We spotted turtles

What do great plains rat snakes (Pantherophis emoryi), bird voiced treefrogs (Hyla avivoca), Mississippi green watersnakes (Nerodia cyclopion), and spotted turtles (Clemmys guttata) have in common?  They are all herps.  Well, yeah.  But more than that, they are all species with very restricted ranges in Illinois, existing in as few as one or two places.  As a consequence of this limited distribution, each is listed as either threatened or endangered in the state.  But while most of those species are relatively secure outside of Illinois, the spotted turtle is dwindling across its entire range.  Once enjoying a rather large swath of the eastern United States (as well as portions of southern Canada), today it hangs on in widely isolated wetlands and has disappeared from many areas it once was found in.  Habitat loss/degradation has taken a huge toll on the turtles, but so have other threats, including vehicles, predation by an increasing number of mesopredators, and collection for the pet trade. The spotted turtle’s small size, attractive patterns, and charming disposition made it a very popular pet decades ago.  Probably tens of thousands were collected from the wild throughout the middle of the 20th century.  While not as popular as a pet today, a very strong demand from Asia (where the turtles are popular in medicinal circles) ensures that these animals will remain at risk.  While the species isn’t (yet) protected by the Endangered Species Act, it is listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and is protected to some degree in each state it occupies.  In Illinois and in Indiana, it is listed as endangered.  Illinois’ populations are especially imperiled.  It can only be found in two preserves in one county.  Illinois represents the spotted turtle’s western limit, so there is some justification for its restricted distribution.  The species had a better shot across the border in Indiana, but the widespread destruction of its wetland habitat there brought its occurrences down to a piddling few.  The draining of the Grand Kankakee Marsh may have taken a huge toll, and certainly the conversion of much of the dune region to industry wiped out countless locales.

But there are still a few - and I mean a FEW - places in Indiana where the spotted turtle can still be seen.  Miraculously, a few swaths of habitat remained undeveloped in the steel and manufacturing era.  Some of these sites are actively and properly managed, which is great news.  But while they seem to be doing okay in a few areas, I remain cautiously optimistic about their long term future.  

Matt and I recently hiked a stretch of habitat that looked very spotted-turtley.  While I’m tempted to post photos of the habitat, I’m a little hesitant to do that out of fear of giving away the very sensitive location (yes, in today’s world, anyone can find anything they want though the internet.  But it won’t be from me).  We ended up finding three spotted turtles as well as other interesting bycatch.  While we caught a few snakes, none of the turtles were disturbed - they were allowed to forage among the vegetation in the shallow waters of the marsh.  We were exuberant upon seeing these animals in their natural habitat for the first time in Indiana.  And we were reminded of the importance of habitat preservation even in parts of the country that have been blighted by heavy industry.  Now we can only hope that these little patches of habitat will sustain the species that depend on them for perpetuity.

Spotted turtle number one (spotted by Matt's daughter Anya) was the only of the three turtles that was "photogenic".  It was found ambling along and after it saw us it hastily burrowed under the aquatic detritus, out of site.  The second turtle found (also claimed by Anya) was swimming away a bit too quickly, while the third stuck around long enough for me to film it swimming slowly near the bottom of the marsh.

An eastern milksnake (Lampropeltis triangulum) displaying colors typical of its species in the region (i.e. not brilliant but instead warm and rich earthy tones).

Get your fill of cricket frogs (Acris blanchardi) up this way while you can because they are far less common than they were fifty years ago (though they may be recovering in some areas).

As we walked the site, we spooked this snake into the water.  It moved swiftly and for a moment I thought it may have been a western ribbon snake (Thamnophis proximus).  While pursuing the snake I found it periscoping with only its head above the water - clearly just a clean common garter (Thamnophis sirtalis).

Railroad tracks nearby

Matt exploring some dunes

Back at home later that day, I took my daughter and her cousins to look for calling toads at West Branch.  This marsh straddles the West Branch DuPage river and was home to a family of muskrats (see lodge along left edge of marsh) but the toads were on the other side of the river.  That's for another day!