Ralph P. Eckerlin

Natural Sciences Division

Northern Virginia Community College

Annandale, Virginia 22003

ABSTRACT: A survey of the amphibians and reptiles of the George Washington Birthplace National Monument, Westmoreland County, Virginia was conducted from March 1986-April 1989. Twelve amphibian and 18 reptile species were observed. New locality records for Westmoreland County include: Ambystoma opacum, Hyla crucifer, Hyla cinerea, Hyla chrysoscelis, Rana catesbeiana, Rana utricularia, Kinosternon subrubrum, Chrysemys picta, Pseudemys rubriventris, Scincella lateralis, Eumeces inexpectatus, Nerodia sipedon, Thamnophis sauritus, Opheodrys aestivus, and Lampropeltis getula.

The George Washington Birthplace National Monument (GWBNM) property includes about 218 hectares on the Potomac River in Westmoreland County, Virginia, about 130 km southeast of the Capital Beltway. The property is in the Coastal Plain physiographic province and is very flat. In addition to the historic site and interpretive buildings, which are surrounded by lawns and shrub plantings, there are a number of different habitat types on the property. These include about 80 hectares of loblolly pine woodlands of mixed ages, meadows, about 60 hectares of farmland used for hay, about 20 hectares of freshwater marsh mostly adjacent to Popes Creek, two freshwater ponds, and a riverfront beach on the Potomac River which is tidal and slightly brackish.

My purpose in this report is to list the amphibians and reptiles observed at GWBNM and to note the new locality records for Westmoreland County. These data are compared to those from a study at Caledon State Park in adjacent King George County (Hill and Pierson, 1986).

Amphibians and reptiles were sampled primarily by intensive ground searches by daylight. Logs, stumps, brush piles, and debris were overturned and a search made for resting herptiles. Searches after dark were conducted by driving along roadways. During the spring breeding period vernal ponds were sampled with dipnets to collect eggs, tadpoles, and adult amphibians. Some species were only observed by voice while calling at night. The use of turtle traps was attempted initially but did not prove to be productive. Many herptiles were observed in chance encounters while checking mammal traps or mist nets.

Most specimens were captured, identified, and released. A few species were photographed and released. Some salamander larvae were taken back to the laboratory to be keyed, and were fixed in formalin and preserved in alcohol. Salamander larvae and some reptiles found dead are in the collections of George Mason University. Identifications were based on field characters as given in Conant (1975).

Sampling began in March 1986 and continued at irregular intervals through April 1989. Observations were made during 11 months of the year; no sampling was done in December. During this period, sampling was conducted for a total of 24 days with one to as many as 13 observers. Approximately 480 man hours were spent in the field.

A list of all reptiles and amphibians encountered at GWBNM by month of collection is presented in Table 1. Thirty species of amphibians and reptiles were observed. A complete list of reptiles and amphibians observed and expected at the GWBNM is given in Table 2. New locality records for Westmoreland County were established for 16 species (Table 1).

The most commonly encountered amphibians were the bullfrog, green frog, and southern leopard frog, each of which was observed virtually every month from March through October. Salamanders were rarely encountered. Among 12 species expected only 3 (25%) were collected. By contrast, of 14 frogs and toads expected 9 (64%) were observed. In all, 12 amphibian species were verified.

The most commonly observed reptiles were the common snapping turtle, eastern box turtle, red-bellied turtle, eastern painted turtle, and the black rat snake, all of which were observed during 4 or more months. Most of the other species were seen only sporadically. Six of 10 turtle species expected (60%) were observed. Five of 6 lizard species expected (82%) were observed. Snakes were the least successfully collected; 7 of 20 species expected (35%) were observed. Many snakes are fossorial, others are nocturnally active, and most require optimum temperature and humidity conditions to come to the surface and become active. For these reasons an adequate snake survey is difficult to perform. In all, 18 species of reptiles were encountered.

In the study done at Caledon State Park, also along the Potomac River, in adjacent King George County, Virginia, Hill and Pierson (1986) observed 20 species of amphibians and 18 species of reptiles. The Caledon study involved more days of observation ("more than 80") than the 24 in the present study. The Caledon site was larger (about 1000 hectares) than the GWBNM site (218 hectares). From the description of the Caledon site (Hill and Pierson, 1986) it appears as if the habitat diversity of the two areas is very similar.

Five of the reptile species we observed were not observed at Caledon State Park: common snapping turtle, diamondback terrapin, six-lined racerunner, ribbon snake, and eastern kingsnake. On the other hand, all of the amphibians we observed were also observed at Caledon State Park. Perhaps this can be attributed to the cryptic appearance, burrowing habit, and limited optimum temperature range of the reptiles, all of which make it difficult to survey, snakes especially, in a short time.

The diamondback terrapin, Malaclemys terrapin, was only observed from a shell. No living terrapins were seen. Although it is possible that tides may have carried the shell to the observation site I believe that this is a good record. The tidal marsh habitat was available and another record of the species exists for Westmoreland County (Tobey, 1985).

No copperheads, Agkistrodon contortrix, were seen on the GWBNM site but two were collected as roadkill specimens within 2 km of the property. Anecdotal accounts of copperhead sightings were relayed by two of the Park Service employees.

Among amphibians, streamside salamanders were noticeably absent because no stream with rocks for cover exists on the property. The frog, Rana sylvaticus, was also conspicuously absent. In fact, no records of the wood frog are known for the Northern Neck (Tobey, 1985; Martof et. al., 1980). Whether this is real or an artifact of inadequate collecting is unknown.

The amphibian and reptile populations on the GWBNM property appeared to be healthy in terms of individual appearance and stable in terms of population size. Diversity was remarkably high, especially in view of the fact that this site has been disturbed by the agricultural activity of man since the late 1600's. No specific management program is recommended regarding amphibians and reptiles. Additional collecting will undoubtedly add additional species to the list of those known to occur here.

I thank Dwight Storke, Jr., John Frye and Dave Shockley, all of the National Park Service, who provided collecting permits, lodging facilities, aerial photographs and encouragement. Walter Bulmer, Harry Painter, and Gerel Vaughan all colleagues at NVCC, spent many hours in the field. Carl Ernst twice visited the study site and contributed observations. The following students at NVCC helped in this survey: Doricella Edgar, Sheila Frye, Kim Haase, Dorilyn Kooy, John McBreen, Gerald Meier, Steve Schwegmann, and Cathy Vaughan.

Conant, Roger, 1975. A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of

Eastern and Central North America. Houghton-Mifflin, Boston. 429 pp.

Hill, James M. and T.A. Pierson, 1986. The herpetofauna of Caledon

State Park, Virginia. Catesbeiana 6:11-17.

Martof, B.S., W.M. Palmer, J.R. Bailey, and J.R. Harrison III, 1980.

Amphibians and Reptiles of the Carolinas and Virginia. The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill. 264 pp.

Tobey, F.J., 1985. Virginia's Amphibians and Reptiles: A Distributional

Survey. Privately Published, Virginia Herpetological Society, Purcellville. 114 pp.

 

Table 1. List of amphibians and reptiles observed at George Washington Birthplace National Monument, Westmoreland County, Virginia by month of observation.

M A M J J A S O N

Spotted salamander X X

Marbled salamander* X X

Red-backed salamander X X X

American toad X

Fowler's toad X

Northern cricket frog X X X

Northern spring peeper* X X

Green treefrog* X X

Gray treefrog* X

Bullfrog* X X X X X X

Green frog X X X X X X X

Southern leopard frog* X X X X X X

M A M J J A S O N

Common snapping turtle X X X X X X

Eastern mud turtle* X X X

Eastern box turtle* X X X

Northern diamondback terrapin X

Red-bellied turtle* X X X X

Eastern painted turtle* X X X X X X X X

Northern fence lizard X

Ground skink* X

Northern 5-lined skink X X

Southeastern 5-lined skink X

Six-lined racerunner X

Northern water snake* X X X

Eastern ribbon snake* X X

Eastern garter snake* X

Eastern worm snake X

Rough Green snake* X

Black rat snake X X X X

Eastern kingsnake* X

*New locality record for Westmoreland Co. (based on Tobey, 1985).

Table 2. List of amphibians and reptiles observed (O) or expected but not found (E) on George Washington Birthplace National Monument, Westmoreland County, Virginia.

Greater Siren Siren lacertina (E)

Red-spotted Newt Notophthalmus viridescens (E)

Spotted Salamander Ambystoma maculatum (O)

Marbled Salamander A. opacum (O)

Northern Red Salamander Pseudotriton ruber (E)

Eastern Mud Salamander P. montanus (E)

Four-toed Salamander Hemidactylium scutatum (E)

Red-backed Salamander Plethodon cinereus (O)

Slimy Salamander P. glutinosus (E)

Northern Dusky Salamander Desmognathus fuscus (E)

Northern Two-lined Salamander Eurycea bislineata (E)

Three-lined Salamander E. longicauda (E)

Eastern Narrow-mouthed Toad Gastrophryne carolinensis (E)

Eastern Spadefoot Toad Scaphiopus holbrookii (E)

American Toad Bufo americanus (O)

Fowler's Toad B. woodhousii (O)

Northern Cricket Frog Acris crepitans (O)

Northern Spring Peeper Hyla crucifer (O)

Green Treefrog H. cinerea (O)

Cope's Gray Treefrog H. chrysoscelis* (O)

Upland Chorus Frog Pseudacris feriarum (E)

Bullfrog Rana catesbeiana (O)

Green Frog R. clamitans (O)

Wood Frog R. sylvaticus (E)

Southern Leopard Frog R. utricularia (O)

Pickerel Frog R. palustris (E)

Atlantic Ridley Lepidochelys kempi (E)

Atlantic Loggerhead Caretta caretta (E)

Common Snapping Turtle Chelydra serpentina (O)

Eastern Mud Turtle Kinosternon subrubrum (O)

Eastern Musk Turtle Sternotherus odoratus (E)

Spotted Turtle Clemmys guttata (E)

Eastern Box Turtle Terrapene carolina (O)

Northern Diamondback Terrapin Malaclemys terrapin (O)

Red-bellied Turtle Pseudemys rubriventris (O)

Eastern Painted Turtle Chrysemys picta (O)

Northern Fence Lizard Sceloporus undulatus (O)

Ground Skink Scincella lateralis (O)

Northern Five-lined Skink Eumeces fasciatus (O)

Southeastern Five-lined Skink E. inexpectatus (O)

Broad-headed Skink E. laticeps (E)

Six-lined Racerunner Cnemidophorus sexlineatus (O)

Northern Water Snake Nerodia sipedon (O)

Queen Snake Regina septemvittata (E)

Northern Brown Snake Storeria dekayi (E)

Northern Red-bellied Snake S. occipitomaculata (E)

Eastern Ribbon Snake Thamnophis sauritus (O)

Eastern Garter Snake T. sirtalis (O)

Eastern Worm Snake Carphophis amoenus (O)

Eastern Smooth Earth Snake Virginia valeriae (E)

Eastern Hognose Snake Heterodon platirhinos (E)

Northern Black Racer Coluber constrictor (E)

Northern Ringneck Snake Diadophis punctatus (E)

Rough Green Snake Opheodrys aestivus (O)

Rainbow Snake Farancia erytrogramma (E)

Black Rat Snake Elaphe obsoleta (O)

Corn Snake E. guttata (E)

Northern Scarlet Snake Cemophora coccinea (E)

Eastern Milk Snake Lampropeltis triangulum (E)

Mole Kingsnake L. calligaster (E)

Eastern Kingsnake L. getula (O)

Copperhead Agkistrodon contortrix (E)

*Positive identification of the gray treefrog was not made. Based on range alone, it is probable that only H. chrysoscelis was present.