It's good to be a Cheese Head!

Dedicated exclusively to field herping.

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Knightkrawler5
Posts: 257
Joined: June 8th, 2010, 6:54 pm
Location: Milwaukee, WI

It's good to be a Cheese Head!

Post by Knightkrawler5 »

Well it has been a while since I have posted anything, so I figured I would start with my Spring and Summer Wisconsin post. My main goal this year was to find Wisconsin Timbers, Foxes, and Bulls.
Started out the herping season by looking for some salamanders with Carl Koch and Trey Kieckhefer (T2K)

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When it finally got warm I met up with Ben (Muskiemagnet) to finally knock a Western Fox off of my list. There was no being skunked this time when we found eight that day. Two of them were over five feet.

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May was a great month for Timbers. Went out with Ben and ended up finding ten in May. I had no idea there would be such a variety of phases in one spot.

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Just went back today to find this beautiful Timber as our only snake of the day. I did not expect to find a very dark specimen like this…especially with the orange stripe.

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Some other May Wisconsin finds included this huge Bull that Ben made a great grab on…only because I said he should check the rock….haha.

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This is me holding the guy...I'm 6' tall

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Flipped a pair of Racers where the male really wanted to protect his mate. Which makes sense because she is the bluest blue racer I have seen in this area.

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After watching Ben flip “perfect rocks” all day and striking out, I decided to step up to the plate and instantly get a hit…

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For the past couple years I have been tagging along with Carl Koch to witness the Hognose extravaganza and ended up finding nine that evening.
Jamie D started off the hike right with this juvie.

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Also found a blandings lost on the railroad

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A flash of green is always a nice addition to a good herping day

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And I saved the best for last….a couple Nerodia

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There is still a lot of herping to be had and plenty of species I need to add to my Wisconsin finds this year. So, I hope to have plenty of more days out in the field with Ben, Carl, and Trey.
Thanks for looking
Stuart
neherper
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Re: It's good to be a Cheese Head!

Post by neherper »

super awesome post! foxies are my favorite. i have yet to find an eastern hoggie, despite the hours ive put into it. the timbers are nice, always love seeing the different colors, much different than the nebraska, kansas and missouri specimens. and such an interesting place/habitat for a den site, it looks quite open. super sweet!
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muskiemagnet
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Location: kaukauna, wi

Re: It's good to be a Cheese Head!

Post by muskiemagnet »

i'm posting a response in the main forum per request from stu.

first and foremost, i have to defend myself. i may suck at flipping, but who has gotten a bull in hand? i'll give you a little credit for it though. make sure you tell everyone how well you do at finding red-bellies. :lol: :lol: :lol:

it was cool to see your pics of the foxes. i think the only time i pulled my camera out was for pattern shots of the two we marked. the orange of the heads at that location is just awesome. too bad we didn't tape that big one.

sweet racer. very nice green.

as hard as it may be to stay away from the timbers/bulls, we should definitely work on rats and prairie ringers. i still need good shots of both.

i'll post my best of that black timber in the mid-west forum. i'm going to do that now. i've got other stuff from this summer as well.

keep your eye on the weather. i think we still need a good cool-down for activity to really get going. see ya soon.

-ben
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muskiemagnet
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Re: It's good to be a Cheese Head!

Post by muskiemagnet »

one last thing, and i do not want to hijack the thread. was that blander between the tracks? i walked some tracks soon after nesting this year. i found three that dried out in the sun. i wonder if the railroad could be contacted to remove one tie every hundred yards or so. dig out an opening so they can get out of the death trap. if anyone has experience/advice send me a pm please.
mikemike
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Re: It's good to be a Cheese Head!

Post by mikemike »

Awesome post man. That bull is huge.
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muskiemagnet
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Re: It's good to be a Cheese Head!

Post by muskiemagnet »

i replied to a post i put up in the midwest forum. this is what i said regarding that black timber. i'm glad stu realized that it was worth the effort to pull out.


"really wish i could describe this snake. pics do it no justice. the black was not really black as the pics show. there was an iridescence to it that gave the over-all look of the snake to appear "smokey". the stripe was much redder than the other "stripes" i have seen at the den. gorgeous snake. as mentioned, i am hoping to see it in the spring when they are MUCH more cooperative. this snake, in my opinion, puts any timber i've seen to shame. those beauty southern canebrakes have nothing on this one. as i've been thinking about it, it has become my "white whale". i want good in-situ shots. if i get them, this snake is "expensive" frame worthy."


nice work stu.

-ben
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Kevin Price
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Re: It's good to be a Cheese Head!

Post by Kevin Price »

Your images are great! I have never seen any of these due to where I live, but your images are the next best thing. Thanks for posting.
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muskiemagnet
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Re: It's good to be a Cheese Head!

Post by muskiemagnet »

stu, by the way, i looked through my pics. the first i saw was a yellow, and pretty big. not the same one as jason's either, so that's 3.
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Tim Borski
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Re: It's good to be a Cheese Head!

Post by Tim Borski »

Nice job Stu! The Bull and Blue Racer are both incredibly beautiful!! I think I've got a couple new targets the next time I'm up that way. :mrgreen:

Seeya sometime this winter?
Tim
cherper
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Location: CSRA Georgia

Re: It's good to be a Cheese Head!

Post by cherper »

That has to be the most beautiful Western Fox I've seen posted!! That and the Bull make me want to get up to WI to do some herping! Nice post.

Cary
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Knightkrawler5
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Location: Milwaukee, WI

Re: It's good to be a Cheese Head!

Post by Knightkrawler5 »

Yeah Tim i'm missing my Florida trips now...It has been too long since I've caught a python.
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Gary2sons
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Location: Camden County, Missouri

Re: It's good to be a Cheese Head!

Post by Gary2sons »

Just too many great pics for this thread to drop off the first page yet!

Timbers up there are awesome, so much color!

That one adult fox snake has to be one of the best ever!

Great Post!

Gary
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Knightkrawler5
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Re: It's good to be a Cheese Head!

Post by Knightkrawler5 »

Thanks a bunch guys for the compliments...I have to give Ben credit for the Fox finds...he has a great spot, plus tons of them have the bright orange heads
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