The Best of the Midwest: My 2013 Year in Review

Dedicated exclusively to field herping.

Moderator: Scott Waters

Post Reply
ChadHarrison
Posts: 139
Joined: June 29th, 2012, 1:45 pm
Location: Illinois

The Best of the Midwest: My 2013 Year in Review

Post by ChadHarrison »

It's sweater season here in Illinois, so I think it's about time to sit down, have a beer, and write up my first "year in review" post on this forum. This year was a fantastic year; one full of some really spectacular lifers. I'm quite sad to see it end, as I didn't finish out with some big target species. Herps including Farancia abacura, Sistrurus miliarius streckeri, Ambystoma annulatum, Clonophis kirtlandi, Opheodrys vernalis, etc. still remain some of the last midwestern herp species I haven't seen in the wild. However, I was fortunate enough to really clean house on the rest of the cool midwest herp species. Oh well. Lets get to it!

NOTE: Any TNE species pictured here were either left in-situ or handled with the necessary permits.

The year started out cold, with a snowy salamander trip to the Eastern border of Illinois.

The first salamanders seen were these Spotted Salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum)
Image

A few logs later revealed the rarest salamander in the state, and quite a treat.

The Silvery Salamander (Ambystoma platineum)
Image

Distinguishable from the Smallmouth salamander by the leaner body, longer toes and face, and the lack of lower jaw protrusion
Image

Some more Spotted Salamanders and a Smallmouth Salamander (Ambystoma texanum) made an appearance
Image

A glade in Missouri turned out to be quite unproductive, as I'd expected. For as early in the year as it was, I'm surprised we even found this little Speckled Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula holbrookii)
Image

Of course, the obligatory Western Slimy Salamanders (Plethodon albagula)
Image

Later on, another very rare find. Illinois only Desmog. The Spotted Dusky Salamander (Desmognathus conanti)
Image

I quickly learned that I am the worlds worst salamander photographer.

Later on, some more Southern Illinois antics brought some of the usual suspects.

The "Shawnee" Kingsnake, an ugly Speckled Kingsnake/Black kingsnake intergrade
Image

Marbled Salamanders (Ambystoma opacum)
Image

Northern Slimy Salamanders (Plethodon glutinosus)
Image

This next animal has eluded me for years, so I was quite thrilled to pick up a trap in a road side ditch to see his big ugly mug.

The Lesser Siren (Siren intermedia)
Image

Slimy little bastard.
Image

And of course, the plethora of Cottonmouths that LaRue has to offer.

Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma
Image

Image

Image

A Wild Peter Paplanus appears!
Image

This next one was a real thrill to see, as well. A group including myself, Peter Paplanus, Carl Koch, James Mick, and Justin Elden trudged through the freezing night time water in a duck marsh in search of this frog. It sucked. But it was a great time, and certainly not in vain. We were rewarded with another rare midwestern species,

the Crawfish Frog (Lithobates areolata circulosa)
Image

Image

The Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake, for me, has always been the one animal in the field guide that was particularly captivating to young Chad. Flipping through that book as often as I did often lead to the extended gawking at the very last pages, daydreaming about seeing such an incredible snake when I grew up. Well I eventually grew up. However, in those 15 or so years, the Eastern Massasauga populations had decreased dramatically. Thankfully, some researchers were so kind as to let us search with them and successfully made my whole year.

The Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus catenatus)
Image

One of the researchers spotted this snake buried deep in the grass. Mid-stride....Wearing sunglasses. Only a few scales were even distinguishable from the substrate. It was seriously impressive.
Image

After some SERIOUS searching, I thought are day would be up and I would never get to spot one on my own. Dylan Cebulski and I were about the only two left searching after everyone had given up. Persistence eventually paid off when I spotted this large adult tucked up against a cluster of Blue Stem after the sun tucked itself behind the clouds.
Image

The same adult
Image

And another individual
Image

Same snake
Image

What a thrilling and excellent learning experience! Thanks again to the gentlemen that made it possible.

NOTE: If you haven't seen it yet, I have thrown together a donation to help the endangered Eastern Massasauga. All the proceeds will go towards any and all research being conducted on the Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake in Illinois. Read more about it here, you will find all the specifics: http://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/vie ... =2&t=17830

Back on track with several Common Snapping Turtles (Chelydra serpentina)
Image

Midwestern Wormsnakes were common (Carphophis amoenus helenae)
Image

Image

Even ran into some strange toad from Mars. Turned out to be an Eastern Spadefoot

Scaphiopus holbrooki
Image

Being a goofball
Image

Met up with Todd McKinney one morning and turned up this beautiful Red Milksnake

Lampropeltis triangulum syspila
Image

Todd shooting the milkshake
Image

Dale with a large Black Racer (Coluber constrictor priapus)
Image

And then something really cool happened. We happened upon a population of Flat-headed snakes. A species not known to the area until Ryan Thies turned one up in 2012. I have since found 10 individuals at this location.

Tantilla gracilis
Image

Love the venter on these dudes
Image

Black Ratsnakes were in no shortage this year

(Scotophis obsoletus)
Image

Image

One spring morning, James Mick, Justin Elden, Peter Paplanus and I hit our favorite glade in Southeastern Missouri and just totally nailed it. Species included:

The Great Plains Ratsnake (Pantherophis emoryi)
Image

Justin feeling cheeky
Image

The Eastern Collared Lizard (Crotaphytus collaris)
Image

An ugly, in shed yearling Speckled Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula holbrookii)
Image

The real treat of the day happened just as we all realized how exhausted we really were. I flipped a big rock, using most of the energy I had left, to reveal this 5 and 1/2" Eastern Coachwhip

Coluber [Masticophis] flagellum
Image

I may or may not have been really stoked.
Image

Incredible beasty. I guess the snake was okay, too.
Image

Another small rock revealed this nice Red Milksnake
Image

Image

Another outing with just Peter and I produced some nice glade inhabitants as well

Speckled Kingsnake
Image

Lined Snake (Tropidoclonion lineatum)
Image

Ventral view
Image

Osage Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix phaeogaster)
Image

Image

Western Slimy Salamander and his buddy the Cave Salamander (Eurycea lucifiga)
Image

Tarantulas are never hard to come by on the glades
Image

More Osage Copperheads
Image

Image

Prairie Racerunner (Cnemidophorus sexlineatus viridis)
Image

Western Wormsnake (Carphophis amoenus vermis)
Image

Osage Copperhead with what looks like a funky fungal infection (Hopefully not Ophidiomyces sp.)
Image

Red Milkshake
Image

Some other odds and ends. Here is another Flat-headed snake from another outing
Image

I wonder why they're called Copperheads?
Image

Mink buddy! Taken with an 18-55mm lens, to give you some reference how much personal space was invaded.
Image

Blue Racer (Coluber constrictor foxii)
Image

Juvenile Blue Racer
Image

Rough Green Snake (Opheodrys aestivus)
Image

Prairie Kingsnake (Lampropeltis calligaster)
Image

Eastern Hognose Snake (Heterodon platirhinos)
Image

I spent some time in Northwestern Illinois in the Nachusa Grasslands, a natural area and project by the Nature Conservancy. I worked as a Herpetological Field Technician, radio tracking Ornate Box Turtles. It was an awesome experience. Some of the encountered critters include:

The Fox Snake (Pantherophis vulpinus)
Image

Move over, ragweed. The Ornate Box Turtle is in town!

Terrapene ornata
Image

E-NORM-OUS Eastern hognose
Image

Image

Ornata profile
Image

The Blue Racers up north were very interesting
Image

I spent some quality time playin' in the sand with wildman, Sean Childers. We turned up some interesting stuff:

Eastern hognose
Image

Image

A cranky Bullsnake (Pituophis catenifer sayi)
Image

Image

The rain brought out some Eastern Milk Snakes (Lampropeltis triangulum triangulum)
Image

Image

Boxie in habitat
Image

Ornate Box turtle
Image

One hungry Western Hognose (Heterodon nasicus)
Image

Image

And one....not so hungry Western Hognose
Image

Image

Nice mask on this Blue Racer
Image

More milkshakes
Image

The Slender Glass Lizard (Ophisaurus attenuatus) was an interesting find
Image

Image

The dudes with some milkshakes
Image

A nice fox snake cruised one night
Image

I took a trip up to Wisconsin to give Carl Koch a visit. We had a blast!

Here is a Butler's Garter Snake (Thamnophis butleri)
Image

We ran into this big girl along with two other WAY prettier individuals; all about ready to burst with little babies.

The Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus)
Image

Female Eastern hognose burrowing
Image

Gravid Red-bellied snake (Storeria occipitomaculata)
Image

Nice sized hoggie
Image

Image

Me with the Eastern Hognose
Image

Spent some time tracking the Blanding's Turtle (Emydoidea blandingi) as well
Image

Here is a Three Toed Box turtle because why not?
Image

In late June, Justin Elden, Will Condit and I packed up and headed for New Orleans to attend IHS. We met a lot of great people and heard a lot of spectacular talks. We also saw some herps! Even though the weather was absolutely ATROCIOUS.

Ran into this little homie crossing the road

Alligator mississippiensis
Image

If I'd have known we weren't going to see any LIVE snakes, I'd have taken better photos of what we did see.

Here is a Broad-banded watersnake (Nerodia fasciata confluens)
Image

Image

Eastern narrowmouth toad (Gastrophryne carolinensis)
Image

Diamondback Watersnake (Nerodia rhombifer)
Image

Image

Into Mississippi!

Gulf Coast Box Turtle
Image

Buncha Copperheads
Image

Northern Scarlet Snake (Cemophora coccinea copei)
Image

The evening before we hit the road for the NAFHA 2013 trip to NC, I decided to stop off at Snake road for an hour or so.

Western Cottonmouth
Image

Timber rattlesnake number 1
Image

Timber number 2
Image

The second one had some interesting pattern going on
Image

Oh. More copperheads.
Image

Into NC!

Golden Orb-Weaver
Image

Some big ugly ratsnake intergrade
Image

Spotted turtle (Clemmys gutatta)
Image

Corn Snake (Pantherophis gutatta)
Image

Eastern Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus piscivorus)
Image

This lovely Eastern Kingsnake was found (Lampropeltis getula)
Image

Eastern Glass Lizard (Ophisaurus ventralis)
Image

Image

And of course, the treasure that made the whole (relatively unproductive) trip worth it:

The Carolina Pygmy Rattlesnake (Sistrurus miliarius miliarius)
Image

Comparison between a couple individuals
Image

Image

Image

If I'd have known this was the only one to be found, I'd have taken better pictures. But alas, there was road cruising to be done.

Scarlet Kingsnake (Lampropeltis elapsoides)
Image

Fancy photo session with an Eastern Gartersnake
Image

Larger Eastern Glass Lizard
Image

Young and EXTREMELY uncooperative Corn Snake
Image

Go ahead and try, little buddy.
Image

Young Southern Copperhead
Image

Quick stop in the Smokies!

Blue Ridged Two-lined Salamander (Eurycea wilderae)
Image

I have no idea which Desmog. this is. ID's are welcome!
Image

Again, ID's are welcome
Image

Pygmy Salamander (Desmognathus wrighti)
Image

And some final Southern IL odds and ends:

Copperheads a-plenty!
Image

More Tantilla!
Image

Rough green snake
Image

Big ugly Red milkshake
Image

A beautiful young Timber Rattlesnake
Image

A nice Green Tree Frog (Hyla cinerea)
Image

Another Shawnee Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula holbrookii X Lampropeltis getula nigra)
Image

A pleasant surprise was this lovely Bird-Voiced Tree Frog (Hyla avivoca)
Image

Thank you all for taking the time to look. I hope you enjoyed the post! We'll end on a good note with the final Timber Rattlesnake seen this year. My best to all of you

Image

- Chad
User avatar
MattSullivan
Posts: 419
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 2:07 pm
Location: New Jersey

Re: The Best of the Midwest: My 2013 Year in Review

Post by MattSullivan »

nice job dude, pretty kick ass year. im jealous of 95% of your finds
User avatar
DracoRJC
Posts: 335
Joined: May 5th, 2011, 3:15 pm
Location: The beautiful Texas Hill Country

Re: The Best of the Midwest: My 2013 Year in Review

Post by DracoRJC »

Good stuff homie. Hope I can herp with yall again sometime!

Ryan
User avatar
Tuataurifer
Posts: 52
Joined: November 6th, 2013, 6:38 pm
Location: STL

Re: The Best of the Midwest: My 2013 Year in Review

Post by Tuataurifer »

The best part of the year for me was meeting you guys and getting to consider yall as some of my best buds. Also, that gross, pink haired Dude in NOLA.

Awesome year bro, lets make next season even better! :beer:
ChadHarrison
Posts: 139
Joined: June 29th, 2012, 1:45 pm
Location: Illinois

Re: The Best of the Midwest: My 2013 Year in Review

Post by ChadHarrison »

Tuataurifer wrote:The best part of the year for me was meeting you guys and getting to consider yall as some of my best buds. Also, that gross, pink haired Dude in NOLA.

Awesome year bro, lets make next season even better! :beer:
Best part of mine too, mane. Lets rip it up in florida this spring.
Ben
Posts: 26
Joined: December 13th, 2010, 11:40 am

Re: The Best of the Midwest: My 2013 Year in Review

Post by Ben »

Awesome looking year, man! I need to get back east again sometime. I'm jealous of a good many of those finds. Wish we could have made the Texas thing work out and gotten you some western stuff to add. Maybe next year! :)
User avatar
Todd McKinney
Posts: 233
Joined: August 23rd, 2010, 5:04 am
Location: Hardin County, Ky
Contact:

Re: The Best of the Midwest: My 2013 Year in Review

Post by Todd McKinney »

Damn dude did you have time to eat or sleep during this epicness!
User avatar
peterknuteberg
Posts: 191
Joined: June 8th, 2010, 5:51 am
Location: Chicago, Illinois

Re: The Best of the Midwest: My 2013 Year in Review

Post by peterknuteberg »

Chad, I thoroughly enjoyed your post. I too had looked at books and dreamed of seeing an E. Massasauga. It is a shame that they have disappeared so quickly and that society, for the most part, doesn't even care or even know. Am I imagining or did I see your photography skills improving as the year progressed?

It is also good that you still have some animals on that list of "seeking and have not found--YET". This will keep you looking and enjoying the great outdoors. Nice work. Hope to see you out in the field next spring. Peter.
Heaven
Posts: 43
Joined: July 8th, 2012, 7:51 am

Re: The Best of the Midwest: My 2013 Year in Review

Post by Heaven »

WOW, so much variety. I'm jealous! Thanks for sharing.
ChadHarrison
Posts: 139
Joined: June 29th, 2012, 1:45 pm
Location: Illinois

Re: The Best of the Midwest: My 2013 Year in Review

Post by ChadHarrison »

Thank you for the kind words, everybody.
peterknuteberg wrote:Chad, I thoroughly enjoyed your post. I too had looked at books and dreamed of seeing an E. Massasauga. It is a shame that they have disappeared so quickly and that society, for the most part, doesn't even care or even know. Am I imagining or did I see your photography skills improving as the year progressed?

It is also good that you still have some animals on that list of "seeking and have not found--YET". This will keep you looking and enjoying the great outdoors. Nice work. Hope to see you out in the field next spring. Peter.
Peter, your eyes did not deceive you. I had just purchased my new camera this January. So I am still getting the hang of the DSLR world. It was good to meet you at the Road this year. Hope to see you again, as well.
Ben wrote:Awesome looking year, man! I need to get back east again sometime. I'm jealous of a good many of those finds. Wish we could have made the Texas thing work out and gotten you some western stuff to add. Maybe next year! :)
Thanks Ben. I was pretty bummed we couldn't make that happen. Next year, it's going down for sure. I'll let you know!
User avatar
justinm
Posts: 3423
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 5:26 am
Location: Illinois
Contact:

Re: The Best of the Midwest: My 2013 Year in Review

Post by justinm »

Chad,

You've had a great year, worth celebrating. I like your enthusiasm for sure. Thanks for throwing in the smaller hard to photo fossorial snakes, I really do love seeing those even vicariously. Sorry that I didn't get to see you this year.


Justin
User avatar
IllinoisGuy
Posts: 55
Joined: June 14th, 2013, 2:17 pm
Location: St. Louis

Re: The Best of the Midwest: My 2013 Year in Review

Post by IllinoisGuy »

Wow, you totally killed it this year. Hands down, great post!

-Edward
User avatar
Tuataurifer
Posts: 52
Joined: November 6th, 2013, 6:38 pm
Location: STL

Re: The Best of the Midwest: My 2013 Year in Review

Post by Tuataurifer »

For the record, Guy was around for the IHS LA/MS trip.
Image
ChadHarrison
Posts: 139
Joined: June 29th, 2012, 1:45 pm
Location: Illinois

Re: The Best of the Midwest: My 2013 Year in Review

Post by ChadHarrison »

Yeah he was! Guy rocks. I'm glad we ran into him. There are a lot of photos of people I'd have loved to include in this post, but there were too many herps to include. It was already large enough. I wanted to keep it relatively controlled.
User avatar
DaneConley
Posts: 481
Joined: September 21st, 2010, 10:03 am
Location: SE Virginia/SW Illinois

Re: The Best of the Midwest: My 2013 Year in Review

Post by DaneConley »

Dude, pretty sweet post and I am thoroughly jealous of pretty much everything.

Next year we going herping and finding some real snake this time okay? Ok.
ChadHarrison
Posts: 139
Joined: June 29th, 2012, 1:45 pm
Location: Illinois

Re: The Best of the Midwest: My 2013 Year in Review

Post by ChadHarrison »

DaneConley wrote:Dude, pretty sweet post and I am thoroughly jealous of pretty much everything.

Next year we going herping and finding some real snake this time okay? Ok.
Word. I need to see Rainbows. I might die if I don't.
User avatar
Brian Willey
Posts: 100
Joined: June 21st, 2010, 6:32 pm
Location: St. Louis, MO

Re: The Best of the Midwest: My 2013 Year in Review

Post by Brian Willey »

Oh yea, you definitely had an awesome season! There's a few animals there I would love to find!
ChadHarrison
Posts: 139
Joined: June 29th, 2012, 1:45 pm
Location: Illinois

Re: The Best of the Midwest: My 2013 Year in Review

Post by ChadHarrison »

Thanks Brian!
Barry R
Posts: 463
Joined: March 16th, 2011, 11:27 am
Location: Shawnee Hills, IN

Re: The Best of the Midwest: My 2013 Year in Review

Post by Barry R »

great post! congrats on the IL. Tantilla
herper1
Posts: 244
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 7:25 pm
Location: South Jersey

Re: The Best of the Midwest: My 2013 Year in Review

Post by herper1 »

Wow, great year, great finds, and great pics. Have you added them up to see how different species you saw this year. Has to be an impressive number!
User avatar
Jared Cain
Posts: 221
Joined: September 18th, 2012, 7:39 pm
Location: FL/WV

Re: The Best of the Midwest: My 2013 Year in Review

Post by Jared Cain »

That was an awesome post! So many cool animals and nice photos, too!
User avatar
pjfishpa
Posts: 123
Joined: June 2nd, 2013, 6:51 am
Location: NW Ohio / SE Michigan

Re: The Best of the Midwest: My 2013 Year in Review

Post by pjfishpa »

Wow! You really found a lot of species! Great post an, thanks or putting it together.
ChadHarrison
Posts: 139
Joined: June 29th, 2012, 1:45 pm
Location: Illinois

Re: The Best of the Midwest: My 2013 Year in Review

Post by ChadHarrison »

pjfishpa wrote:Wow! You really found a lot of species! Great post an, thanks or putting it together.
Thank you! It really was a great year. Planning on making the current year one hell of a lot better!
User avatar
Soopaman
Posts: 924
Joined: March 18th, 2012, 7:34 pm
Location: Houston, Texas

Re: The Best of the Midwest: My 2013 Year in Review

Post by Soopaman »

Nice stuff, Chad. I really liked the calligaster (find more of those!) and the massive hogs.
User avatar
Trey
Posts: 156
Joined: October 1st, 2010, 9:40 pm
Location: NE OHIO

Re: The Best of the Midwest: My 2013 Year in Review

Post by Trey »

Great year dude
User avatar
muskiemagnet
Posts: 1253
Joined: June 11th, 2010, 8:43 am
Location: kaukauna, wi

Re: The Best of the Midwest: My 2013 Year in Review

Post by muskiemagnet »

i'm interested in the saugas. by the way, i really liked the last photo. do you know how SFD is affecting them in illinois as far as mortality? i know that they seem to struggle with a different fungus strain as it seems. most snakes are usually affected only skin deep. i've read the illinois snakes are being eaten alive(tissue/bone). i've only seen them in an area of canary grass. it would be awesome to see them in a natural habitat that contained blue stem. i'll be working closely with the boys in wisconsin on SFD this year and your thoughts on illinois would be appreciated. many NE states are going ahead with "head-start" programs for timbers. i wonder if it should be considered for saugas as well. again, your thoughts? PM me.

-ben
User avatar
walk-about
Posts: 567
Joined: June 14th, 2010, 12:04 pm
Location: 'God's Country' aka western KY
Contact:

Re: The Best of the Midwest: My 2013 Year in Review

Post by walk-about »

Excellent post Chad. Loved it! Very impressive pics. Lined snake easily my favorite. Siren shots always a personal favorite; I loved how you included habitat in the background. Congrats on so many lifers - shots of the Crawfish Frog also impressive. Kirtland's in 2014 for sure! THanks for sharing.

Rock ON!

Dave
ChadHarrison
Posts: 139
Joined: June 29th, 2012, 1:45 pm
Location: Illinois

Re: The Best of the Midwest: My 2013 Year in Review

Post by ChadHarrison »

Thanks, y'all! Ben, I'm always down to discuss 'saugas. PM'ing you now.
User avatar
Mike Pingleton
Posts: 1471
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 7:45 am
Location: One of the boys from Illinois
Contact:

Re: The Best of the Midwest: My 2013 Year in Review

Post by Mike Pingleton »

Most excellent. TWO timbers on a random SR visit? Dang dude.

-Mike
ChadHarrison
Posts: 139
Joined: June 29th, 2012, 1:45 pm
Location: Illinois

Re: The Best of the Midwest: My 2013 Year in Review

Post by ChadHarrison »

Mike Pingleton wrote:Most excellent. TWO timbers on a random SR visit? Dang dude.

-Mike
Yeah it was something else. I only went to kill time before we left for NC, as I arrived in the area a couple hours early. Walked the road for a bit, didn't make it very far and turned back. Both were found on the way back just a few minutes apart. There was another individual by the south end gate that wasn't having my funny business though. Homebody didn't plan on sticking around for any of my bullcrap. So I only counted the two.
dthor68
Posts: 295
Joined: July 26th, 2010, 1:26 pm
Location: South Carolina
Contact:

Re: The Best of the Midwest: My 2013 Year in Review

Post by dthor68 »

So what is Ophidiomyces? I googled it and only came up with one small article stating that the first to test positive for it came from Spartanburg Co. SC. Last May I found an adult Milk Snake in Greenville Co. SC (Next door to Spartanburg Co.) eaten up with some sort of fungus similar to your Copperhead. I just figured it happened during hibernation, maybe the conditions were too damp. Can anyone explain this disease a little further so I will know what to do the next time I see it.

BTW, nice work Chad. It looks like you had a great year.
ChadHarrison
Posts: 139
Joined: June 29th, 2012, 1:45 pm
Location: Illinois

Re: The Best of the Midwest: My 2013 Year in Review

Post by ChadHarrison »

dthor68 wrote:So what is Ophidiomyces? I googled it and only came up with one small article stating that the first to test positive for it came from Spartanburg Co. SC. Last May I found an adult Milk Snake in Greenville Co. SC (Next door to Spartanburg Co.) eaten up with some sort of fungus similar to your Copperhead. I just figured it happened during hibernation, maybe the conditions were too damp. Can anyone explain this disease a little further so I will know what to do the next time I see it.

BTW, nice work Chad. It looks like you had a great year.
The Chrysosporium fungus was recently reclassified as Ophidiomyces. I would check out the 2011 paper on Chrysosporium infections in Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnakes by C. Phillips et. al.
Post Reply