Herpedex: All the Herps I Have Seen In The Wild: October 2014

Saturday 25 October 2014

Fall Herping in Vermilion County, Illinois

Juvenile Blue Racer: PC Yatin Kalki

Date:
October 25th 2014

Species Found

Red Back Salamander (Plethodon cinereus)
Northern Slimy Salamander (Plethodon glutinosus)
Southern Two Lined Salamander (Eurycea cirrigera)
Wood Frog (Lithobates sylvaticus)
Northern Spring Peeper (Pseudacris c. crucifer)
Western Chorus Frog (Pseudacris triseriata)
Blue Racer (Coluber constrictor foxii)
Four Toed Salamander (Hemidactylium scutatum)
Northern Cricket Frog (Acris crepitans blanchardi)

Background:

It was getting colder and we thought the snake season was just about over. We decided to concentrate more on salamanders as they have higher tolerance to the cold. Tristan found 'Doug' on Flickr who had found a variety of salamander species in a neighboring county. He reached out to Doug and it turned out that Doug worked at the University of Illinois in the chemistry department. Doug agreed to take me, Tristan and Megan out to Vermilion County and show us some of the salamander spots.

The Trip:

Doug first took us to a place where he had found Marbled Salamanders before. We had no luck there though. Then, we all branched out from that spot, herping in different directions, just to see what we might find. I found several slugs, earthworms, centipedes and wolf spiders but no herps. After what seemed like an hour, Tristan yelled that he had found something. He was really far away so his voice was really faint. I walked some distance just following his voice and when I finally found him, he showed me two small Red Back Salamanders that he had in his hand. They were dark colored with a reddish stripe running down their back. They looked quite similar to the Zigzag Salamanders we had seen at Snake Road.

Red Back Salamander: PC Yatin Kalki

Red Back Salamander: PC Yatin Kalki

We then moved on to another location: a hillside with a lot of rocks to flip. There we found at least 100 more Red Back Salamanders. Some of the Red Backs didn't have the stripe running down their back. These were apparently called Lead Backs but they were the same species as the Red Backs. They were just a different phase. The Red/Lead Backs ranged in size from 5 cm to 8 cm.

Red Back Salamander: PC Tristan Schramer

Lead Back Salamander: PC Tristan Schramer

Red Back Salamander: PC Tristan Schramer

Both phases: PC Tristan Schramer

We also found some Red Back neonates (babies). They were barely 2 cm long.

Red Back Salamander Neonate: PC Tristan Schramer

Everyone was getting kind of bored of finding only one species over and over. I saw a large flat rock that was kind of breaking off in slates. I flipped it and found 6 Red Backs and one large black salamander that looked differently proportioned than the other ones I had been seeing. I picked it up and called everyone over. Tristan identified it as a Slimy Salamander. It was 10-12 cm long and had small white dots all over it. It left a sticky residue all over my hands, I guess that's where it gets its name from. The Slimy was a first for everyone and I was really proud that I was the one who found it. While Tristan was photographing it, I found 2 more Slimy Salamanders near the same slate rocks.

Slimy Salamander: PC Tristan Schramer

Slimy Salamander: PC Yatin Kalki

Slimy Salamanders: PC Yatin Kalki

The next species we found was the Southern Two Lined Salamander and guess who found it? Me :)

It was about as big as the Red Backs but looked really different. It was golden yellow with 2 lines running down its back. Its underside was bright yellow. I was holding it in my hand as I climbed down the hill toward everyone else and when I got down the salamander wasn't moving and its body was limp. I thought it had died of shock and I felt guilty as hell. I set it down on a rock to examine it and out of nowhere it jumped up and made a dash for a pile of leaves. It was playing dead the whole time!

Southern Two Lined Salamander: PC Tristan Schramer

We also found some frogs. A Wood Frog and a Spring Peeper. The Wood Frog has a dark eye mask and a yellowish underbelly. It can tolerate freezing temperature and over the Winter it freezes completely only to thaw in the Spring. The Spring Peeper looks like a tree frog with large toe pads and a cross on its back.

Wood Frog: PC Tristan Schramer

Wood Frog: PC Yatin Kalki

Spring Peeper: PC Yatin Kalki

Spring Peeper: PC Tristan Schramer

Next we went to a snake hibernaculum where Doug had found Black Rat Snakes before. I started looking in the cracks between rocks and flipping the loose ones. Tristan walked up a sunny hill and literally less than 10 seconds later, he came down with a juvenile Blue Racer Snake. I had seen the Black Racer but the Blue was new to me. Racers are some of my favorite snakes so I was super excited. Then, Megan went up the hill and 10 seconds later, she came down holding an adult Blue Racer. The adult was around 4 ft long while the juvenile was maybe 3 ft. I was amazed at how easily they had found the snakes so I decided to go up the hill. Unfortunately I didn't find anything but I had a really fun time handling the other two. These light blue scales of these snakes were iridescent in the sunlight.

Juvenile Blue Racer: PC Yatin Kalki

Juvenile Blue Racer: PC Yatin Kalki

Adult Blue Racer: PC Yatin Kalki

At one point the larger Blue Racer got into a feisty mood and started striking at me. It also started vibrating its tail in the leaf litter to simulate the rattle of a rattlesnake.

When we were releasing the Racers on the hill, I heard something moving through the leaves a few meters away from me. It was another Blue Racer with a whiter color than the other 2. I picked it up by its tail and this one was even feistier than the other one. It got me on the wrist but it didn't break the skin. I had enough pictures of Blue Racers so I let this one go without photographing it.

We next went to a place where the State Threatened Four Toed Salamander is found. It was an artificial wetland created to water cattle. As soon as we got there Megan found a Western Chorus Frog, which was a new species for me. We went on flipping rocks and logs and found various Red Backs and Southern Two Lineds. Finally, Megan found the spot where we found about 10 Four Toed Salamanders. They were identified by their spotted underbelly and constriction at the base of the tail. Since they were a threatened species, all of us were excited about them.

Western Chorus Frog: PC Yatin Kalki

Western Chorus Frog: PC Tristan Schramer

Four Toed Salamander: PC Tristan Schramer

This trip added 8 new species to my Herpedex, putting my total at 37 herp species in America.

Saturday 11 October 2014

Fall Herping at Allerton

Midland Brown Snake: PC Tristan Schramer

Date:
October 11th 2014

Species Found

Midland Brown Snake (Storeria dekayi wrightorum)
Western Fox Snake (Pantherophis vulpinus)

Background:

My NRES 102 class took a field trip to Allerton National Park to learn more about conservation related field work. They had segments planned out on mammals, birds and fish, but no segment on herps. Tristan was in this class with me so we decided to do a little herping on our own.

The Trip:

We were doing a radio telemetry exercise where we were using a receiver to track down a transmitter hidden somewhere in the woods. The signal was really strong and we were searching on the ground around us for the transmitter when I saw the thin body of a small snake making its way through the leaves. I quickly grabbed it and showed it to Tristan. He identified it as a Midland Brown Snake, an extremely common species throughout America. This snake was only about a foot long and it wasn't very feisty.

Midland Brown Snake: PC Yatin Kalki

Midland Brown Snake: PC Yatin Kalki

It was really cold that day so I was surprised to find a snake out and about. I really didn't think I'd find anything else but as we were listening to a professor talk about the soil, Tristan spotted a baby Fox Snake sitting in some tall grass. He picked it up and it didn't even try to resist. That was probably because it was so cold and the snake was sluggish. The Fox Snake was a pretty good looking snake and what made this particular one more interesting was that we weren't even trying to find it. Fox Snakes are constrictors that eat mostly just mammals. This small snake must have been looking for a mouse burrow or something because baby mice would be its main source of food. I posed it by covering it with my hands and Tristan and I took some good photos.

Western Fox Snake: PC Yatin Kalki

Western Fox Snake: PC Yatin Kalki

Western Fox Snake: PC Yatin Kalki

Later on when we were taking tree measurements, one of the other guys yelled that there was a snake near him. I headed over and it was another little Midland Brown. When I picked it up, it bit me but its teeth weren't large enough to break my skin. This snake was really feisty. It coiled up and struck at me, open-mouthed. It took a good 5 minutes for it to calm down. It was kind of comical to see such a small, harmless snake behaving so aggressively so I took some videos and pictures.

Midland Brown Snake: PC Tristan Schramer

Going into this, we expected to get some new salamanders and frogs, definitely not snakes. Ironically, we didn't get a single amphibian and got 2 snake species, both of which were new for me. My Herpedex total was now 29 species.

Sunday 5 October 2014

Fall Herping in Southern Illinois 2

Southern Black Racer: PC Yatin Kalki

Date:
October 4th 2014

Species Found:

Northern Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus fuscus)
Upland Chorus Frog (Pseudacris f. ferarium)
Western Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma)
Northern Zigag Salamander (Plethodon dorsalis)
Western Smooth Earth Snake (Virginia valeriae elegans)
Long Tail Salamander (Eurycea l. longicauda)
Southern Black Racer (Coluber constrictor priapus)
Western Ribbon Snake (Thamnophis sauritus)
Midland Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon pluralis)
Southern Leopard Frog (Lithobates sphenocephalus)
Northern Cricket Frog (Acris crepitans blanchardi)
Bronze Frog (Rana c. clamitans)
Eastern Fence Lizard (Sceloporus undulatus)

Background:

Noah and Tristan had always been talking about the trip we needed to make to Snake Road in the Fall. Snake Road is a stretch of road that lies between a swamp and a series of bluffs. Every Fall, several snake species migrate from the swamp, into the bluffs to hibernate. And every Spring, the snakes emerge from the bluffs and make their way to the water. For a few weeks in both seasons, the road is closed off to vehicles and herpers from all around come to witness the snake migration.

We were planning to reach Southern Illinois on Friday night, camp out in the forest and hit 3-4 herping spots as soon as the sun came up. This time, we had 2 more people with us. Megan was a senior and a part of the Wildlife Club. Austin was Noah's friend and also a senior. I didn't know this ahead of time, but we were actually going to some of the same spots I had visited the week before with my ESE class.

The Trip:

After spending a terribly cold night in a hammock somewhere in the forest at Garden of the Gods, we set off to our first herping spot just as the sun was rising. It was a water body where a feral population of Dusky Salamanders had been established, after they had been brought here as fishing bait. We started flipping rocks by the stream when Megan found a frog that she couldn't identify. I looked at the dark strip that went across its eyes and guessed that it was a Chorus Frog of some sort.

Upland Chorus Frog: PC Yatin Kalki

Upland Chorus Frog: PC Tristan Schramer

We took some pictures and released it. A few minutes later we met up with Tristan and he was kind of upset that we had released it without him being able to identify it or get high quality pictures. So, Megan and Tristan went back in search of the frog where we had released it. In the meantime, I was finding a ton of Cricket Frogs and Bronze Frogs. It was so cold out that most of the time the frogs didn't even try to move when I caught them.

Northern Cricket Frog: PC Yatin Kalki

Northern Cricket Frog: PC Tristan Schramer

Bronze Frog: PC Tristan Schramer

Tristan and Megan came back and it turned out they did manage to find that Chorus Frog and identified it as an Upland Chorus Frog. All 5 us continued flipping rocks by the stream, looking for the the Dusky Salamander. I saw a really flat rock without too much water around it and it looked promising. Sure enough, when I flipped it, I saw a small, shiny lizard-looking thing. It was the first salamander I had ever seen, but I knew exactly what it was. I called everyone over after I had picked it up and Tristan confirmed that it was a Northern Dusky. This was a first for everyone, including Tristan, so he wanted to get really good pictures of it. We were there for another hour as Tristan posed the salamander on various surfaces and took shots from various angles.

Northern Dusky Salamander: PC Yatin Kalki

Northern Dusky Salamander: PC Tristan Schramer

Next, we made our way to the infamous Snake Road. There, we employed our usual rock/log flipping tactic, which set us apart from the rest of the people, who were just walking up and down the road looking for moving snakes. I made the first find. A baby Cottonmouth under a log. It was probably less than a foot long but it was hard to tell because it was coiled up and it was against the law to handle or move a venomous snake.

Baby Western Cottonmouth: PC Yatin Kalki

Baby Western Cottonmouth: PC Tristan Schramer

Apparently I was having a really lucky day because I ended up finding 2 more baby Cottonmouths under logs while no one else had found anything interesting. About an hour later, Tristan found some Zigzag Salamanders. They were small and not very impressive looking but I may have thought that because I was expecting to see huge, vibrant snakes. Noah and Austin ended up finding a Longtail Salamander but they released it because they couldn't find any of us. They told me where they released it and fortunately I found it. It was a really cool looking salamander and it was a lot prettier than the Dusky and the Zigzags.

Northern Zigzag Salamander: PC Yatin Kalki

Northern Zigzag Salamander: PC Tristan Schramer

Longtail Salamander: PC Yatin Kalki

Longtail Salamander: PC Yatin Kalki

Longtail Salamander: PC Yatin Kalki

While Tristan was photographing the Zigzags, he flipped a rock and found a tightly curled up Smooth Earth Snake. The snake was probably the most docile and shy snake I had ever seen. It buried its head under its body and tried to hide from us. When we started handling it, it warmed up to us real quick, literally. It was so cold out that the snake was enjoying the warmth form our hands and becoming more active. It had probably never seen a human in its life before, being a fossorial species, so it was calm and confident once it realized we weren't a threat.

Smooth Earth Snake: PC Tristan Schramer

Smooth Earth Snake: PC Yatin Kalki

Smooth Earth Snake: PC Tristan Schramer

I was really tired of scaling the cliffs and flipping heavy rocks so I decided to adopt the "lazy herper" method and walk up and down the trail. I saw a group of 3 people standing by a bluff, taking pictures so I walked over to check it out. They had a 4 ft Black Racer and I was really excited about this. Its large eyes and smiling face reminded me of the Oriental Rat Snake back home. It started to slither away and the other guys seemed to be done with it so I grabbed it to take my own pictures.

Southern Black Racer: PC Yatin Kalki

Me with the Black Racer: PC Noah Horsley

Southern Black Racer: PC Yatin Kalki

As I was making my way back to my group, I came across a 3 foot adult Cottonmouth crossing the path. It was a lot more intimidating than the puny babies we had seen and it gave me the whole open-mouthed threat display that gives it its name. Its golden eyes and pale white mouth made it look majestic and menacing at the same time. I knew for sure it was venomous from the triangular head and stocky body that is characteristic of all vipers.

Western Cottonmouth: PC Yatin Kalki

Western Cottonmouth: PC Yatin Kalki

Western Cottonmouth: PC Yatin Kalki

Western Cottonmouth: PC Yatin Kalki

We regrouped and decided to head out to the next spot. We were walking toward the car when we came across another group of people crowded around a small snake. It was a 1 ft Ribbon Snake. It was significantly more colorful than the Garters I had seen but looked very similar. After the group moved off, I posed the snake by covering it with my hands and managed to get some good pictures.

Western Ribbon Snake: PC Yatin Kalki

Western Ribbon Snake: PC Yatin Kalki

Western Ribbon Snake: PC Yatin Kalki

Tristan found a Fence Lizard at some point. It was a new species for him but I had seen plenty of them the previous week on my field trip.

Eastern Fence Lizard: PC Tristan Schramer

We then went to the next spot and decided that we would only spend 15 minutes there because we had to go to a fourth spot and daylight was fading. This place was a dry stream near a children's playground. For just 15 minutes of herping, I was surprised we managed to get so much. We found a baby Northern Water Snake and a few Longtail Salamanders.

Midland Water Snake: PC Yatin Kalki

Midland Water Snake: PC Yatin Kalki

Midland Water Snake: PC Yatin Kalki

We went to the fourth spot but we didn't find anything we hadn't seen before. I did get a new species though, the Southern Leopard Frog.

Southern Leopard Frog: PC Yatin Kalki

Southern Leopard Frog: PC Tristan Schramer

This herping trip was probably the most productive one yet. I got 10 new species to add to my American Herp List or my Herpedex as I was now calling it (a Pokemon thing). My Herpedex now stood at 27 American Species.