Once we got north to the Sand Hills NWR, the carpenter frog was an easy find. Several were vocalizing from the shallow edges of a roadside pond and within just a few minutes we had succeeded in photographing the ranid.

Then we met a USFWS agent who wanted to be sure that what we were doing was all above board. It was. We talked for a while and during the conversation he was nice enough to mention that the area just across the main road was a good place to see pygmy rattlers. We thanked him and as it turned out he was correct. During the evening we were able to see and photograph not only several of the little buzztails but a pretty southern copperhead as well.

After these successes we decided that rather than looking for the salamander we’d try our luck finding a slightly different color phase of pygmy rattler. On this we failed, but overall the trip was a resounding success.

I hope you enjoy the accompanying photos.

Although a common snake, this southern copperhead was a welcome find.


Although more were heard than were seen, the carpenter frog was not difficult to find.