecture and tour start time of 9:00 am sharp. The nature trail is approximately one mile long, through some sandy dunes (can be challenging to walk in), on hard-packed trails, and sometimes soggy forests. Wear appropriate footwear and bring water. Hat, sunscreen, camera, binoculars are optional. Tour is approximately 2 hours. Tour may be cancelled in the event of bad weather.
Many Panhandle hunters and outdoor enthusiasts invest a good bit of time, money, and sweat into growing cool season food plots to feed and attract various wildlife. I count myself among you. However, if you want to maximize your property’s wildlife and environmental benefits, planting your otherwise abandoned-till-next-fall food plots with a diverse mix of warm-season, wildlife-friendly species is one of the best practices you can implement!
The benefits of planting summer food plots are several. First, while most of us are feeding wildlife in winter, supplemental nutrition for our “big three” game species (Whitetail Deer, Bobwhite Quail, and Eastern Wild Turkey) is critical during summer because all are engaged in energy intensive activities – lactating whitetail does are supporting fawns, quail breeding season is in full swing, and wild turkey hens are busy raising poults. Planting a mix of species consisting of seed-producing grasses, high-protein, bug-attracting legumes, and other beneficial broadleaf plants addresses these nutrition needs by providing a constant buffet of high-quality food for all the above species.
Also, adding summer plantings to your food plot program ensures that a green, soil enhancing cover blankets the ground year-round. Practiced for years in the agricultural community, cover crops play a key role in soil conservation and increased plant performance. Your summer food plots function as a cover crop by reducing soil erosion, moderating soil temperatures, building organic matter (key for holding nutrients in soil and an indicator of soil productivity), adding nutrients (particularly when nitrogen producing legumes are included), and encouraging beneficial soil organisms to flourish, further increasing the productivity of your food plots!
Now that I’ve sold you on planting summer food plots, it’s time to consider species selection. As mentioned before, when selecting your mix, try to include at least one each of a grass, a legume, and a non-legume broadleaf. Each of these plant categories serve different purposes. Tall grasses like Pearl Millet and Grain Sorghum provide excellent structure for vining plants like Cowpeas and Lablab to cling to, produce large quantities of seed for birds, and serve as quick-growing cover for species that are vulnerable to early deer browsing, like Cowpea and Forage Soybean. Smaller grasses like Browntop and Proso Millet are useful to produce a quick seed crop (45 days after planting) and protect slower establishing species from browsing. Including legumes like Cowpea, Forage Soybean, Sunn Hemp, Alyceclover or Aeschynomene, levels up the nutrition of your summer food plot (these species have crude protein levels that exceed 15%) and pumps nitrogen back into the soil for future crop use. A quick internet search for the article “Annual Warm-Season Legumes for Pastures, Cover Crops, or Wildlife” by UF/IFAS Extension Specialist Ann Blount outlines for you each of the above legumes in detail. As mentioned earlier, I also like to include a non-legume broadleaf like Buckwheat or Sunflower for variety, seed production, pollinator attraction, or even just aesthetics – a sunflower bloom here and there in a food plot always brings a smile! In 2022, I planted summer food plots in a 7-way mixture of ‘Tifleaf 3’ Pearl Millet, ‘Dove’ Proso Millet, ‘Iron and Clay’ Cowpeas, ‘Laredo’ Forage Soybean, Buckwheat, Sunn Hemp, and Aeschynomene. Large mixtures with diverse times to maturity like this ensure there is always something growing, flowering, making seed, attracting bugs, etc!
7 way mix of Pearl Millet, Cowpea, Aeschynomene, Buckwheat, Sunn Hemp, Forage Soybean, and Sunflower on July 28, 2022. Photo: Daniel Leonard
Once you’ve figured out which species you want to plant, next comes determining seeding rate. There are several methods to help you determine the seeding rate of each species included in the blend. Penn State University has an excellent video to help determine rates of individual species in a cover crop mix. For a less scientific approach that will get you close, simply divide the full monoculture seeding rate for each species by the number of species in the mix. For example, if the monoculture seeding rate for Pearl Millet is 25 lbs/acre when planted in 7” grain drill rows and you are mixing 4 other species with it, you would plant the Pearl Millet at a 1/5th rate or 5 lbs/acre. For more information on species’ growing requirements and seeding rates, University of Georgia Extension has a comprehensive guide to the topic. Another option is to come in to your local UF/IFAS Extension office and get one-on-one help with customizing your species mix and determining seeding rates for your food plots, one of the many services we provide to county residents!
7 way mix of Pearl Millet, Cowpea, Aeschynomene, Buckwheat, Sunn Hemp, Forage Soybean, and Sunflower on September 1, 2022.
Photo: Daniel Leonard
It’s important to not get discouraged if your mix isn’t perfect the first year! Planting summer wildlife forage mixes is as much art as science. After each year, evaluate how each species did, if each species’ rate was correct, if the settings on your drill or spreader were appropriate (mine were not in year one!), and if wildlife used or avoided what you planted. You can then adjust rates or swap species to dial your species mix and planting rates and achieve your property’s summer food plot goals!
For more information about summer wildlife plot plantings or any other agricultural subject, contact your local UF/IFAS County Extension office.
As many of you know, I do programs with snakes and receive a lot of calls about them. But in recent weeks I have seen an increase in the number of calls and the number of encounters inside of homes. Though most of the home invasions have been in the garage, one found a gray rat snake in the cushions of her couch. In addition to the home invasion calls I have also seen an increase with venomous snake encounters and thought I would write about the possible reasons for this increase.
For many, snakes on the property is an unnerving situation.
Photo: Molly O’Connor
Of the 48 species of snakes found in Florida, 40 are found in the western panhandle – where I live. I decided to try a snake watch where they public would report what snakes they were seeing and what time of year. As of September 15, there have been 54 reports. 32 of those (59%) were reported in April and May. There are two explanations for this. One, it is the beginning of spring and the warm temperatures have them moving from their wintering habitats. Two, it is spring, and this is breeding season. When breeding hormones are flowing snakes are bolder during their movements and may expose themselves more often in the search for mates. It is also true that they have been in brumation during the winter when they feed very little and are need of food. This could make them move more than normal as well.
I divided the species into subgroups mimicking publications by Dr. Whit Gibbons. Based on this, in the western panhandle there are 7 species of small snakes, 8 mid-sized, 7 large snakes, 13 water snakes, 4 venomous snakes, and 1 non-native species. The encounters by these subgroups so far include 1 of the 7 small snakes (14%), 3 of the 8 mid-sized snakes (38%), 5 of the 7 large snakes (71%), 5 of the 13 water snakes (38%), 3 of the 4 venomous snakes (75%), and the non-native Brahminy Blind Snake has not been reported yet.
The eastern king snake is one of the larger snakes in the western panhandle.
Photo: Rick O’Connor
The high percentage of large snake encounters makes sense because they are – well… large and easier to see. The explanation for the high percentage of venomous snake encounters is numbers. There are only four species to be found in the western panhandle. It does not take many encounters to get a high percentage.
Water snakes will be encountered only if folks are visiting local waterways and are relatively still while there. My guess is that most encounters were from basking snakes or ones swimming across a body of water in which the observer happened to be there. Most snakes will freeze and hide when they since we are near, and most are well camouflaged. There are plenty of people who visit local waterways where these snakes exist. The lower percentage of encounters with this subgroup does not mean they are not there; they were just not seen. Many reports come from fishermen who are relatively still in their boats while fishing. If you move, they stop. If you stop, they move – and more will be seen.
The banded water snake is one of the more commonly encountered water snakes.
Photo: Rick O’Connor
If you look at the encounters by species, we have found 17 of the 40 western panhandle species have been encountered so far (43%). There has been a total of 54 encounters. Most, 13 (24%) have been with the southern black racer. This is a common large snake that does very well in human habitats like our neighborhoods and parks. It is active during the day and is fast enough to avoid trouble so may be more willing to expose themselves than other species. They also have a preference for more open spaces where they can be seen.
The southern black racer differs from other black snakes in its brilliant white chin and thin sleek body.
Photo: Jacqui Berger.
The second most frequently encountered snake so far this year has been both the eastern ribbon snake and the cottonmouth – 9 reports of both. The two account for 33% of all reports. Eastern ribbon snakes are fans of water and are often found along the edge of water bodies. With the increase in rainfall, many areas are wetter and encounters with this mid-sized snake have increased. They are most active during the day, especially on warm days, and this may also play a role in why they have been seen more often than other species.
The cottonmouth is an interesting story. Of the four species of venomous snakes, three of these have been encountered, and their encounters make up 15 of the 54 so far this year (28%). Of the 15 encounters, 9 were cottonmouths (60% of the venomous snake encounters, and 17% of all snake encounters reported). It is a commonly encountered snake. Seeing the cottonmouth as one of the top three encountered snakes in our area makes some people nervous. Like some of the other commonly encountered snakes, they like water – and there is plenty of it in the western panhandle. They prefer quiet water locations such as ponds, swamps, and lakes. They frequent water holes on golf courses and retention ponds in neighborhoods. It is also obvious that new developments are going up closer to wetlands than they did in the past – which would increase your chances of encounters. I recently completed a three-year survey of a gated community on Perdido Key where encounter rates were high. The interesting thing here is that barrier islands have little freshwater and are not classic cottonmouth habitat. But for decades there have seen an increase in encounters, which prompted many studies on how they are surviving. There are certainly natural freshwater systems on both Perdido Key and Santa Rosa Islands, but we have also created such habitats as well. It is possible that the cottonmouth is better suited to exploit these island habitats than other species of water snakes and thus are encountered more often. I plan to do more surveys for this, and other water snakes, on our islands beginning in 2023 and will let everyone know what we discover.
The cottonmouth is one of the more commonly encountered snakes in the western panhandle.
Photo: Bob Jackson
So, what has triggered the recent increase in home invasion and other snake encounters?
A week or two ago we experienced massive amounts of rainfall when a frontal system passed over. You might remember the flooding that occurred in Dallas TX and Jackson MS. That same system passed over us and generated a lot of rainfall. Like many animals, when water levels are up, they seek higher ground. During such events snakes are often reported in garages, porches, even in walls of homes. People were telling me they were finding them in the bathrooms, hallways, and even in the cushions of their couches. All of those reported were non-venomous, but cottonmouths are often encountered during these flooding events as well.
Other encounters can be explained as they were in the spring – the weather is changing. You may have noticed the recent decrease in humidity as a front passed over. It is not cold yet, but the lower humidity is signaling the oncoming fall season – and the snakes’ sense this as well. 15 of the 40 species (38%) in the western panhandle have a fall breeding season in addition to the spring one. All of the pit vipers breed in the fall and the rattlesnakes prefer fall breeding to spring. With the oncoming of the fall, males will be out seeking females. And as we mentioned earlier, hormones will force you to move more in the open than they may typically do.
This eastern diamondback rattlesnake was seen crossing a dirt road near DeFuniak Springs shortly after the humidity dropped.
Photo: Lauren McNally
We will continue our snake watch for the rest of the year and will give an update early in 2023. If you do see a snake, please let us know which species and which month you encountered it. If you have questions about snake encounters and snake safety, do not hesitate to contact your county extension office.
Our coastal dune lakes are even more unique because they share an intermittent connection with the Gulf of Mexico, referred to as an “outfall”, which aides in natural flood control allowing the lake water to pour into the Gulf as needed. The lake water is fed by streams, groundwater seepage, rain, and storm surge. Each individual lake’s outfall and chemistry is different. Water conditions between lakes can vary greatly, from completely fresh to significantly saline.
