2011 Missouri Herping

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Soro
Posts: 39
Joined: June 6th, 2011, 8:24 pm

2011 Missouri Herping

Post by Soro »

Hi, my name is Peter and I'm a long time lurker here on Fieldherpforums. For the most part I found myself intimidated by high level of etiquette and impressive photographs I've seen here from numerous people; now, however, I'd feeling bold enough to post my first trip report-- more as an introduction than anything else.

I live in Missouri, and as such most of my excursions range no more than a few hours away from my particular county. Nonetheless, as many people here know, the diversity of herps even such a short distance away is pretty astounding. Just this Spring I was shocked when I went to a favorite glade in search of collared lizards and stumbled across this pristine example of a Great Plains Rat Snake:

Image
Great Plains Rat Snake by 2ndPeter, on Flickr

Pantherophis emoryi

I was even more surprised when a later trip yielded this small Eastern Hognose Snake out on the rocks sunning itself:

Image
Eastern Hognose Snake by 2ndPeter, on Flickr

Heterodon platirhinos

Later on that day my group would find two Eastern Collared Lizards facing off. This one was the larger of the two:

Image
Eastern Collared Lizard by 2ndPeter, on Flickr

Crotaphytus collaris

That particular glade is a favorite of mine, and is best visited mid-Spring when everything is out and warming up for the coming season.

Later on that month, I would find this Timber Rattlesnake under a rock on a rocky hillside I frequent. The snake was very accommodating and was sure to strike a neat pose for me.

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Timber Rattlesnake by 2ndPeter, on Flickr

Crotalus horridus

Right before the oppressive heat of Summer set in, I was able to take a trip over to a lake in Illinois which was bursting with water snake activity. There, early in the morning on a sunny day, I found my very first Graham's Crayfish Snake.

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Graham's Crayfish Snake by 2ndPeter, on Flickr

Regina grahamii

During the aforementioned heat of the months of July and August, my herping activities dwindled as I was frustrated by a lack of activity. On a visit to a local park, I was startled when a Yellow-Bellied Slider showed up amongst a slew of Red-Eared Sliders in the lake.

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Yellow-Bellied Slider by 2ndPeter, on Flickr

Trachemys scripta scripta

Obviously someone didn't want it anymore, and thought a lake in the park was a good place to leave it.

Just a week ago I was hiking a glade with my girlfriend and a good friend of mine on a cool, partly cloudy and rainy day. Many small snakes turned up, such as Western Worm Snakes, Prairie Ringneck snakes, and so forth... I was very surprised, though, when on our way back to the car I saw a large black snake pull back under a rock. My friend lifted the rock at the expense of his pants, and there lay a five-foot Eastern Coachwhip.

Image
Eastern Coachwhip by 2ndPeter, on Flickr

Masticophis flagellum flagellum

Of the many juvies I've seen there, this big guy was a great change of pace. It put on the usual show of striking at my face, and feigning death (which made pictures fairly difficult). Thankfully after awhile it calmed down, making for some nice shots. It was released shortly thereafter, and it darted back under the rock from whence it came.

That's a summary of the 2011 herping season thus far. I hope other reports in the future would be welcome, despite my pictures being of the point-and-shoot variety with only amateur skills.
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HerperChance
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Location: Western North Carolina

Re: 2011 Missouri Herping

Post by HerperChance »

Wonderful post! Thanks for sharing! :thumb: That Timber looks awesome!
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ksuglennj
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Re: 2011 Missouri Herping

Post by ksuglennj »

Great pictures and report. Don't worry about the PS pics. People can get great pics with any camera. It is more about the person behind the camera than how much they paid for it. You captured the beauty of each animal and that is what matters most.

If you don't mind me asking, what did you do with the yellow-bellied slider? If you would rather not say, I don't blame you. I'm also very jealous of your Graham's crayfish snake because I've never seen one.

You are off to a good start, so keep them coming. :thumb:

Glenn
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Mike VanValen
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Re: 2011 Missouri Herping

Post by Mike VanValen »

Hey, welcome to the forum and thanks for posting. Most of us are interested in seeing the animals, no matter what camera is used ;)

What's the deal with the white scales on that crayfish snake?
RobK

Re: 2011 Missouri Herping

Post by RobK »

Peter -

Good to see you here. You guys had a great year in MO, look forward to future reports.

-r
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kcmatt
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Re: 2011 Missouri Herping

Post by kcmatt »

Some nice animals there. Enjoyed the juvie hog. Thanks for the post.
Soro
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Joined: June 6th, 2011, 8:24 pm

Re: 2011 Missouri Herping

Post by Soro »

Thanks for the feedback guys, I appreciate it. As for the white scales on the crayfish snake-- I really don't know what that was about. I saw several others that day, none of which had anything like that.
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justinm
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Re: 2011 Missouri Herping

Post by justinm »

For the area you're in, you've made some excellent finds. Some of these animals are less than common for sure! Great to see this!
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Brandon D
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Re: 2011 Missouri Herping

Post by Brandon D »

some good stuff there for sure, most those animals are rare on the west side of mo like emoryi, platirhinos, and masticophis, I would edit out the location though unless its not a specific location but I think it is.
Soro
Posts: 39
Joined: June 6th, 2011, 8:24 pm

Re: 2011 Missouri Herping

Post by Soro »

Thanks again guys. Just to be safe, I did take care of the location. While there are quite a few herping spots around that area, perhaps there are only a handful where many of these herps can be found... and I'd rather not see those spots destroyed.
ksuglennj wrote: If you don't mind me asking, what did you do with the yellow-bellied slider? If you would rather not say, I don't blame you.
For lack of knowing what to do, I simply released back where I found it. I've seen that same turtle there three years straight now-- I actually mistook it for a painted turtle for the first two, and it wasn't until a friend of mine said it didn't look right that I noticed the dissimilarities.
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Gary2sons
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Joined: June 7th, 2010, 4:44 pm
Location: Camden County, Missouri

Re: 2011 Missouri Herping

Post by Gary2sons »

Welcome to the forum!

Like others said some species not that easy to find. Always thought it interesting how many juvenile coachwhips are found in that area compared to adults. And Great Plains Rats can be very difficult. Some glades have them and some don't it seems.

Really nice first post! :thumb:

Gary
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reptilist
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Re: 2011 Missouri Herping

Post by reptilist »

I'm liking Missouri! Be sure to post some more and welcome to the forum!
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snakegirl24
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Re: 2011 Missouri Herping

Post by snakegirl24 »

Wow! Awesome post! Love the pics as well!! Great quality!
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brick911
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Re: 2011 Missouri Herping

Post by brick911 »

Good post! Welcome.
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Andrew G
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Re: 2011 Missouri Herping

Post by Andrew G »

Very good stuff there! You definitely saw some nice snakes in Missouri!
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Dan Krull
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Re: 2011 Missouri Herping

Post by Dan Krull »

Nice work, thanks for taking the step from lurker to lunker!

DAN
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gbin
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Joined: June 10th, 2010, 4:28 pm

Re: 2011 Missouri Herping

Post by gbin »

Your post makes me doubly sorry that I wasn't able to swing through MO while driving across the country recently. Such beautiful country, such beautiful animals - such a nice post! :thumb:

Gerry
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DaneConley
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Joined: September 21st, 2010, 10:03 am
Location: SE Virginia/SW Illinois

Re: 2011 Missouri Herping

Post by DaneConley »

I wish I knew where to find some crayfish snakes :lol:

I forgot about the Great Plains Rat Snake you found, I have no idea when Ill be able to find one.

Cool to see you on FHF though. :thumb:
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Dell Despain
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Location: Montana

Re: 2011 Missouri Herping

Post by Dell Despain »

Well done post, great photos, and nice to have you posting in. While the horridus is impressive, I really like the grahamii. Keep up the good work.

-Dell
mikemike
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Re: 2011 Missouri Herping

Post by mikemike »

Some good finds and great pics!
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