Herpedex: All the Herps I Have Seen In The Wild: wood frog

Smooth Earth Snake: PC Tristan Schramer

Date:
August 28th 2015

Species Found:

Eastern American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus americanus)
Ringneck Snake (Diadophis punctatus)
Eastern Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis)
Eastern Milk Snake (Lampropeltis triangulum triangulum)
Midland Brown Snake (Storeria dekayi wrightorum)
Western Smooth Earth Snake (Virginia valeriae elegans)
Red Back Salamander (Plethodon cinereus)
Wood Frog (Lithobates sylvaticus)
Northern Cricket Frog (Acris crepitans blanchardi)

Background:

Tristan and I had been given permission to do herp surveys at the Vermilion River Observatory last Spring, so we decided to go back out there to see what we could find in the Fall. One Friday evening after classes, Sam, Tristan, I and a few non-herpers: Lewin and Elliot, went to the VRO to check the cover objects that we had set out last Spring.

The Trip:

The first thing we did was stop by a large pile of tin that we had checked last Spring. Working together, we started moving the huge sheets of tin, one at a time. A few layers deep, we found 3 Ringneck Snakes. Tristan could only grab 2 as the precision of his fingers was compromised by the gloves he was wearing. The third snake escaped deeper into the tin pile, bit we weren't disappointed as we knew that we would find it eventually. After about 10 minutes, we had gone through the whole

tin pile and we had 8 Ringneck Snakes. In the Spring we had found just one in this pile, so finding so many was a pleasant surprise. While we were putting the tin back into its original position, Lewin spotted a snake moving through the grass and immediately jumped and grabbed it by the tail. For someone who had never caught snakes before, his reflexes were surprisingly good. I helped him pull the snake out of the grass and it turned out to be an Eastern Garter Snake, a common species throughout the region.

Ringneck Snake: PC Tristan Schramer

We moved on to the spot where we had found a Blue Racer last time. Sam found a Milk Snake under a piece of wood, which came as a surprise because nobody expected to find that species in this region. Lewin found a Brown Snake under some wood there too but we didn't find that large Blue Racer from last time. We did however find some Blue Racer eggs under a piece of tin in the same area.

Milk Snake: PC Tristan Schramer

Next, we went to a patch of woods which had some debris lying around, perfect habitat for many a reptile and amphibian. There, we found a number of American Toads under objects as well as out in the open. In a collapsed shack, I found a Red Back Salamander under a paint can lid. Meanwhile, Tristan ran out of an old broken down trailer saying that there was a raccoon inside hissing at him. I heard the hissing but I didn't think it was a raccoon so I circled around the trailer and looked in through the window at the back. I saw a medium sized animal sitting up on the counter but it definitely was not a raccoon. At first I thought it was a small dog, then a cat, and then it dawned on me that I was looking at a bird. It was a young Turkey Vulture, with its white down feathers still intact. It was the same size as an adult but the colors were nothing like an adult's black plumage. I went into the trailer to get a better look at it and it continued hissing loudly, clicked its beak and jumped off the counter to hide under a table. I managed to get just one crappy photo with my phone before it disappeared from my sight.

Red Back Salamander: PC Yatin Kalki

Turkey Vulture: PC Yatin Kalki

We continued searching for snakes in the same area. I found another Ringneck but this one had a very different belly pattern from the others we had found. It had 3 rows of black spots instead of just one. Sam found a snake that he thought was another Brown Snake but when Tristan took a look at it, he identified it as a Smooth Earth Snake. We knew that this was definitely a new record for this site but we were unsure of its status in Vermilion County. Later, we found out that the last Smooth Earth documented in the county was back in 1991. We had found the first Vermilion County Smooth Earth in over 20 years!

Unusual Ringneck Belly Pattern: PC Tristan Schramer

Smooth Earth Snake: PC Tristan Schramer

We then took some time to photograph the animals we had seen. A Ringneck we had found was in the process of shedding its skin and we got the whole process in a series of shots. After we had taken detailed photos of our finds, we decided to walk through the woods to see if we could find any other interesting stuff. We found a few Wood Frogs and a Cricket Frog but that was about it.

Ringneck Snake Shedding Skin: PC Tristan Schramer

Wood Frog: PC Yatin Kalki

We hadn't seen the Black Rat Snake that we were hoping to find at this site but we did make a lot of very cool finds. This will definitely not be our last trip to the VRO this Fall, so hopefully we find it some time in the future.

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.