IL-GA-FL Part 1

 What started as an idea for a trip to Georgia to help find indigo snakes turned into a multifaceted herpetological affair spanning five states and producing dozens of species.  As fun as it was to seek and find some of the greatest herps the country has to offer, it was even more fun meeting people I’ve known only from social media and hitting the field with a few of them.  Best of all, it was a long - LONG - road trip spent with two of my favorite herp-centric people.  When a nearly three thousand mile trip is over and you still engage in bro-hugs with other participants, that’s a special thing.  

The original indigo snake trip was delayed due to scheduling conflicts beyond our control, but we were committed.  By the time Nathan Kutok, Tom Anton, and I hammered out a plan, it was believed that the timing (early March) would probably not be conducive to prime indigo snake activity (which for the area is January and February).  So instead we decided to simply prioritize some key sites and then from there see what species we could find.  In other words, we were more or less habitat-centric and not as species-centric.  Either way, it would be good to get to some warmer weather.  Upon our departure, the only herps active in the Chicago area were a few early spring breeders such as tiger and blue spotted salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum and A. laterale).  The local chorus frogs (Pseudacris triseriata) were just beginning to warm up.  Us herp people become really impatient around this time of year!

On March 7th, Tom and I left the Chicago area bound for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to pick up Nathan.  We spent a couple of hours at the INHS herp collection, where Nathan currently works.  It was a treat to be able to look through the specimens on hand and learn of their provenance.  Many Illinois species are well-represented, as are exotic species such as Sphenodon punctatus, the tuatara.  I couldn’t help but request to see the Mercer County record painted turtle (Chrysemys picta).  It was my first county record, from back in 2015.  Never thought a crusty old turtle shell could be a sight for sore eyes.

Regina grahamii collected by Robert Schroder, along with his field notes

The herp collection

Onward toward southern Illinois for our first pit stop.  Our inaugural foray produced many species of herps - mostly amphibians - at a top-notch natural area in Johnson County.  We donned our muck boots and made our way through wet woods in search of salamanders.  The spring peepers (Pseudacris crucifer) were in full effect nearby and the ground was hopping with Blanchard’s cricket frogs (Acris blanchardi).  We carefully turned logs as we proceeded toward a relatively steep rock face, finding spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum), smallmouth salamanders (Ambystoma texanum), slimy salamanders (Plethodon glutinosus), a single cave salamander (Eurycea lucifuga) and a single marbled salamander (Ambystoma opacum).  I discovered one of the smallmouth salamanders in the process of eating an earthworm - the log was carefully put back to allow the amphibian to continue its meal.  As we approached the base of a rocky bluff, Nathan found a spring cavefish (Forbesichthys agassizii) quite by accident while searching for amphibian larvae. This is an unusual fish that resides in seeps and springs, and it occurs only where the habitat and water haven’t been disturbed (i.e very few places).  Other notable finds included a five-lined skink (Plestiodon fasciatus) and my first snake of the year, a brown snake (Storeria dekayi).  Nathan and I ascended the bluff a ways and continued searching for herps but we were mostly unsuccessful up there.  The three of us returned to the car and to our next destinations.

Bottomland habitat 

Spotted (above) and marbled salamanders

Smallmouth salamander

Cave salamander

Smallmouth salamander tugging a worm from the soil

Nathan guided us to a nearby flooded man-made pit that served as a breeding site for several species of amphibians.  Upon first glance it was clear that we were late for the spotted salamander breeding party as the pond contained about a dozen or so egg masses.  Some careful netting produced what we think might have been tiger salamander larvae, but as they were very small and the daylight was fading, it was sort of difficult to confirm the identification.  Another nearby man-made pond produced a greater variety of amphibians, including newts (Notophthalmus viridescens) and paedomorphic mole salamanders (Ambystoma talpoideum).  Other finds between the two ponds were adult and larvae southern leopard frogs (Rana sphenocephala) and a single adult female bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana). 

Flooded pit teeming with life

Spotted salamander eggs

Newt

Paedomorphic mole salamander

After dark, we did try to find the elusive crawfish frog (Rana areolatus) across a number of watery areas - ponds, ditches, and flooded agricultural fields.  We determined that we were a bit too early - though it had rained several days prior and the temperatures seemed right, the “perfect storm” had not yet whipped up the fossorial frogs just yet.  That night we ended up spending the night at a friend’s house near Carbondale.  It was the first in a series of short nights caused by late field outings and early departures (the sleep deprivation would lead to euphoric hilarity by our final evening).

Stay tuned for part two!