I sent Nick a message on Facebook, and like a true Michigander, he offered set me up with plenty of spots and even offered to come show me around as he would be back home from his fieldwork with Wood turtles. Splendid! So the plan was set, I would meet him in the morning the day after arrived.
As I sat in the airport and watched my flights get delayed by 12 hours, Nick sent me a message asking me if I was back home and wanted to meet up that evening. Unfortunately, I had to decline as I was still stuck in Philly. Later, I was cursing United Airlines when Nick sent me a text saying he flipped two yearling Eastern Fox Snakes at a new spot of his. Regardless, this gave me great hope that we could possibly find a fox
The next morning we met up and drove to a fen about an hour away. We immediately found dozens of northern ribbons, eastern garters, and northern watersnakes....but alas no saugas or racers. We did find a massive, gorgeous gravid garter which we snapped a couple quick photos of.
Prairie Fen in Southeast Michigan by santosh_shanmuga, on Flickr
Eastern Garter Snake by santosh_shanmuga, on FlickrWe then spot hopped to a couple different fens and swamps, but all we found were more garters. It was cool to see the different habitats that saugas utilize however! We did flip a couple Blue-Spotted Salamanders, which were lifers for me and the amphib species I wanted to see the most!
Blue Spotted Salamander by santosh_shanmuga, on FlickrIt was approaching 4 PM and we had one more sauga spot to check out, and it was 8 miles away from my house. Nick said he had a board in a field that was kind of on the way where he has flipped racers before, so we made a pit stop there. We flipped the board and two racers shot out and disappeared into the tall grass, leaving me stunned. I was afraid that would be my only shot at racers...
We get to the last spot and hike some upland praries and again...nada. We make the walk to a tiny tamarack swamp where Nick has seen them before in a last ditch effort. While waking around a fallen tamarack, I had a clump of grass buzz at me. Lo and behold...my lifer Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake...a gorgeous little gravid female! I was over the moon to say the least
Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake in situ by santosh_shanmuga, on Flickr
Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake by santosh_shanmuga, on FlickrHappy as can be, we called it a day and planned on meeting again in the morning for retribution on racers and to take a crack at fox snakes. The next morning, I drove to Nick's house and we decided to stop at a local racer and hognose spot of his before going to the place where he flipped the two juvie foxes. The racer spot was the foundation of an old home, and while Nick and I were walking around, we both simultaneously spotted two racers that both got away
Feeling dejected, we walked to an old refuse pile where we saw a coil poking out. Nick dove and grabbed the coil while I dug the racer out. Huzzah, my lifer foxi...albeit in deep shed haha
We decided to come back to the spot on the way back and try and catch a better looking specimen. We left and arrived after 20 minutes at the fox snake spot, only to find all the rocks flipped and not put back. We were furious, and of course, we found no snakes. We left and hit another spot, where we found a shed but no snakes. Finally, at the final spot we were walking a rock pile when Nick yelled "FOX!" and pulled up this beauty
Eastern Fox Snake by santosh_shanmuga, on Flickr
Eastern Fox Snake in habitat by santosh_shanmuga, on FlickrMan were we excited as hell. What a gorgeous snake!
On the way back, we stopped again at the racer spot. 20 feet into the field, I nearly trip over this guy and he was trying to escape down a hole that was just a tad too small for him haha!
Blue Racer by santosh_shanmuga, on Flickr
Blue Racer in habitat by santosh_shanmuga, on FlickrWhat an awesome end to an awesome day. I got all 3 of my main targets, I could not have asked for a better two days of herping! Many thanks to Nick Scobel...without him none of this would have happened!
But it does not end here...the next day it was cloudy and cool with imminent rain, so in the afternoon I decided to do some solo sauga-ing at the spot 8 miles from my house. I walked literally 50 yards on the trail when I saw this big, golden 2.5' long male stretched out. WOW! I couldn't believe my luck. I called Nick and he was there in 10 min to see photograph it and see if it was a snake he recognized.
Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake by santosh_shanmuga, on Flickr
Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake in habitat by santosh_shanmuga, on Flickr
Portrait of an Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake by santosh_shanmuga, on FlickrWell that wraps up an awesome few days in the Mitten. While I now live in the southeast and have fallen in love with its biodiversity and ecology, the Mitten will always be home. Until next time...
