It ain't over til it's over.

There was no lack of excitement during the month of October.  With the weather fluctuating wildly day to day, it was difficult to plan any surveys/outings.  And then of course my decision to leave the nature museum for a position at the Grove in Glenview.  While I loved being at the nature museum, the Grove offered additional opportunities to help people connect with nature.  The backdrop is noticeable less urban and the clientele is slightly less diverse, but I'm able to be much more involved with program development, and that matters a lot to me.  I'm still on call at the nature museum, though - I do plan on working all pertinent special events, including Tea with the Turtles, Bugapalooza, and Supper with the Snakes.

With what few opportunities I've had to field herp, I have found some common urban species, but nothing groundbreaking.  I thought I'd share a few photos from the past month.

Following this year's North American Reptile Breeder's Conference (NARBC) in Tinley Park, I headed north to Bachelor's Grove Cemetery to take notes on tree species for a friend's research project.  While there, I noticed some of the resident bullfrogs (Lithobates catesbeianus) peeking out through the mat of algae and duckweed.  Funny, but I was only aiming at one frog but I got three in the photo.

 The well-traveled Patrick monument 

 A quick stroll through the local urban forest preserve I refer to as "The Trestle".  Here is a cool jumping spider.

 A praying (preying?) mantis.

 Young adult plains garter snake (Thamnophis radix).

 Wary deer.

Peak maple.

 Aimee and Cassius were enjoying the fall weather as well.

We also took a walk along the Des Plaines River near Park Ridge for a leaf walk with my nephews Mason and Luke.

Halloween may not have been very scary but the weather was - temperatures in the 30s with snow and wind.  Miserable trick-or-treating conditions.  The cold continued for several days.  Today, it warmed up to about 60 degrees for just long enough to get out to look for Southern two-lined salamanders (Eurycea cirrigera) where they occur in Northeastern Illinois.  This species is considered common throughout most of its core range (eastern states), but there exists one interesting relict population about an hour south of Chicago.  Cut off from its core population by several hundred miles, and encompassing one small segment of preserve in Will and Kankakee Counties, this population thrives within the rocky stream beds and seeps in the woods.  I traveled down there with herpetologist Tom Anton.  Following breakfast in a small town diner, we drove about fifteen minutes from the town to find the salamanders throughout this fragmented habitat.  It was great to see numerous larval forms as well as adults of the species, as well as a good supply of copepods and amphipods (scuds), upon which they feed.  I also found a chunky male green frog, but tricky circumstances dictated my inability to photograph it.

Here is a larval two-lined salamander.  

 This is typical habitat for the two-lined salamanders.

 They hide underneath rocks and detritus.  This is what they typically look like when flipped.

 Tom holding a large adult.

 These salamanders are very fast-moving, much like other members of its genus.  I have a ton of respect for people who can photograph them.  They never sit still long enough for a good photo.  This one isn't as sharp as I'd have liked it to have been because the animal was on the move.

 Tom looking for salamanders.

 I couldn't help but notice all of these funky-looking (and smelling) fruits lying around everywhere.  I had never seen anything like these before.  Tom said they were osage oranges and that they are not native.  And no, they are not edible (I asked); though they are not poisonous, they are very hard and dense.  And they probably taste as funky as they smell and look.  Really cool either way!

Were these salamanders the last herps of the year?  Time will tell!