Herping at the Vermilion River Observatory

Blue Racer: PC Yatin Kalki

Date:
May 8th 2015

Species Found:

1. Eastern American Toad (Anaryxus americanus americanus)
2. Ringneck Snake (Diadophis punctatus)
3. Smallmouth Salamander (Ambystoma texanum)
4. Northern Green Frog (Lithobates clamitans clamitans)
5. Eastern Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis)
6. Blue Racer (Coluber constrictor foxii)
7. Red Back Salamander (Plethodon cinereus)

Background:

Tristan and I had recently become board members of the Wildlife Society - Illinois Student Chapter. I was the Vice President and Tristan was the Undergraduate Representative. This meant that we frequently met one of the advisers for the club, Steve Buck, the Natural Areas Coordinator for the Vermilion River Observatory. He told us that he had a large area of land that was owned by the ECE department but was mostly natural forest area. He said that he had seen snakes on the property but nobody had actually done any surveys. He wanted us to come out to the site with him and document the species we found.

The Trip:

Steve drove us to the VRO, about 30 minutes off campus. He opened the gate and gave us a copy of the key so that we could come back without him. We walked past piles of debris like tin and wooden boards, perfect snake habitat. Since we were on a schedule, we didn't flip any of it. The first herp we found was a small American Toad hopping through the grass. I picked it up and Tristan recorded its GPS coordinates. Steve showed us some pond and vernal pools that he had seen salamanders and frogs breeding in. We saw a few Green Frogs but didn't attempt to catch them. We then passed by a big pile of tin sitting out in the sun by the side of the road. This looked too good not to flip so we started moving the large tin layers. About 5 layers deep, I spotted a small Ringneck Snake curled up at the corner of the tin. I picked it up and showed Steve. He said that Ringneck Snakes had never been found in this area so it was a new record.

Pile of Tin: PC Tristan Schramer

Ringneck Snake: PC Yatin Kalki

Ringneck Snake: PC Yatin Kalki

Ringneck Snake: PC Tristan Schramer

At the very bottom of the tin pile, we found a Smallmouth Salamanderresting in the moist dirt. These had been well recorded in this area so we just left it alone. We let the Ringneck Snake go after getting some photos. Near the tin pile, there was some more debris that we decided to look under. Tristan found an Eastern Garter Snake under a rusty toolbox but that was about it. After that, we went to an old shed where Steve said that he had frequently seen a resident Black Rat Snake. Neither Tristan nor I had seen a Black Rat Snake so we were quite excited at the prospect of seeing one. We checked inside the shed but didn't find any snakes. Right outside the shed was a pile of debris. We started moving some of that and I saw the tail of a medium sized snake with some patterning on it. I immediately thought Black Rat Snake and pulled it out by the tail. I was surprised to find that it was actually a Blue Racer and the "pattern' I had seen was actually scale damage. It was not a healthy snake, with scale rot in multiple spots and a moderate case of mouth rot. We thought that it might even have Snake Fungal Disease so we took some pictures of the damage to send to herpetologists.

Catching a Blue Racer: PC Tristan Schramer

Blue Racer: PC Tristan Schramer

Blue Racer: PC Yatin Kalki

Blue Racer: PC Yatin Kalki

Blue Racer: PC Yatin Kalki

Blue Racer: PC Yatin Kalki

We then visited a cabin that had another shed next to it, where Steve had seen Five-Lined Skinks. I had seen plenty of these in Southern Illinois and Indiana but Tristan had never seen a Skink before. We tried looking for them but couldn't find any. We did, however, find another Ringneck under a piece of bark. Next, Steve took us to a spot where he had seen Redback and Slimy Salamanders. We found the Redbacks fairly easily but didn't find any Slimys. Steve gave us the keys to the cabin and said that we were welcome to stay there overnight when we were doing research. I really look forward to coming back here in the Fall and doing some intense snake surveys.