Herpedex: All the Herps I Have Seen In The Wild: western fox snake

Showing posts with label western fox snake. Show all posts

Sunday, 6 September 2015

Herping at Fraker Farm, Woodford Co., IL

The Landscape of Fraker Farm: PC Tristan Schramer

Date:
September 6th 2015

Species Found:

Eastern Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum)
Common Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis)
Fox Snake (Pantherophis vulpinus)

Background:

Tristan had found Matt Fraker on an Illinois bird forum and found out that he did snake surveys on his land in Woodford Co. pretty regularly. Matt was a veterinarian who owned a chunk of natural land where he had laid out tin pieces for snakes. Snakes are attracted to the warmth of the tin and often rest underneath. This makes finding them much easier. Matt invited us to check the tin along with him one evening, so we made the 40 minute drive with our friend Eli.

The Trip:

On the way there, we were surprised by how hilly and mountainous the land got as neared the farm. We met Matt Fraker, piled into his SUV and drove through the prairie to the first set of tin. Under the first piece that we flipped we didn't find any snakes but Tristan spotted a Tiger Salamander just as we were letting the tin down. I had never seen a Tiger Salamander before so it was a new species for me. I took some photos before we let it go back under the tin.

Tiger Salamander: PC Yatin Kalki

The next few tins we flipped had a few Garter Snakes under them. Eli had never been herping before so he had no experience with snakes. He was excited to hold the snakes that we found, even if Matt, Tristan and I weren't enthused by regular old Garters.

Garter Snake: PC Yatin Kalki

Garter Snakes: PC Yatin Kalki

Matt said that there was a spot where he usually found Fox Snakes under the tin, so we went there next. We found a few more Garters and a single juvenile Fox Snake. Each Fox Snake has a slightly different skull pattern on its head and Matt told us that he was able to tell different individuals apart from photos he took on snake surveys. I thought it was really cool that he was able to monitor individual snakes on his property. The Fox Snake was pretty calm and posed quite nicely for photos.

Fox Snake: PC Tristan Schramer

Then, we checked a spot where Matt said that he usually found Milk Snakes but we couldn't find any. Still, it was a great trip and we promised Matt that we would be back soon. We realized that Fraker Farm would be a great place to bring people from the clubs that we were in, on field trips. It was a controlled environment with an amazing landscape where we could find harmless snakes.

Surveying Snakes: PC Tristan Schramer

Saturday, 29 August 2015

Fall Herping at the Kankakee Sands 1

Ornate Box Turtle: PC Tristan Schramer

Date:
August 29th 2015

Species Found:

Eastern Milk Snake (Lampropeltis trianglum triangulum)
Gray Treefrog (Hyla versicolor)
Fowler's Toad (Bufo fowleri)
Blue Racer (Coluber constrictor foxii)
Western Chorus Frog (Pseudacris triseriata)
Bull Snake (Pituophis catenefer sayi)
Common Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis)
Midland Brown Snake (Storeria dekayi wrightorum)
Ornate Box Turtle (Terrapene ornata)
Western Slender Glass Lizard (Ophiosaurus a. attenuatus)
Six-Lined Racerunner (Aspidoscelis sexlineata)
Western Fox Snake (Pantherophis vulpinus)
Northern Water Snake (Nerodia s. sipedon)

Background:
A herper from North Carolina named Thomas was in Illinois and wanted to see the herpetofauna of the state. A group of us met him at the Kankakee Sands to show him some snakes. Tristan and I had been to this spot a few times before and knew the area pretty well. We met some old friends: Conner, Culton, Matt and a few of Matt's coworkers, who would also look for herps with us.

The Trip:

By the time we pulled up, the herping had already begun and they had found a large Eastern Milk Snake under a wooden board. After introductions, most of us went to look for more snakes while others stayed to photograph the Milk Snake. In the next stretch, we found plenty of Gray Treefrogs and a few Fowler's Toads. Tristan found a Chorus Frog, a species that was pretty rare in these parts.

Eastern Milk Snake: PC Tristan Schramer

Gray Treefrog: PC Tristan Schramer

Western Chorus Frog: PC Tristan Schramer

Conner and one of Matt's coworkers each found Blue Racers under boards. Conner caught his while the other escaped into some thorny bushes. It was a beautiful specimen about 4 foot in length.

Blue Racer: PC Tristan Schramer

The next snake found was a 4.5 foot Bull Snake by Thomas. It was his first Bull Snake so he was pretty excited. Some others found a few Garter Snakes and a Brown Snake, species that were extremely common elsewhere but pretty rare in the Kankakee Sands.

While we were walking through the sand prairie, I saw the tail of a Glass Lizard zip between some bushes. I tried to locate the animal but it was long gone. While everyone was searching the area for the Glass Lizard, Matt found an Ornate Box Turtle. This was the highlight of the trip because Ornate Box Turtles are extremely hard to find and are even listed as a Threatened Species in Illinois. Tristan had seen every Kankakee Sands species except for the Ornate Box Turtle so when he found out, he was ecstatic.

Ornate Box Turtle: PC Tristan Schramer

Tristan and a few others stopped to photograph the turtle while I pressed on with a few others. We didn't find much else so we decided to move to another spot: a trailer nearby that had some tin and boards near it. There we found another Milk Snake and a Racerunner. Some of the other guys had never seen a Racerunner before but I had seen plenty.

Eastern Milk Snake: PC Tristan Schramer

Six-lined Racerunner: PC Tristan Schramer

Next we went to another spot: some disused railway tracks that were know to harbor Fox Snakes. On the way from the car to the tracks, I saw several dead Leopard Frogs and hatchling Snapping Turtles on the road. I had never seen a live Snapping Turtle so I looked in the area but didn't find anything. We got to the tracks and started flipping old ties, rocks and logs. I lifted a rock that was half buried in the ground and found 3 hatching Fox Snakes. Each was a little over 6 inches long and they had very calm temperaments. While everyone was passing around and inspecting the snakes, I lifted the another rock next to the previous one and found 2 more baby Fox Snakes. I had found a nest of baby Fox Snakes!

Hatchling Fox Snake: PC Tristan Schramer

Meanwhile, Thomas found a Northern Water Snake under a log. It was an average sized male and had the average temperament of a water snake: nasty. Matt and his coworkers found a 2 more Northern Water Snakes and 3 more baby Fox Snakes in a rock pile. We photographed the snakes and released them. Soon, Matt yelled for someone to help him. He had a huge Northern Water Snake by the tail but the majority of its body was tangled in a clump of plants. I ran over and located the snake's head. With one motion, I grabbed its neck before it could bite me, which it was desperately trying to do. I pulled it out of the plants and handed the snake to Matt. It was a 4.5 foot female.
On the way back, someone saw another Garter Snake disappear into a hole under the rails. We tried to locate it but we couldn't.

Northern Water Snake: PC Tristan Schramer

Trips to Kankakee are always fun but this one was even better because we got to see the Ornate Box Turtle, a beautiful rare species that nobody in our group had seen before.

Thursday, 7 May 2015

Spring Herping at Allerton

Fox Snake: PC Tristan Schramer

Date:
May 7th 2015

Species Found:

Midland Brown Snake (Storeria dekayi wrightorum)
Eastern American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus americanus)
Western Fox Snake (Pantherophis vulpinus)

The Trip:

In the Fall, we had found 2 Brown Snakes and a Fox Snake at Allerton, while on a field trip with a class. This was surprising because we hadn't even been looking for snakes at that time, they just kinda popped out while we were doing fieldwork. We decided to make a trip out to Allerton to actually look for snakes. One Thursday morning when Sam, Tristan and I didn't have class, we drove out to Allerton. The first place we checked was the prairie. It was a large tract of land which had native prairie vegetation. About half of the prairie had been recently burned and the new green growth was flourishing all around. The other half still had long dry prairie grass and scattered thorn bushes. We walked through the prairie in parallel transects to maximize our chances off seeing snakes.

Prairie: PC Tristan Schramer

Historically, Massasauga Rattlesnakes had been prevalent here, but nobody had seen one in years. We thought it would be awesome if we actually found a Massasauga but the chances were slim. We didn't end up finding any snakes on the prairie so we started to head out. On the way, we ran into the Natural Areas Manager of Allerton, Nate. We told him that we had been looking for snakes and he said that we could help them do snake surveys in the future. We also asked Nate about an old broken-down barn that we had seen nearby. He said that it was DNR property and that we were free to look for snakes there if we wanted to. At the barn there was plenty of stuff for snakes to hide under but all we found was a small Brown Snake under some old roofing. Sadly we didn't photograph that snake, but it wasn't a very impressive specimen either. The next place we went to was a railroad track. We were limited on time so we decided that we would spend a maximum of 10 minutes on the tracks. As soon as we got there, Sam found an American Toad hopping through the grass beside the tracks.

American Toad: PC Tristan Schramer

Not long afterwards, Sam yelled "Yo! Snake!" He was walking a few yards ahead of me so I was there in no time. "It disappeared into this clump of grass." he said, pointing at a clump of vegetation. I circled around the grass from the other side so that the snake wouldn't escape. I looked down and saw a good sized snake head poking through in between the blades. I quickly put my hand over the snake's head and started to dig its body out from under the grass. It was a 4 foot Fox Snake! I gave it to Sam as he was the one to spot it. The snake promptly musked all over his hands and threw a bite or two. Sam was unfazed and he set the snake down on the tracks so we could get photos. As most Fox Snakes do, it went into a defensive position, with an S-shaped vertical coil and started vibrating its tail furiously. Meanwhile, Tristan had found another Brown Snake under a railroad tie but he let it go when we found the Fox Snake. We managed to get some good pictures because this snake was keen on keeping that defensive pose foe us.

Fox Snake: PC Yatin Kalki

Fox Snake: PC Yatin Kalki

Fox Snake: PC Yatin Kalki

Fox Snake: PC Tristan Schramer

Considering we had found 2 snakes and a toad in the matter of 2 minutes at this railroad track, we thought that it would be a great place to come back to in the future. We let the Fox Snake go and made our way home. Not bad for a short morning trip.

Saturday, 2 May 2015

Spring Herping in Mercer County, Illinois

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.

Eastern Garter Snake: PC Tristan Schramer

Red Coloration of Eastern Garter Snake: PC Tristan Schramer

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.

Six-lined Racerunner: PC Tristan Schramer

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.

Plains Leopard Frog: PC Joey

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.

Juvenile Northern Water Snake: PC Tristan Schramer

Western Ribbon Snake drinking water: PC Tristan Schramer

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.

Northern Water Snake: PC Tristan Schramer

Juvenile Fox Snake: PC Tristan Schramer

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.

Male Northern Water Snake: PC Tristan Schramer

Totally Worth It: PC Tristan Schramer

Female Northern Water Snake: PC Tristan Schramer

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.

Juvenile Northern Water Snake: PC Tristan Schramer

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.

Tom with the Fox Snake: PC Tristan Schramer

Me with the Fox Snake: PC Tristan Schramer

Joey with the Fox Snake: PC Tristan Schramer

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.

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.

Random Dog: PC Joey

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.