Thursday, September 2, 2010
"Outdoor Story" - Hair Raising Rattler Research
The "Outdoor Story" is a newspaper column Erv and I take turns writing every other week for Socorro's El Defensor Chieftain. This is my most recent! Sandra
Just like every other critter, large and small, rattlesnakes have their place and purpose on this earth. Still, they could use better PR because they often get a bad rap. From the serpent in the Garden of Eden to the asp that killed Cleopatra and in movies like “Snakes on Planes,” they are the bad guys. Little is said about their usefulness in controlling rodents and other small mammals, or the role of rattlesnake young as prey for hawks, eagles, roadrunners and even wild turkeys, as well as mammals including coyote, fox and badger.
Rattlers do warrant caution – their bite can be fatal if not treated, but they don’t seek humans and only bite us when surprised or threatened. Humans, on the other hand, have a long history of hunting and killing snakes, sometimes just for entertainment.
The Western Diamondback Rattlesnake is the largest of the Southwest desert rattlers; adults average 3.5 to 4 feet. They have a venomous snake’s characteristic flat-triangle head shape and their color ranges from gray-brown to pinkish with diamond-shaped body blotches. Their tails have distinctive bands of alternating black and white (coon-tail) that fade with age. Rattles grow segment by segment, each one a remnant of a shed skin. It’s a myth that the segments show a snake’s age; they can shed 2-3 times a year.
Diamondbacks generally hunt at night and early morning, positioning themselves to ambush passing prey. Having poor vision, they use their flicking tongue to “taste” the air by pulling chemical molecules into the Jacobs organ where they are translated into smell and used to track prey. Heat-seeking facial pits (hence the name pit viper) guide their strikes. Prey includes rodents like mice, prairie dogs and ground squirrels or the occasional bird or lizard, which they swallow whole. They can go several weeks before feeding again.
Rattlers are solitary outside of mating season and winter denning. In late Oct. they seek den sites where they burrow in quasi-hibernation with other snakes until early March. Live-born rattlesnake young are self sufficient, capable of delivering a venomous bite from the moment of birth – they only spend a few hours with their mother. It’s another myth that the young deliver more concentrated venom.
Enough background – on to the hair-raising research! In the fall of 2009 Lorraine McInnis, a UNM biology graduate student began radio tracking Western Diamondbacks at the Bosque del Apache to document their general movements and locate winter dens. She is radio-tracking 16 at the current time and hopes to track 25 individuals over a two year period. An additional 200 Diamondbacks have been tagged with microchips which can’t be radio-tracked but provide additional data.
The stimulus for Lorraine’s research was management of human/snake interaction - rattlesnakes are a safety concern in visitor areas of the refuge but she has found it an opportunity to explore aspects of rattlesnake biology that are not fully understood. Lorraine explains that any animal occupies a particular location for access to food, shelter, water and/or for breeding but snakes’ habitats and movements are also affected by daily and seasonal temperatures. “Cold blooded” reptiles externally regulate their body temperature.
The hair-raising part of all this is that each one of these 200+ snakes must be captured, examined and measured, then carefully radio-tagged and re-released to its original location. (Only those found in visitor areas are relocated elsewhere.) The radio- tagged snakes are then tracked daily no matter how remote or difficult to access. Trackers must take great care to neither disturb the snake nor get bit themselves. Erv and I have been greatly impressed by Lorraine’s skill, focus and caution working with the snakes but, as volunteer help, we always find it a hair-raising experience!
It has been shown that long distance relocation has a negative impact on a snake’s natural movements and even their survival. Lorraine’s detailed field research on Western Diamondback denning sites and normal patterns of movement will provide important information for Bosque del Apache managers to safely reduce human/snake interaction with the least impact on the snakes. Refuges are, after all, for wildlife - including rattlers!
Just like every other critter, large and small, rattlesnakes have their place and purpose on this earth. Still, they could use better PR because they often get a bad rap. From the serpent in the Garden of Eden to the asp that killed Cleopatra and in movies like “Snakes on Planes,” they are the bad guys. Little is said about their usefulness in controlling rodents and other small mammals, or the role of rattlesnake young as prey for hawks, eagles, roadrunners and even wild turkeys, as well as mammals including coyote, fox and badger.
Rattlers do warrant caution – their bite can be fatal if not treated, but they don’t seek humans and only bite us when surprised or threatened. Humans, on the other hand, have a long history of hunting and killing snakes, sometimes just for entertainment.
The Western Diamondback Rattlesnake is the largest of the Southwest desert rattlers; adults average 3.5 to 4 feet. They have a venomous snake’s characteristic flat-triangle head shape and their color ranges from gray-brown to pinkish with diamond-shaped body blotches. Their tails have distinctive bands of alternating black and white (coon-tail) that fade with age. Rattles grow segment by segment, each one a remnant of a shed skin. It’s a myth that the segments show a snake’s age; they can shed 2-3 times a year.
Diamondbacks generally hunt at night and early morning, positioning themselves to ambush passing prey. Having poor vision, they use their flicking tongue to “taste” the air by pulling chemical molecules into the Jacobs organ where they are translated into smell and used to track prey. Heat-seeking facial pits (hence the name pit viper) guide their strikes. Prey includes rodents like mice, prairie dogs and ground squirrels or the occasional bird or lizard, which they swallow whole. They can go several weeks before feeding again.
Rattlers are solitary outside of mating season and winter denning. In late Oct. they seek den sites where they burrow in quasi-hibernation with other snakes until early March. Live-born rattlesnake young are self sufficient, capable of delivering a venomous bite from the moment of birth – they only spend a few hours with their mother. It’s another myth that the young deliver more concentrated venom.
Enough background – on to the hair-raising research! In the fall of 2009 Lorraine McInnis, a UNM biology graduate student began radio tracking Western Diamondbacks at the Bosque del Apache to document their general movements and locate winter dens. She is radio-tracking 16 at the current time and hopes to track 25 individuals over a two year period. An additional 200 Diamondbacks have been tagged with microchips which can’t be radio-tracked but provide additional data.
The stimulus for Lorraine’s research was management of human/snake interaction - rattlesnakes are a safety concern in visitor areas of the refuge but she has found it an opportunity to explore aspects of rattlesnake biology that are not fully understood. Lorraine explains that any animal occupies a particular location for access to food, shelter, water and/or for breeding but snakes’ habitats and movements are also affected by daily and seasonal temperatures. “Cold blooded” reptiles externally regulate their body temperature.
The hair-raising part of all this is that each one of these 200+ snakes must be captured, examined and measured, then carefully radio-tagged and re-released to its original location. (Only those found in visitor areas are relocated elsewhere.) The radio- tagged snakes are then tracked daily no matter how remote or difficult to access. Trackers must take great care to neither disturb the snake nor get bit themselves. Erv and I have been greatly impressed by Lorraine’s skill, focus and caution working with the snakes but, as volunteer help, we always find it a hair-raising experience!
It has been shown that long distance relocation has a negative impact on a snake’s natural movements and even their survival. Lorraine’s detailed field research on Western Diamondback denning sites and normal patterns of movement will provide important information for Bosque del Apache managers to safely reduce human/snake interaction with the least impact on the snakes. Refuges are, after all, for wildlife - including rattlers!
surprise! We are still alive and well.
Okay, okay, We aren't keeping up like we should. Emails, Facebook, and oh yeah, life seem to be occupying my time. Summer is gone and no one told me. Sandra is into her 8th week with a new hip and stronger than ever. We have had a bit of travel, down to Cloudcroft, White Sands and that area, mostly to keep the motorhome in shape. It looks promising that we will be working at White Sands in Feb for a month to warm up before we go to Nebraska. The winter will be doing tours, lectures and boy scout projects at the Bosque. I hope I can twist Sandra's arm into writing more and on a regular basis,- she's much Better at this and I'm doing it on my iPad which I love, but hate the typing part...anyway if you're new here, keep checking. We are going to post our bi-weekly columns from the local paper along with photos from both.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
The weather improves daily here in south Texas. Today, the best so far, is sunny but cool with manageable humidity and a brilliant blue sky dotted with small puffy clouds. It explains the increasing numbers of what the locals refer to as “Winter Texans” - northerners migrating south to enjoy a temperate winter here on the gulf coast.
We continue to work 3 days/week at the Laguna Atascosa FWR and Sunday mornings at the Texas World Birding Center on South Padre Island. In addition to the wonderful variety of birds and wildlife, I have been introduced to butterflies in infinite variety as they also migrate south. If you think birders are a specialized lot, you must meet butterfly enthusiasts!
Today I’ll add photos of whistling ducks, butterflies, and an armadillo.
The Black-bellied Whistling- Duck is a subtropical species slowly spreading northward. Unlike most ducks, they mate for life and males are actively involved in egg incubation and chick rearing. The male here stood vigil as his family napped then gathered the sleepy-eyed chicks and their mom for a swim and relocation to more distant quarters. They are also unusual (like wood ducks) for roosting in trees, webbed feet not withstanding.
Butterflies include the slightly iridescent White Peacock, the Queen (a bit similar in appearance to the Monarch) who demonstrates some of the perils of long migration, and the American Snout whose schnoz explains the name! I’m beginning to admire these beautiful, interesting creatures more and more as I follow them with my lense.
The armadillo is a fascinating mammal with thick leathery plate armor and great digging ability which it uses to forage for grubs and other edibles and for digging burrows for home base or escape. Poor vision; great sense of smell. How wonderfully odd that we share the world with such a creature!
We continue to work 3 days/week at the Laguna Atascosa FWR and Sunday mornings at the Texas World Birding Center on South Padre Island. In addition to the wonderful variety of birds and wildlife, I have been introduced to butterflies in infinite variety as they also migrate south. If you think birders are a specialized lot, you must meet butterfly enthusiasts!
Today I’ll add photos of whistling ducks, butterflies, and an armadillo.
The Black-bellied Whistling- Duck is a subtropical species slowly spreading northward. Unlike most ducks, they mate for life and males are actively involved in egg incubation and chick rearing. The male here stood vigil as his family napped then gathered the sleepy-eyed chicks and their mom for a swim and relocation to more distant quarters. They are also unusual (like wood ducks) for roosting in trees, webbed feet not withstanding.
Butterflies include the slightly iridescent White Peacock, the Queen (a bit similar in appearance to the Monarch) who demonstrates some of the perils of long migration, and the American Snout whose schnoz explains the name! I’m beginning to admire these beautiful, interesting creatures more and more as I follow them with my lense.
The armadillo is a fascinating mammal with thick leathery plate armor and great digging ability which it uses to forage for grubs and other edibles and for digging burrows for home base or escape. Poor vision; great sense of smell. How wonderfully odd that we share the world with such a creature!
Laguna Atascosa NWR - Texas Gulf Coast
Although I may perspire a bit or causally rub an itch, I don’t usually “sweat” or vigorously scratch in public. Both, however, are now part of my persona thanks to the chiggers and high humidity here in south Texas. Erv and I were looking for a warm winter spot but, arriving in early October, we got more than we bargained for with 90+ degrees and 90% humidity… OK, I’m exaggerating a bit but that’s what it feels like. On the other hand, we know the weather will improve and the birds and wildlife are great.
In the last day we’ve seen coyote, Javalina (a small wild pig in appearance but actually a collared peccary), deer, raccoon and armadillo within 20 yards of our motor home. Fortunately snakes and alligators have been seen at a greater distance. And the birds – amazing in variety and quantity! In one tiny wetland pond we saw lovely roseate spoonbills (pink like flamingos), wood stork, egrets, heron, avocet and curlew. Nearby were a variety of other shorebirds and ducks (including Black-bellied Whistling ducks with bright red bills and pink feet and American Wigeons sporting buff “Mohawks” atop a grey head with green cheek patches). Children’s art mimics nature at her most colorful!
Coming to the feeders at the visitor’s center are brilliant green jays and orioles and noisy chachalacas ( large rather prehistoric looking birds resembling a hybrid of turkey and roadrunner) and other neo tropic birds. Guess you have to bear tropical weather for tropical flora and fauna! We’re like kids in a candy store enjoying the abundance and variety of life here at the Laguna Atascosa Fish and Wildlife Refuge.
Less than a half hour away is South Padre Island, part of the Gulf’s barrier island system. It’s a lovely strip of land with long beaches bordering the gulf on one side and Laguna Madre on the other. Dolphins and pelicans are frequently seen, fishermen abound and the large fresh shrimp are a treat. Best of all, South Padre is a mecca for migrating and overwintering birds. We’ve begun volunteering Sunday mornings at the Texas World Birding Center (“ask me” guides along the boardwalk) for the opportunity to regularly see and photograph the birds. We’ll be here through the end of the year and anticipate a good three months.
In the last day we’ve seen coyote, Javalina (a small wild pig in appearance but actually a collared peccary), deer, raccoon and armadillo within 20 yards of our motor home. Fortunately snakes and alligators have been seen at a greater distance. And the birds – amazing in variety and quantity! In one tiny wetland pond we saw lovely roseate spoonbills (pink like flamingos), wood stork, egrets, heron, avocet and curlew. Nearby were a variety of other shorebirds and ducks (including Black-bellied Whistling ducks with bright red bills and pink feet and American Wigeons sporting buff “Mohawks” atop a grey head with green cheek patches). Children’s art mimics nature at her most colorful!
Coming to the feeders at the visitor’s center are brilliant green jays and orioles and noisy chachalacas ( large rather prehistoric looking birds resembling a hybrid of turkey and roadrunner) and other neo tropic birds. Guess you have to bear tropical weather for tropical flora and fauna! We’re like kids in a candy store enjoying the abundance and variety of life here at the Laguna Atascosa Fish and Wildlife Refuge.
Less than a half hour away is South Padre Island, part of the Gulf’s barrier island system. It’s a lovely strip of land with long beaches bordering the gulf on one side and Laguna Madre on the other. Dolphins and pelicans are frequently seen, fishermen abound and the large fresh shrimp are a treat. Best of all, South Padre is a mecca for migrating and overwintering birds. We’ve begun volunteering Sunday mornings at the Texas World Birding Center (“ask me” guides along the boardwalk) for the opportunity to regularly see and photograph the birds. We’ll be here through the end of the year and anticipate a good three months.
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