Welcome to the Nature Blog

No, it's not all fish

What have I stumbled upon?

I am a conservationalist at heart. I love animals of all kind, big and small. From the humble roly poly to the majestic blue whale, I have a true heart for conservation. So, I've decided to catalog some of my more special finds here for all the internet to enjoy! For my fellow conservationalist, this should be a treat. For those who could care less, stick around. You might just see something special :O

A Lil' Background

I (Frosty) am a recent graduate with a degree in wildlife and conservation biology who'll soon be going to join the national park rangers. Before that, I worked on some conservation projects along the midwest, mainly with prarie restoration efforts. During my time in school, I focused on wetland restoration and fisheries techniques (it's a growing field). While there in school, I was blessed to have a few amazing professors who really fostered that love for nature and encouraged me to keep going in the field. From there, the rest is history in the making! This is just a few snapshots from my daily encounters and will be updated periodically with more photos and stories.

Critter Info

Photos (all taken by yours truly)

Eastern Box Turtle

Rarity:★ ★ ★ ★ ★

A ground turtle most active in the morning. They take "baths" in shallow water and sometimes chill out in mud during especially hot days. Many Eastern Box Turtles stay near their home range for most their lives (up to 30 years!) and aren't very fast. Unfortunately this lack of mobility makes them easy prey to vehicles. Otherwise, they live up to 40 years in the wild, but in captivity, they can live up to 100 years!

Fun Fact:

Eastern Box Turtles can eat poisonous mushrooms, giving them a basic toxin after a prolonged diet.

Imperial Moth

Rarity:★ ★ ★ ★ ★

A yellow, red and brown moth found all over the states. Also known as Giant Silkworm Moths and Yellow Emperor Moths (Hello Caracosa), these beautiful moths only live for about a week, in which they reproduce and just do moth things, which amounts to flying around and looking pretty. Suprisingly, despite the striking colors, these moths aren't poisonous. These moths are starting to go on the decline due to habitat loss and increased predation, so do your due diligance and set up moth habitat today!

Fun Fact:

These moths have a rather long pupa phase, with the metamorphosis taking place across winter and spring and the moths finally emerging in June/July.

Peaks of Otter Salamander

Rarity:★ ★ ★ ★ ★

An absolute gem of a salamander! Only found in the Peaks of Otter in Virginia, these elusive salamanders are easily identifiable by their brass-colored flakes and dark brown body. They live at high altitudes and are most active after rainfall or during warm, humid evenings. Not a lot are actually known about these salamanders due to their exclusive range, but one thing is for certain: they are adorable!

Fun Fact:

These lil guys apparently have turf wars with the local red-backed salamanders. A very entertaining thought thinking about two little salamanders duking it out.

Potamic Sculpin

Rarity:★ ★ ★ ★ ★

This one was a bit more difficult to identify, but I believe it's a Potamic Sculpin. I found this during a survey, and there's an odd cuteness to the face. Sculpins tend to rest in littoral zones and snag up larvae that cross their paths. Like many other small river fish, there's not much to talk about with them, but I will say, I feel like they'd put up quite the fight if you were to ever go microfishing for them. If any microfishers could confirm, I would forever be greatful.

Fun Fact:

Prefered habitat differs between sexes: males perfer silt and plant growth while females perfer cold, fast-moving streams.

Queen Snake

Rarity:★ ★ ★ ★ ★

A nonvenomous water snake found in North America. They look like garter snakes, but have four ventral stripes that run the entire length of the belly; a key feature for identification. These snakes live in clean streams with plentiful populations of crayfish to feed on. These snakes are very skiddish and will flee long before they even think about striking. Guess that makes this picture pretty rare, huh.

Fun Fact:

While they don't bite, they do release a really nasty smelling musk as a defense. It takes a lot of scrubbing to get out. I know from experience.

Common Snapping Turtle

Rarity:★ ★ ★ ★ ★

A larger turtle species known for their powerful bite and rough shell. This pic I took was of a juvenile crossing the road (yes, I moved it across so it wouldn't get hit). These beasts can get up to 19 inches (49 cm for you non-americans) and get up to 65 pounds (~30 kg). These predators lurk on the bottom of lakes, rivers and streams and strike unsuspecting fish, crawfish, toes and almost anything that moves, ambushing the poor prey when opportunity shows.

Fun Fact:

If you're going to move one, either poke it from a distance or grab it from the back of the shell farrrrr away from the head. These turtles have a gnarly reach and will try and bite you.

Prothonotary Warbler

Rarity:★ ★ ★ ★ ★

A beautiful bright yellow bird found in the understory along wetlands. Also known as "Swamp Warblers", these birds are on the decline unfortunately due to habitat loss. These birds live in cavities (dead trees and bird boxes) and forage all sorts of insects and mollusks, gleaning the understory of bugs. These birds travel from the eastern United States during breeding season to Central and northern South America outside of breeding season.

Fun Fact:

Prothonotary Warblers get their name from the robes worn by papal clerks in the Roman Catholic Church. These clerks, known as prothonotaries, are bright yellow in color, hence the warbler's name.

Red-Winged Black Bird

Rarity:★ ★ ★ ★ ★

A bird known for it's striking red wing pattern and territorial behavior. Commonly found in the states, these birds are found in marshes and wetlands, preying on insects along the ground. They nest in shrubs and will get very territorial if you approach. This photo shows a female Red-Wing. Note the lack of red and the white and red pattern found only in females. It's hard to miss these noisy birds, but hearing them takes me back to my childhood, so I can't stay annoyed for too long.

Fun Fact:

Red-Winged Black Birds are polygamous and can have up to 15 female mates in a single territory. Polygamy isn't super common in birds (up to 90% of species practice social monogamy), so it's a bit quirky in that sense. Rock on, freaky birds.

Torrent Sucker

Rarity:★ ★ ★ ★ ★

A sucker fish found in the James River. This one has lighter coloration (crossbreeding, maybe?), as the tell-tale darker marks are significantly lighter on this one. They act as bottom feeders, eating aquatic bug larvae and cleaning up detritus off the streambed. Like other small stream fish, there's not a lot to go off of. Most people just don't really care about what could be called a "minnow" or "bait fish". But I believe that all critters deserve a chance in the spotlight :)

Fun Fact:

The Torrent is under a bit of scrutiny after the USGS claimed it may not be indigeinous to the James River. Whether this claim is true or not is up for scientific debate.

Cottontail Rabbit

Rarity:★ ★ ★ ★ ★

When you think of rabbit, it's a cottontail. The classic rabbit, cottontails are found across the Americas. These cute bunnies can get up to 18 mph (29 km/h) to avoid any predators that may want to snatch them up. This one was a young rabbit I stumbled across during a birding session. It had siblings, but this little fella was the most friendly. It really made my day.

Fun Fact:

These things eat up to 145 species of plants. Sorry, but your gardens aren't safe unless they're a cactus garden, and even then I'm sure they'd find a way.

Purple Martin

Rarity:★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Dark, glossy-blue birds known for their cavity nesting habits, the Purple Martin is a striking bird to find in your local avian neighborhood. If you've ever seen those white, gourd-like structures up by lakes or in wildlife preserves, chances are those are Purple Martin houses. These big swallows will dive-bomb and clear your skies of all sorts of insects, including pesky bugs like gnats and mosquitos. If you're lucky, you may even see one skim water mid-flight (that's how they drink!)

Fun Fact:

Purple Martin roosting groups get so large that they get picked up on weather radars. These roosting groups are most commonly witnessed in the early morning and appear on radar like a giant donut

Luna Moth

Rarity:★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Luna Moths are more common than people think. The reason many people don't see them is that they're simply more active at night. The other reason is foliage; If you don't have the right foliage, you're not going to see many Luna Moths (hint: white birch helps). Kinda like butterflies, if you think about it. Anyways, these beautiful moths thrive in the Americas. Like other similar species of moths, the babies do all the eating and the adults just kinda chill and fly around, making more eggs and just enjoying life. The vibes these lil guys give off are immaculate.

Fun Fact:

Luna moths are some of the largest moths in the world, with wingspans getting up to 4 and a half inches (11.5 cm)!

Cricket Frog

Rarity:★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Cricket frogs are small, loud frogs found mostly in grassy habitat along streams and ponds (despite being in the same family as tree frogs). These little fellas aren't too picky on what they eat, eating whatever small bugs and spiders make their way over into their territory. Like other frog species, cricket frogs are especially good at being able to orient themselves, using the sun, shoreline and other celestial/terrain features to figure out where they are. Clever.

Fun Fact:

Every male frog of this species has a unique call. While the "instruments" are the same, the notes have slight variation, making each call unique to it's maker.