DRCA snake survey - Day 1

There are snakes at DRCA - at least that's what I've heard from others who have seen, caught, and supposedly positively identified Chicago garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis semifasciatus).  With as much time I have have spent working at that site, out in the prairie and wetlands, I am surprised that I have never seen one.  Well, hopefully that changes soon.  With permission granted, I gathered up a few volunteers and collected a number of discarded wood boards at the trash heap in the back parking lot and strategically placed them in a quiet, unused portion of the site, in the grass along the edge of the wooded area.  Some of the boards are adjacent to areas prone to flooding and others were placed higher up in an area that remains relatively dry most of the year.  It is my hopes that these boards will attract the garter snakes and provide shelter for them.  I plan on returning in the near future and then regularly to check the boards.

Right now, there really is no rhyme or reason to document the snakes other than the fact that I love them and I love the fact that they are still found in the city.  However, in time, this project might grow and develop into something bigger - the possibilities are endless.  Perhaps I can build an independent research project focusing on the influence of development on these snakes.  I would like to evaluate the overall health of the animals, approximate a ratio of males to females on site, and determine what regions of the DRCA they prefer and why.  So, yes, this is a way for me to study snakes because I like to, but at the very least, my findings will constitute an on-site educational seminar or presentation.  Just like last fall's native herp exhibit I developed for and at the site, this could bring awareness of the site's ecology (which really isn't unlike surrounding ecosystems in the northeastern Illinois region - it's just isolated within the built-up urban environment that surrounds it on all sides).  The only difference is that I want to focus on what can be found at the DRCA, which isn't much, admittedly.  Another organization that occasionally works at the site insists there are frogs breeding in vernal pools located deep in the buckthorn jungle, but I doubt the existence of any anurans there (and very likely any amphibians).  The site, though beautiful, serene (for being in Chicago), and full of potential, is degraded to the point where only the toughest herps could thrive.

So I plan on using this blog to update the status of the boards.  Here are some habitat photos and of the boards in situ as of today.

This is the entrance point to the location of the boards.  They are well off the path, out of site, and out of the jurisdiction of any lawnmower.

A view of the location, before the boards were laid down.  

Some of the boards we collected.  Most of these are parts of discarded traffic barriers.

One of the boards just after being plopped down.

Thank you to Wojtek and Jose for their assistance!