Fourche Creek Information > Fourche Creek Sights >

Fourche’s Native Residents

You may think that because the watershed is within the city limits that the wildlife present would be limited. Fortunately, this is incorrect. Wildlife is surprisingly adaptable, living in conditions never before expected. As the warm weather continues, even more creatures will be abuzz, migrating back north or settling here in Arkansas to rear their young.

No, you’re not seeing a small or juvenile Great Blue. This little guy is known as a night-heron. There are two varieties of night heron, a black crown and a yellow-crown. We aren’t sure which one this is because of the tree leaves, and the fact that the two species’ habitats overlap. They cover five continents, including almost all of North America.

It is most active at dusk and at night, feeding in the same areas that other heron species frequent during the day.

Turtles are another well-known inhabitant of the Watershed. On a sunny day, up to 50 turtles can be seen sunning themselves on logs, often pushing each other off the log to fight for space.

The most well known, and threatened species are the ornate box turtle and the red-eared slider turtle. Unfortunately, their popularity as a child’s pet has drastically reduced the wild numbers. And what’s worse, when the child grows uninterested in the turtle, often the turtle is set free.

These guys have no idea what wild food looks like, and many released turtles die of starvation and disease.

This is a female Eastern Box Turtle. We know this is a female because she hissed at us. Only female turtles hiss; males growl. She was actually quite ferocious, and tried to run away in mid air.

Here is another box turtle, although we aren’t sure of what type. We suspect Eastern, but this was as far as it would come out of its shell while we were anywhere close. The top of its shell was extremely pointed, and the turtle was heavier than most. Perhaps it was a female heavy with eggs?

Related to turtles are the various water and land snakes we have encountered. Now that the winter hibernation is over, the snakes are at their most deadly, with a season’s full of venom and very hungry bellies. Please be cautious when out in the swamp, and never attack a snake. If you leave it a lone, it will leave you alone too.

This looks like a Water Moccasin or Cottonmouth, but it is actually a non-venomous species known as the Diamondback Water snake. They have evolved to resemble poisonous snakes so other, bigger predators will leave them alone. However, they are still very nasty, and when provoked, will take a hunk of flesh.

Notice how he arches his neck when provoked, and how the head itself is “diamond” shaped, closely resembling that of a viper.

This is a much calmer Ribbon Snake. This one has green stripes, but they come in many different colors.

Ribbon Snakes are harmless inhabitants of local waterways. They subsist on small fish and invertebrates. They live in burrows made in the soft bank-side mud.

This is not a harmless water snake. This is the infamous Water moccasin; aka the cottonmouth. They are very venomous and quick to strike. They are easily distinguished from non-venomous snakes by the slit eyes and the flattened, diamond-shaped head. In the area this picture was taken, a total of three separate snakes were seen, all very happy and well fed.

This snake will actually eat venomous snakes, along with toads, crickets, and small rodents. This is a speckled kingsnake, one of the easiest going snakes you will ever meet. They usually hang out around creeks and lowland fields.

Hopefully the next character on our list won't become a water moccasin's dinner!

This particular toad is very well camouflaged. The bright green striping under his chin could indicate that he has poison in his skin, possibly making him unattractive prey.

The Crawfish is a well known sight in the South, and many species thrive in the Fourche Creek watershed. We have found them very small, and we have also found them at the large grandpappy size.

We've also photographed large fish, such as the Spotted Gar.

The greatest indications we have found of life are the prints and remains left behind. We are constantly finding paw prints, bones, and droppings of a variety of creatures. Most common are raccoon and dog prints.

This deer print was found just off of I-440. It was quite large and deep, indicating a full-grown buck or very large doe. There were two or three other sets of deer tracks with it, but these were the cleanest and deepest.

These are waterfowl prints, probably from a Crowned Heron. They were everywhere and overlapped, indicating multiple individuals at once.

Occasionally, we do find remains. On the left is what was originally thought to be a fox skull, but now we are thinking dog. Skull identification in many species is very difficult without the lower jaw and full set of canine teeth. On the right is the upper half of a deer skull found near Otter Creek.