I have gone back a number of times throughout the year, checking the boards with no success. Last week when I checked them, I was welcomed by a meadow vole.
Discovering that a rodent has taken advantage of artificial cover doesn't bode well for my reptile-seeking endeavors. Snakes and rodents will generally not share the same roof. I left the boards in place and will check them in the springtime.
Luckily, though, I passed a small snake that had come out of the grass and was basking on the warm asphalt fire lane. It was 51 degrees outside and windy but it was sunny. It was a young plains garter snake, Thamnophis radix. After showing the snake to the volunteers, I was on on way to releasing the snake, when all of a sudden my former internship supervisor stops, looks down, and says, "There's another!" Interestingly, the second snake, which was the same size as the first, was caked in a layer of mud. It must have begun settling in for the winter (it has been very cold these last couple weeks) and decided to venture out once more before the big sleep. I released the two snakes together in some taller grass off of the road out of fear that they'd get run over or stepped on. As I type this, I only hope they are headed to shelter about now, since it is supposed to snow in a couple days.
We had about 8 or 9 small to medium sized green ash trees removed from prominent areas of the site. They were all heavily affected by the emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis).
I couldn't help but lift a few logs before I left. What can I say? They lure me in every time. Nothing but a bunch of crustaceans with a centipede thrown in here and there. Here's a cluster of Armadillidium - reminds me of one of those "one of these things is not like the other" segments from Sesame Street.
I hope to post more soon, but as the seasons progress toward winter, updates may be slim - check back soon to see!
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