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| Fox Snake: PC Tristan Schramer |
Date:
May 2nd 2015
Species Found:
- Eastern Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis)
- Western Ribbon Snake (Thamnophis proximus)
- Six-lined Racerunner (Aspidoscelis sexlineata)
- Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon sipedon)
- American Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus)
- Northern Green Frog (Lithobates clamitans clamitans)
- Northern Leopard Frog (Lithobates pipiens)
- Plains Leopard Frog (Lithobates blairi)
- Northern Cricket Frog (Acris crepitans blanchardi)
- Western Fox Snake (Pantherophis vulpinus)
- Dwarf American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus charlsmithi)
Background:
Tom Anton, the herpetologist for the Chicago region wanted us to help him fill in the missing reptile and amphibian records for Mercer County. The county was right in between 2 other counties that had full lists of species so we knew which species we needed to find. Tom and Joey had taken a trip to Mercer the week before and got a few records: Painted Turtles and Ribbon Snakes. Having 4 more people there would greatly increase their chances of finding herps so they asked us to come along.
The Trip:
Doug, Sam, Tristan and I reached Mercer around 8:30 am, after a 3 hour drive. Our first location was a grassy hillside that was right along the river. We got out of the car and started searching even before Tom and Joey showed up. In about half an hour we had found 2 Eastern Garter Snakes. Doug and Tristan caught one in the grass and Sam found the other one under a log. These Garter Snakes had a lot of red coloration on their sides so they were different than any Garter Snake I had seen before. When Tom showed up he was really surprised about our reddish Garters. He said that they looked exactly like the ones found on the other side of the river, in Iowa. Thamnophis sirtalis siralis was a new subspecies for me. I had only seen the Chicago Garter Snake before this.
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| Eastern Garter Snake: PC Tristan Schramer |
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| Eastern Garter Snake: PC Tristan Schramer |
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| Red Coloration of Eastern Garter Snake: PC Tristan Schramer |
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| Eastern Garter Snake: PC Tristan Schramer |
The next location we went to was a junkyard nearby. It had piles of garden waste and the odd piece of tarp or rubber. As soon as we got there Sam caught a Six-lined Racerunner and someone else caught a Western Ribbon Snake. I had seen both of these species before but they were cool nonetheless. Then some lady from the town came up to us and started asking us about what we were doing. She seemed kind of angry but Tom dealt with her and she went away. I saw a nice pile of debris that was out in the sun next to a tree, perfect snake habitat. As I got towards it, I saw a colorful Ribbon Snake disappear under an old tangled fire-hose. I tried to catch it but I couldn't find it again. Either way, we had other Ribbon Snakes to photograph.
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| Six-lined Racerunner: PC Tristan Schramer |
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| Six-lined Racerunner: PC Tristan Schramer |
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| Western Ribbon Snake: PC Joey |
Next, we went to some large ponds that were a short walk through the forest. The moment we got to the water's edge we started to see frogs jumping into the water. I saw some Bullfrogs, Green Frogs, Leopard Frogs and Cricket Frogs but I didn't get photos of any of them. Tom spotted a Plains Leopard Frog, a new species for both me and Tristan. Only Joey managed to get a good photo as we never caught it. We caught a Northern Leopard Frog in a field, which Tristan photographed.
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| Plains Leopard Frog: PC Joey |
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| Northern Leopard Frog: PC Tristan Schramer |
Tristan found a juvenile Northern Water Snake under a log and also found a Ribbon Snake that was drinking water.
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| Juvenile Northern Water Snake: PC Tristan Schramer |
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| Western Ribbon Snake drinking water: PC Tristan Schramer |
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| Western Ribbon Snake: PC Tristan Schramer |
We moved away from that pond and up a steep bank that overlooked the river. We saw a Northern Water Snake sitting at the edge of the cliff. Joey skillfully caught it by laying down on the ground and sneaking up on it. I found a juvenile Fox Snake under a log and everyone took turns photographing it.
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| Northern Water Snake: PC Tristan Schramer |
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| Northern Water Snake: PC Tristan Schramer |
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| Juvenile Fox Snake: PC Tristan Schramer |
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| Everybody photographing the Fox Snake: PC Joey |
We headed back to the road and decided to check one more spot before lunch. It was the floodplain on the other side of the road. Again, we walked through the forest and got to the water. We had flipped a good number of logs and found nothing. I was starting to think this location was a bust, when I flipped a large, hollow log. As soon as I picked up the log, a good sized Northern Water Snake shot out from under it. On impulse, I grabbed it by the tail and lifted it up. It was squirming and writhing, throwing bites left and right. I managed to hold onto it for 30 seconds before I got bit. Once I got bit the first time, I figured it was okay to free handle it so I did, and got bitten 4 more times. I was showing everyone where I had found the snake when I saw the fat body of a female Northern Water Snake sticking out from the very same log. THEY WERE A MATING PAIR! I carefully pulled the female out from the log and laid it on the ground. She was much calmer than the male and refused to bite even with all the handling. We took our photos and let them get back to their fun in the hollow log.
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| Male Northern Water Snake: PC Tristan Schramer |
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| Male Northern Water Snake: PC Tristan Schramer |
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| Totally Worth It: PC Tristan Schramer |
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| Female Northern Water Snake: PC Tristan Schramer |
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| Me with the Female Northern Water Snake: PC Tristan Schramer |
On the way out, Tristan found a little juvenile Northern Water Snake under some debris. It was the smallest Water Snake I had ever seen, but just as feisty as the rest. We also found another Garter Snake under a plastic bag.
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| Juvenile Northern Water Snake: PC Tristan Schramer |
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| Me releasing a Garter Snake: PC Tristan Schramer |
After lunch we drove to another location. It was far off the road and much more pristine than the other locations. It was a fishing area, with a large water body and an even larger floodplain. As soon as we got there, we saw a medium sized Northern Water Snake in the water. It swam away before we could catch it. We spread out and managed to find a few more Northern Water Snakes. Joey caught a Garter Snake and Tristan spotted a Ribbon Snake which got away. At an abandoned shed, I caught a large Garter Snake which was under a water pipe. While Tristan and I were recording the Garter Snake's coordinates, Tom, Joey and Sam yelled for us. We ran back to find Tom holding a large angry snake. It was a 3 foot adult Fox Snake. Apparently they had been walking and heard a buzzing coming from under some dried plants. Sam investigated it and found that it was the Fox Snake vibrating its tail. This was my 3rd Fox Snake but my first adult. This snake was even feistier than the Water Snakes, refusing to calm down even after many minutes of handling. When we put it on the ground, it coiled up and raised its head in the air, vibrating its tail and hissing loudly. We took a few photos and let it go before it could get even angrier.
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| Tom with the Fox Snake: PC Tristan Schramer |
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| Me with the Fox Snake: PC Tristan Schramer |
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| Joey with the Fox Snake: PC Tristan Schramer |
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| Fox Snake: PC Tristan Schramer |
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| Fox Snake: PC Tristan Schramer |
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| Fox Snake: PC Tristan Schramer |
The daylight was fading and we had one more location to hit, so we decided to move on. On the way back to the cars, Sam spotted another Northern Water Snake in a rock pile. We pulled it out and found that it had just eaten a large frog, evident from the bulge in its body. This snake didn't throw a bite or even squirm. It must have been sluggish after just eating. We took a photo and let it go.
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| Northern Water Snake: PC Tristan Schramer |
At the car, we were welcomed by a yellow dog. It was loose with no ID, but very friendly. We played with it for a while before we left for our next location.
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| Random Dog: PC Joey |
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| Random Dog: PC Tristan Schramer |
At the next location we didn't find anything except Cricket Frogs so we decided to call it a day and head back. This trip was probably one of the most enjoyable yet. I got to see a lot of cool snakes and the company of everyone was an added bonus. Working with an experienced herpetologist like Tom was a great experience and I learned a lot. As far as my Herp List went, I got 1 new species, the Plains Leopard Frog, and one new subspecies, the Eastern Garter Snake. My list now stood at 53 American Herp Species.
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