Faces of the Forest is the monthly blog of our Director of Conservation, Kiley Briggs. In his posts, Kiley introduces readers to the reptiles and amphibians found in the northeastern United States, either by profiling a species, or by diving into the intricacies of how species interact with each other and the landscapes they depend on. Reptiles and amphibians are very secretive, and seeing is believing, so Kiley’s goal with his blog is to foster interest in conservation by showing people the wildlife they have in their own neighborhoods.
Smooth Greensnakes and Their Fight for Survival
Smooth Greensnakes are masters of camouflage in their natural habitat, but their future is uncertain as they navigate a world...
How Male and Female Wood Turtles Use the Landscape Differently
Male and female Wood Turtles often use the same landscapes very differently. Like many wildlife species, females primarily search for...
Our first few weeks of Wood Turtle surveys in the Hudson-Berkshire region
Getting to the stream proved to be a challenge – dense thickets of thorny shrubs stood between me and the...
Wood Turtles
Despite their bright orange legs, Wood Turtles can be difficult to spot. – Kiley Briggs “I’ve lived here…
Where did the turtle go?
Turtles aren’t known for their speed, but despite that impediment, they sometimes make remarkable journeys over land. This…
What do bullfrogs and other frogs and salamanders eat?
Frogs and salamanders are what’s known as “gape-limited predators”, which is a fancy way of saying the size of their...
The Four-toed Salamander
Considered by some as a crown jewel of nighttime road searches, the Four-toed Salamander (Hemidactylium scutatum) tops off around 3...
Mudpuppies: The Winter Salamander
With each trip in and out of the snow encrusted river, layer upon layer of ice built up on my...
Making Roads Friendlier to Wildlife
Roads, both big and small, pose a serious threat to wildlife all over the world. From deer and…
The Turtle Timescale – Conservation Across Centuries
Due to their long lifespans, a turtle species can become functionally extinct while just a handful of survivors live in...
The Texas Tortoise
Gopher and Desert Tortoises are fairly well known, but a fourth tortoise species native to the United States flies under...
Baby Turtles
This nest wasn’t just special because it belonged to a Wood Turtle; it belonged to Miranda, a Wood Turtle who...
Faces of the Forest Archives
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Smooth Greensnakes and Their Fight for Survival -
How Male and Female Wood Turtles Use the Landscape Differently -
Our first few weeks of Wood Turtle surveys in the Hudson-Berkshire region -
Wood Turtles -
Where did the turtle go? -
What do bullfrogs and other frogs and salamanders eat? -
The Four-toed Salamander -
Mudpuppies: The Winter Salamander -
Making Roads Friendlier to Wildlife -
The Turtle Timescale - Conservation Across Centuries -
The Texas Tortoise -
Baby Turtles -
Rattlesnakes: Reputation vs. Reality -
More than just camouflage: relationships between snake patterns and behaviors. -
Rehab Wood Turtle -
Ring-necked Snakes -
The Wood Turtle Emergence -
Improving Wood Turtle Habitat on Working Lands -
Territoriality in Male Wood Turtles -
Why Wood Turtles Need Clean Water -
On the Personality of "Bruce" the Wood Turtle -
Out of Sight: Why Most People Never See a Wood Turtle -
The Success of Red-eared Sliders Comes at the Expense of Native Turtles -
The Big Four of Turtle Conservation -
Dekay's Brownsnake: One of America's Most Misidentified Snakes -
What is the Difference Between Turtles and Tortoises? Frogs and Toads? Newts and Salamanders? -
Are Snapping Turtles Dangerous? -
The Mystery of Vermont's Box Turtles -
How to Help Turtles Cross Roads -
Species Spotlight: Wood Frogs -
Why Are We Afraid of Snakes and How Do We Overcome That Fear? -
Phantoms of the Forest: The Secretive Nature of Timber Rattlesnakes -
Enduring and Avoiding the Cold - How Reptiles and Amphibians Survive Northern Winters -
Smooth Greensnakes: My Most Abundant White Whale. -
Filling the Void: Public Outreach in the Year of Social Distancing. -
Diamonds in the Rough: Are Populations of Elusive Ribbonsnakes Hiding in Plain Sight? -
On the Longevity of Turtles -
Elusive Wood Turtles -
Why Turtles Cross Roads and How to Help -
On Winter Perseverance of our Cold-blooded Friends -
Trapped Under The Ice: How Wood Turtles Survive the Winter. -
Winter Blizzards Bring Spring Lizards: How to find amphibians during their spring breeding migrations -
What Lies Beneath: Salamanders in the Basement -
Baby Wood Turtles: A 2019 Highlight -
On Snails and Slugs: A Wood Turtle's Perspective -
On Myths and Milksnakes -
Smooth Turtle Leeches -
Varied Habitats Key to Wood Turtle Success -
Tracking Scarce Turtles -
Miranda's Second Chance -
A Declining Species -
Species Spotlight: Eastern Musk Turtle -
Why Do Species Live Where They Do and Not Where They Don't? -
A Gardener's Friend: The Secretive Red-bellied Snake -
Combating Misinformation with Identification Tips and Resources -
Winter Hideouts -
The Snake of the North -
Fall Peepers - A Seasonal Aberration -
A How-to on Proper Use of a Field Guide -
Snappers: The myth vs the turtle -
Tripod Turtles -
Woodland clams are a thing! -
Kingdom Mystery: Quest for the Blue-spotted Salamander -
Egg Mass Identification in the Great Northern Forests -
Porcupines: Bark-eating Beasties of the Northern Woods -
Mink Fogs: The Frog of the North -
Beavers -
Eastern Newts -
Northern Hardwoods of Vermont -
Dispelling the Myth: "Bloodthirsty" Snakes