Escambia River

A scenic view of the Escambia.

Banded Water Snake Nerodia f. fasciata juvenile.

Near the snake I spotted a number of these frogs. My first reaction was Rana heckscheri, the River Frog, but then I noticed the dorsolateral ridges and settled on Rana c. clamitans the Bronze Frog.

Male Escambia Map Turtle Graptemys ernsti basking.

A juvenile G. ernsti.

And a second juvenile G. ernsti.

River Cooters in this area are an intergrade form of Pseudemys concinna suwanniensis.

Early morning and you can see the turtle tracks leading up the dunes to nesting areas. There were a number of other animal tracks found, including crow and raccoon tracks that surrounded raided nests. This morning I found crows in the process of raiding a nest and later spotted a single crow hopping along the the turtle tracks to the top of the dune. I imagine they are capable of learning to associate these markings with potential food.

Common Snapper Chelydra s. serpentina.

Despite the huge chunk missing from its shell and a missing left eye this turtle appeared to be none the worse for its injuries.

Almost immediately after releasing the Common Snapper I spotted this Alligator Snapper Macrochelys temminckii. You can see the lure in the bottom of its mouth and the strong keels that differentiate it from the Common Snapper at a distance.

Here you can see the distinct profile that also easily tells it apart from a Common Snapper.

Thinking I had found a softshell when I noticed a raised circular area in the sand: I was rather surprised to find this juvenile Common Snapper. As you can see it has a stump rear right leg.

Finally, I did find a softshell, not the Gulf Coast Smooth Softshell that I wanted to see, but a Gulf Coast Spiny Apalone spinifera aspera.