Wildlife Diversity Program Quarterly Report for October–December 2025
Searching for Herps in All the Right Places – Sandhills Ecoregion by Aubrey Greene, Wildlife Diversity Biologist – Amphibians and Reptiles, Sandhills & Piedmont Regions
T his quarter began with road surveys for snakes that are Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN), includ- ing the Southern hognose snake, Northern pine snake, and Eastern coachwhip. Unfortunately, it was a surprisingly slow year, particularly for Southern hognose snakes with only 10 reported in the Sandhills by staff and the public. Even on seemingly perfect weather days, we encountered few snakes of any species, let alone our targets. On those slow days we would follow the mantra, “if you can’t find what you’re looking for, look for what you’re find- ing!” Sometimes what you’re finding is just lots of caterpillars and butterflies, which are also very amazing. We ended the quarter setting automated acoustic recording units (AKA frogloggers) to monitor SGCN frogs including gopher frogs and ornate chorus frogs on State and Federal lands over the winter months. Several ARUs were set by Department of Defense partners in areas that aren’t otherwise accessible, so we will be able to doc-
AUBREY GREENE/NCWRC
Top:Swallowtail butterflies attracted to moisture, observed during road sur- veys for snake SGCN in the Sandhills.
ument breeding (call- ing) activity by those populations and see how they compare to others in the state. Most Sandhills ponds are dry or nearly so and will need signifi- cant precipitation this winter for frogs to breed successfully.
AUBREY GREENE/NCWRC
AUBREY GREENE/NCWRC
Left: Tersa Sphinx Moth Caterpillar (larva) found crossing the road during a road survey for snake SGCN. Right: Juvenile rough green snake found crossing the road during a road survey for snake SGCN in the Sandhills. Bottom: Copperhead found crossing a road in the Sandhills during a road survey for snake SGCN.
Automated acoustic recording unit (AKA froglogger) set at an ephemeral wetland to record frog SGCN in the Sandhills.
Loggerhead sea turtle nesting crawls seen on Wrightsville Beach in the first week of July 2021.
AUBREY GREENE/NCWRC
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