Fall Herping in Southern Illinois 1

Black Kingsnake: PC Yatin Kalki

Date:
September 27th & 28th 2014

Species Found:

1. Eastern Fence Lizard (Sceloporus undulatus)
2. Dwarf American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus charlsmithi)
3. Black Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula niger)
4. Northern Cricket Frog (Acris crepitans blanchardi)
5. Bronze Frog (Rana c. clamitans)
6. Ground Skink (Scincella lateralis)
7. Northern Redbelly Snake (Storeria o. occipitomaculata)
8. Five Lined Skink (Peistodon fasciatus)
9. Fowler's Toad (Bufo fowleri)

Background:

I took a 2 day field trip to Southern Illinois with my Earth Science and Environment class. The field trip was aimed at showing us the diverse relief features of Illinois but I was more interested in the herps I that occurred there. Tristan had told me all about the various snake species, including venomous ones, that could be found in the Shawnee Hills. This time I didn't have Tristan to tell me about each species as we found them. I had to be able to identify all of them by myself. I looked at pictures of all the species and learned how to identify the venomous ones in particular: the Cottonmouth, the Copperhead and the Timber Rattlesnake. I knew the non-venomous ones roughly and that was good enough for me. I was planning to take pictures and send them to Tristan for identification. There was one professor, Dr. Rob, on the trip who was a fan of reptiles and all animals in general, but not really a herper. He told all of us on the trip not to touch any of the snakes that we might find but after I showed him that I knew what I was doing, he waived the rule just for me. He was also an amateur wildlife photographer so had a policy where he would give students $5 for every vertebrate they helped him get a good picture of. I planned to totally capitalize on this deal.

The Trip:

The first place we visited was called Garden of the Gods. It was high up on a hill with many boulders and rocky outcroppings. From the moment we stepped out of the bus, I started herping. I was flipping logs and looking under rocks while the rest of my class stared at me in puzzlement. I finally found a baby Fence Lizard on the side of a boulder. Catching it was not easy, but I eventually did and brought it back for Dr. Rob to photograph. Getting 5 photographs of "nature" was a part of the assignment so the rest of the class took turns taking pictures of the lizard too.

Eastern Fence Lizard: PC Yatin Kalki

Eastern Fence Lizard: PC Yatin Kalki

Eastern Fence Lizard: PC Yatin Kalki

The next place we went to was Heron Pond, a forest with a stream cutting through it, finally ending up in a swamp. I found an American Toad under a log near the parking lot and again, there was a queue to take pictures of it.

Dwarf American Toad: PC Yatin Kalki

Dwarf American Toad: PC Yatin Kalki

Soon, we came across a stream where Cricket Frogs were hopping all over the place. Flipping some of the rocks in the stream resulted in some frogs that I later found out were Bronze Frogs.

Northern Cricket Frog: PC Yatin Kalki

Bronze Frog: PC Yatin Kalki

I wasn't satisfied with what I had found so far. I knew that if I was going to see any snakes, I would see them in Heron Pond. So, as the group was walking ahead on the trail, chattering, I was hanging behind, flipping every rock and looking in every tree hollow. Finally, I came upon a large pile of rocks by the side of the stream. I flipped a few and found a large black snake coiled up, nestled between a few large rocks. I couldn't see the head and I knew it could be a Cottonmouth so I grabbed a stick and moved its body off the head. As soon as I saw that its head wasn't the distinctive triangle shape of a viper, I grabbed it by the tail and picked it up. Surprisingly, it didn't hiss, strike or musk on me. This 4 foot snake was so docile, you would've thought it was a pet. From the black dorsal side and the white ventral side, I guessed it was a Black Rat Snake. When I called everyone over, Dr. Rob was overjoyed to see the snake and he promptly took it in his hands with no hesitation. I told him that I thought it was a Black Rat Snake and he seemed to agree. My classmates were a little more wary of such a large snake but once they realized that it wasn't doing anything, they slowly came forward, one by one to hold it. I found out later from Tristan that it was actually a Black Kingsnake, a species that looks very similar to the Black Rat Snake. The Black Kingsnake is known to eat other snakes, including venomous Cottonmouths and Rattlesnakes.

Black Kingsnake: PC Yatin Kalki

Kingsnake with Geology Prof: PC Yatin Kalki

Black Kingsnake: PC Yatin Kalki

Black Kingsnake: PC Yatin Kalki

I let the Kingsnake go and soon caught a Ground Skink. I had seen at least 10 of them before I managed to catch one because they were so fast.

Ground Skink: PC Yatin Kalki

As we were walking through the forest and returning to the bus, Dr. Rob, who was walking beside me, said "Snake!" and pointed to the floor. Sure enough there was a small 8 inch snake crossing our path. I picked it up and thought it was a Ringneck Snake but it was actually a Northern Redbelly, Tristan told me. We took some pictures of that and let it go.

Northern Redbelly Snake: PC Yatin Kalki

Northern Redbelly Snake: PC Yatin Kalki

The next day we went to farmer's prawn ranch. He had about 5 artificial ponds which had Cricket Frogs and Bull Frogs in them. I couldn't catch any of them as they were in the water. That' why they aren't on the Species Found List. When I spoke to the farmer, he said that in Spring and Summer, he gets Cottonmouths, Copperheads, Hognoseds, Garters and Kingsnakes. He also gave me permission to look under the tin sheets and what not that lay about on his property. Under one tin, I found a vibrant Five Lined Skink but it was too fast and went down a hole. I also found a large Fowler's Toad hopping around.

Fowler's Toad: PC Yatin Kalki

Fowler's Toad: PC Yatin Kalki

In total, I found 9 species for Dr. Rob to photograph. I was looking forward to getting $45 but he said he didn't expect anyone to actually take the challenge seriously and at most, he would pay me $5. At that point, I was happy just with the 8 new species I had added to my American Herp List. My total count now stood at 17 species over 3 herping trips.