Snake Road is located within the Shawnee area of extreme southern Illinois, along the Mississippi River. A roughly 2.5-mile section of the road is blocked for two months each spring and again in the fall to allow migrating reptiles and amphibians safe travels to and from their hibernacula. On one side of the road stands an imposing 350-foot cliff and on the other side, a rather expansive swamp. Many of the reptiles and amphibians that call the swamp home during warm weather will make their way to the cliffs in the fall and wedge themselves in the many cracks and fissures. And of course during the spring, they head back to the swamp. Thankfully, in 1972, the Forest Service, responding to the reports of numerous dead snakes on the road during the migrations, outlawed vehicles on that stretch of road, although foot traffic is welcome. The road is actually a gravel one-lane access to the swamp used primarily by hunters during the hunting season. It never actually was a busy road. If one didn't know better, it could be seen as a pedestrian path.
Enough of the site history, now for our experience! I traveled with Aimee and after a six-hour drive, we finally made it to Snake Road. The whole area is absolutely breathtaking - turkey vultures flying high at the cliffs, migratory waterfowl and songbirds abound, astounding variety of plant life, and the swamp water quality is impeccable. Though I was there to witness reptiles, I simply could not help but be distracted by the other qualities of the area. Also- this is my first time using my new macro lens with my DSLR. So, photo quality suffered due to inexperience, but I think a few came out okay. And on one occasion, I didn't have my camera handy, so I had to use my cell phone.
Day One
We arrived at Snake Road around 3:00 PM. We parked the car and prepared for the outing.
Within minutes, I was greeted by an angry four-foot possible black/speckled kingsnake intergrade (Lampropeltis getula nigra/holbrooki). Big rush.
About two dozen photos of this gorgeous animal and then we let it on its way. Good thing we did, for a very short stroll yielded another Snake Road favorite - the rough green snake (Opheodrys aestivus).
We then witnessed the first of many large millipedes on the road. This one is Narceus americanus. They are probably no big deal to folks who see them on a regular basis, but these dwarf the small brown millipedes I find at home.
Millipedes have interesting methods of self-defense. If curling up doesn't work, this species releases a substance that can cause skin burns and discoloration. Interestingly, no one mentions the biting and chewing - each one of these diplopods insisted on biting the palm of my hand.
As we approached the swamp, we began seeing Blanchard's cricket frogs (Acris crepitans blanchardi). They were abundant. At times we had to watch where we were stepping so that we didn't crush them. They are very small - one can sit flush on a quarter - but are not always quick to hop away the way Lithobates do.
The array of plant life was stunning. I'm no botanist but I do know there is a Trillium in this photo and some woodland phlox (Phlox divaricata). I think there is some creeping poison ivy in this photo, too...poison ivy was a very, very common plant here.
Continuing down the road.
A six-spotted tiger beetle (Cicindela sexguttata). I think that even if you don't like insects, you've got to admit that these are rather attractive.
This huge beetle was too fast for a photo unless held, which proved hard to do while taking a photo. I think it is a Pasimachus depressus. A type of ground beetle.
Then, the third snake of the day - a young Northern ringneck (Diadophis punctatus edwardsii) crossing the road. The last time I saw these was during my time in Georgia, long ago. These are very small, secretive snakes and are rear-fanged and slightly venomous, but pose no threat to people whatsoever.
Another large beetle - Odontotaenius disjunctus. These shiny black beetles are denizens of dead rotting wood.
The first of several bullfrogs (Lithobates catesbeianus).
A morel fungus - these are edible, but I don't like mushrooms.
We returned to the car and noticed a shallow puddle in the gravel "lot". The puddle was teeming with Fowler's toad (Anaxyrus fowleri) larvae. Many were restricted to a single tire rut. I wondered if they would survive in this shallow depression long enough to morph into toadlets - IF the water remains long enough.
Day Two - We wanted to get an early start. This idea turned out to work to our disadvantage. See, I am very normally an early-bird go-getter when it comes to outdoor stuff. But I did not take into consideration several factors, the biggest being a west-facing cliff that blocked the sun until near mid-day. That meant the road remained fairly cool until roughly 3:00 PM. Still, there is something about a cool, early morning stroll down a rural wooded lane that kept me going regardless of how many reptiles we'd see.
There was a healthy population of southern leopard frogs (Lithobates utricularia) in and around this small, flooded indentation at the lot. I was photographed by Aimee in my fruitless attempt to capture one, but take a look at that backdrop! Never a bad day at Snake Road.
Another interesting millipede species was encountered crossing the road on this trip. Apheloria virginiensis is a boldly-marked millipede with the habit of releasing cyanide (yes, cyanide) as a defensive mechanism. If handled, the toxin could be applied onto hands, which when transferred to the eyes can cause real discomfort.
We walked past countless land snails crossing the road. I also saw many of them on the cliff walls and underneath rotting logs. It turns out there are dozens of species of snail here, and evidently one species is endemic to the area (can only be found here). I don't know how to identify snails, but they are interesting, and Aimee enjoyed moving them off the road into the vegetation. Her inspiration was the sight of several crushed snails due to (hopefully accidental) pedestrian activity.
Our first road herp of the day was this tiny central newt (Notophthalmus viridescens louisianensis). It turned out to the the first of several over the next couple days. All but one was found on the road. It seems I cannot go anywhere this spring and not find this newt!
Shortly afterwards, we found the first of many Fowler's toads (Anaxyrus fowleri). This first one was the smallest we'd see; it was about the size of a walnut. One interesting note was the fact that all of the toads we saw were Fowler's, and not American toads (Anaxyrus americanus).
A short while later, out second Northern ringneck snake, out on the crawl...
...followed by another Fowler's toad.
Butterflies were abundant here too. They were seen feeding around mud puddles for salt and animal droppings for other nutrients flowers don't produce. I cannot even guess as to how many species were seen. There were A LOT. It was great to see.
Here are three different species feeding on feces of some smallish mammal - clockwise from left: Eastern tiger swallowtail, zebra swallowtail, and black swallowtail.
We decided to call it a day after walking the entire 2.5-mile road back to back without much herpetological life to write home about. However, I wanted to check out an area of the swamp where the day before a group of teens had claimed to have found a cottonmouth. A cottonmouth was very high on my list of snakes I'd love to find here, so Aimee reluctantly followed me as I made my way through the dense undergrowth of woodland on the other side of the lot, opposite of snake road. Within about ten minutes I realized this wasn't going to happen - there was way too much poison ivy, and the ground was getting too swampy. On out way back, imagine my surprise when Aimee saw a small snake that she claimed was "brown". thinking it may be a cottonmouth, I grabbed a dead stick and poked at the leaves on the ground, where Aimee said the snake crawled under. In seconds I saw it, but it was not the cottonmouth I hoped it would be, but instead another welcome species I was able to add to my Snake Road list - a midland brownsnake (Storeria dekayi wrightorum). Very common at home, but it was cool to find one out of my "home element".
Day 3 - We arrived at the road around 10:00 AM. Since this was our final full day, I wanted to get as much time in as possible.
A view of the levee road access to Snake Road. Unbeknownst to us at the time, this road would play an integral part in shaping awesome memories later that evening.
Another shot of the parking lot puddle that housed tens of thousands of toad larvae (tadpoles). Also in the pond were green frogs, southern leopard frogs, Blanchard's cricket frogs, and one fat Eastern garter snake that I managed to miss catching in two hapless attempts.
I've got to give Aimee credit. For someone who isn't particularly fond of nature outings, in particular field herping expeditions, she was a real sport. She went out of her way to get some good shots herself and braved tick and chigger-infested woods to follow me in my pursuits. Not even the infamous poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans) stopped her. She quickly learned to identify and dodge the noxious vines that were so incredibly numerous all over the place.
Not long in our walk, I finally found a southern leopard frog (Lithobates utricularia) willing to sit still enough for a halfway decent few photos.
I also found what I believe to be a southern redback salamander (Plethodon serratus) under a piece of rotting tree bark on the ground. When I checked my field guide, I saw that this species is not known from Illinois at all, though they are known in southeastern Missouri along the Mississippi River, very close to where we were. So, without looking into this further, I am assuming this is of an isolated population east of the river. I did attempt some photos, but due to the salamander's tiny size and very fast speed, the quality of photos is embarrassing to say the least, therefore I will leave them out.
Arrowhead plants
Another green frog
A two-spotted stink bug (Perillus bioculatus)
Walking with some kind folks all the way from Ontario, one of the group spotted a "garter snake" just off the path. It was clear to me, even before I caught it, that it was in fact a Western ribbon snake (Thamnophis proximus proximus). It can be identified as a ribbon snake mainly due to its thinner physique and as a Western ribbon since the two light colored spots on its head are enlarged and touching each other.
To close out the afternoon, a gorgeous summer tanager (Piranga rubra).
And, so that was to be the end of Snake Road for this trip. We went out for dinner and were planning on going roller skating (that's right...). As we were on our way to the town with the roller skating rink, Aimee suggested one last stop at Snake Road. The sun was low in the western sky, but we were only ten minutes from Snake Road. I did want to try our luck with a late day trek, since we had been most successful on our first day, when we arrived in the afternoon after the area had sufficiently warmed. I decided one last quick stop just might do the trick.
It did.
When we arrived, I decided to limit our walk on the road in order to get back to the car before the sun set completely. Our quick stroll would take us to where the big swamp reaches the road. We joked about how cool it would be to find a cottonmouth. Imagine my surprise, when sure enough, right at where I planned on heading no further, I saw a neonate western cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma). It was the the most giddy I had been in a long time! Not only did I find my cottonmouth, but this was a very cute baby with a beautiful bold pattern and yellow tail. Unfortunately, I did not have my camera, since I thought we were going roller skating. But, I did have my phone, and Aimee had hers. We took a ton of pictures, as this was clearly the highlight of the trip.
What a rush! My first ever Shawnee cottonmouth. The only other cottonmouths I've experienced were in Georgia and Alabama, and it has been a while.
We HAD to get back to the car before it got dark, so we let the young cottonmouth be and quickly began walking back. I was so amped that I'm surprised I saw the redbelly snake (Storeria occipitomaculata) making its way across the road in front of me! How cool is that?
We got to the car as the sun was setting - perfect timing. What a great end to this trip! Fifteen species of herps were seen - not all were photographed - and that is more than I could say I could find in my area in the same timeframe. I had that thought in mind as I pulled the car out of the lot and onto the levee road. But wait - what is that on the road ahead? A huge diamondback water snake (Nerodia rhombifer rhombifer)! I quickly pulled over to get some crappy cell phone photos, and Aimee was there with the assist. The water snake had flattened out but upon being approached, did not exhibit any threat displays. It turned out to be the most docile water snake I've ever caught. Our activity drew the attention of a couple locals, who stared in awe at the crazy city boy holding the water snake.
After this beast was released, we chatted with the two young locals for a few minutes, and then went our separate ways. On the way back to the main road, we saw at least three more diamondback water snakes. Then, one last species - I mean it this time - a beautiful copperbelly water snake (Nerodia erythrogaster neglecta). The sun was long gone and we only managed one quick voucher shot using the headlights as a flash.
All in all, this was one of the greatest trips I have ever taken! Aimee and I had a great time and I am already kinda sorta planning for the fall migration. Until then, I plan to continue updating the blog with reports of Chicago-area outings. Stay tuned!
