January snake! and a whole lotta sallies!

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kayfabe
Posts: 126
Joined: January 20th, 2012, 8:11 pm
Location: S. Illinois

January snake! and a whole lotta sallies!

Post by kayfabe »

When I saw that the mercury was supposed to hit 60 on Jan. 31st I made plans to take a drive to Snake Road and spend the day flipping rocks and logs. When I got there at 9:20 the wind was howling and it was only 49 and very cloudy. I was pretty sure I was in for a long day of disappointment. I got my first glimpse of hope about 20 minutes later when I spotted a large bullfrog sitting on a log, but by the time I reached for my camera I heard the "plop" of defeat and watched the ripples disappear. I pressed on and on and on for what seemed like forever without so much as a glimpse of life, except for the large group of vultures overhead. Almost an hour later my luck started to change. I started flipping zig-zag salamanders under numerous flat rocks at the base of a bluff
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I even spotted a cave salamander poking his head out, but he was really shy
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By 11:30 I had decided to hike back to my car and drive to the south end to have more time to look around before I had to be home. Well I'm glad that I decided to hike back then because I averted a tragedy. About half-way back down the road I stepped off to let a passing car go by only to notice a twig in the road begin to move....SNAKE!! I got the driver to stop her car and grabbed the snake before it got run over. I shared a laugh with the driver and opened my hand back up to see this...
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I actually drew a blank and jotted down red top/yellow bottom in my notebook...it is only the second Smooth Earthsnake that I've ever seen. One more green frog was spotted before I got back to the car. By now it was 57 and the clouds were almost gone. I had a good feeling about what would be waiting for me at the south end. I had about an hour to explore the Otter Pond trail and it was just a smorgasbord of herps! Under each rock was a surprise with green frogs, leopard frogs, cricket frogs, and cave salamanders. A few shots of some of the finds....Cricket Frog
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Leopard Frog
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Bronze Frog
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Cave Salamander
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I then finished my day by trying to count how many Cave Salamnders I could see in the infamous "Grotto"...well after 27 I decided that I had probably found all of them that didn't make a break for it. Here is an in situ shot of what awaited me in the grotto...
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and a shot of some of the crevice action
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All in all it was a great hike and a well spent 5 hours on a beautiful January day. The snake sighting was the icing on the cake for me, and a sure sign of all the fun to come in a few weeks time :thumb:
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KingCam
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Joined: April 11th, 2011, 1:03 pm

Re: January snake! and a whole lotta sallies!

Post by KingCam »

Fantastic! All of these sally pics are making me jealous. I've never gone herping in the winter before, but it looks like it's prime time to find salamanders! Maybe that's why I never seem to find any?

I might have to go out tomorrow night to see what I can find. Is it productive to look for salamanders at night? It will be dark by the time I get off work and in the woods :(
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kayfabe
Posts: 126
Joined: January 20th, 2012, 8:11 pm
Location: S. Illinois

Re: January snake! and a whole lotta sallies!

Post by kayfabe »

honestly, I hardly ever get a chance to go out herping at night, but the sounds at night are full go for amphibians. We ahve had some 45-50 degree evenings here in S. Illinois...pretty perfect really
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justinm
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Joined: June 7th, 2010, 5:26 am
Location: Illinois
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Re: January snake! and a whole lotta sallies!

Post by justinm »

That's a big Earth Snake, I've seen them towards the South Entrance at the Road a few times.
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Marty Whalin
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Joined: June 29th, 2010, 11:31 pm
Location: Hint: It used to be the heart of town.

Re: January snake! and a whole lotta sallies!

Post by Marty Whalin »

Very nice, Jeremy! I'm incredibly jealous of anyone who lives within a tank of gas of that place.
Marty
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kayfabe
Posts: 126
Joined: January 20th, 2012, 8:11 pm
Location: S. Illinois

Re: January snake! and a whole lotta sallies!

Post by kayfabe »

justinm wrote:That's a big Earth Snake, I've seen them towards the South Entrance at the Road a few times.
The size really threw me off at first...he/she was every bit of 10+ inches. The first thought I had was red-bellied snake, but then I picked it up and saw yellow. The only other one I have seen was barely 6 inches long.
Marty Whalin wrote:Very nice, Jeremy! I'm incredibly jealous of anyone who lives within a tank of gas of that place.
Marty
Thanks Marty! Any time you are ready to come back down let me know. We are buying a house, so I don't think we will be leaving the area anytime soon :thumb:
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Brian Willey
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Joined: June 21st, 2010, 6:32 pm
Location: St. Louis, MO

Re: January snake! and a whole lotta sallies!

Post by Brian Willey »

Wow an Earth Snake is quite surprising in January, not a species I'd expect to find in the middle of winter!
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