Sightings of a world traveler: 2019

Monday 14 October 2019

There is a Road...

There is a road down in Southern Illinois that closes each year to vehicle traffic so that wildlife (and specifically reptiles) can cross from the swampland to hibernacula up in the rocky cliffs. This road is a frequented spot for herpers across North America and a place I have visited fairly often on the Thanksgiving weekend. The border guard this year actually asked me "What about your family?!". Luckily my family is indulgent of my crazy hobby and we celebrate with a turkey dinner on a different weekend.

We drove throughout the night to get to southern Illinois from Ontario and didn't even try to get any sleep before heading out for a walk down the road. With the rain that had hit overnight and the continued spitting throughout the day we had a great day for amphibians. Our first sightings were Green Tree Frogs (Hyla cinerea).

Green Tree Frog (Hyla cinerea)

Soon after as we walked further down the road we started finding Northern Slimy Salamanders (Plethodon glutinosus), Eastern Newts (Notophthalmus viridescens) and Zigzag Salamanders (Plethodon dorsalis).

Northern Slimy Salamanders (Plethodon glutinosus)

Zigzag Salamander (Plethodon dorsalis)

We even found a little tiny newt beside a fully grown one. It was very neat to see the size difference.

Eastern Newts (Notophthalmus viridescens)

After finding a salamander we were just standing around chatting in a circle and a lovely Copperhead just went straight in between us!! It was quite surreal and surprising. They are so well camouflaged and we were all standing still but we caught the movement out of the corner of our eyes when it was actually beside us. A very pleasant surprise indeed!

Eastern Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix)

One of my favorite finds of the day wasn't something uncommon but just a beautiful freshly shed Ringneck Snake (Diadophis punctatus). The iridescence on this snake was breathtakingly beautiful. I am still working on my photography skills so I couldn't really capture quite how stunning it was so you'll just have to trust me. But hopefully these photos give you a little bit of a sense.

Ringneck Snake (Diadophis punctatus)

Normally this species will hide their heads under their body or tail so I was very happy that this one obliged me with a nice pose. They typically are noctural and will eat slugs, earthworms and salamanders among other things.

Ringneck Snake (Diadophis punctatus)

Northern Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus) were one of the most common species we found on the road. They were actually coming straight out of the swamp and crossing the road in front of us. Sometimes they even dragged a bunch of wet vegetation with them! I am very grateful that this road gets closed to vehicle traffic for all the creatures that live there because we saw over 10 of them right on the road! It was a great day for them to move.

Northern Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus)

At one point we looked up and saw a Gray Ratsnake (Pantherophis spiloides) coming out of a hole in the cliff just like you saw all the snakes doing in Indiana Jones.

Other cracks had lonely little toads peeking out of them.

On almost every single one of these trips I manage to see a Timber Rattlesnake, BUT they are always deep in the cracks and I have NEVER seen their face or gotten a decent photo of one. This year changed that. It was still in a crack but at least not very deep and it was definitely looking straight out at me as I took a picture.

Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus)

We also got to see a few Western Ribbonsnakes along the road over the course of the weekend.

Western Ribbonsnake (Thamnophis proximus)

We went out looking for more thing after dark and found Long-tailed Salamanders (Eurycea longicauda) and Cave Salamander (Eurycea lucifuga).

Cave Salamander (Eurycea lucifuga)

A Southern Leopard Frog (Lithobates sphenocephalus) was also just hanging out in a small puddle of water.

Southern Leopard Frog (Lithobates sphenocephalus)

On our last night in Illinois we had another great night for Green Tree Frogs and even found a gorgeous Rough Greensnake (Opheodrys aestivus)

Green Tree Frog (Hyla cinerea)

Rough Greensnake (Opheodrys aestivus)

You can hike up to the top of the cliff face and get a lovely view over the swampland below. The difference in feeling being in the swamp vs up on the cliffs is a bit indescribable but the sunset is beautiful to see from both spots. Down below you see the light slowly fading and creating light trails between the trees that tower above you. Up above you see the entire landscape stretching out below you and even the towering tees look small in the distance as they change colour with the glow of setting sun.

The Mississippi River is a natural barrier to species movement and a lot of different species occur across the border in Missouri. We took a morning to go exploring in a different area that I had never been to before and it was amazing!

The holy grail we were looking for in this unique place was a Plains Hognose (Heterodon nasicus gloydi) and we managed to spot one curled up basking just at the edge of a clump of grass. They blend in so well it would be easy to miss. We also saw Six-lined Racerunners but they were far to fast for me to get a photograph of!

Plains Hognose (Heterodon nasicus gloydi)

After our traditional all you can eat friend chicken dinner that makes me feel like I need to be rolled out of there and get my heart checked. We checked out a spot at night for Salamanders and had a lot of luck! Marbled Salamander (Ambystoma opacum) are obviously banded with white and black

Marbled Salamander (Ambystoma opacum)

This species lives in damp woodlands and requires seasonally flooded areas to breed. Unlike other Ambystomid salamanders they don't deposit egg masses in the spring within vernal pools. You can see these are actually present in the fall and deposited under moist logs in seasonally flooded areas. This gives Marbled Salamander hatchings a bit of a head start in the spring.

Marbled Salamander (Ambystoma opacum)

Mole Salamander (Ambystoma talpoideum) are derpy looking. I don't know what else to say about these guys. I love them. They are stocky and have a much larger head than you would picture them having. They look derpy and they make me smile.

Mole Salamander (Ambystoma talpoideum)

Small-mouthed Salamander (Ambystoma texanum) are also unproportioned, but don't really look as derpy because of it. They have a characteristically small head for their body size and of course are aptly named for their small mouth.

Small-mouthed Salamander (Ambystoma texanum)

Our last day down in Illinois we went to a cyperes swamp area surrounded by deciduous forest. There are lovely walking trails and a boardwalk that takes you a bit out into the swamp.

While we were in the swamp we saw a Cottonmouth swimming in the water. It left a trail right through the duckweed so you could tell exactly where it came from. There were a lot of basking sliders along the river but it was a fairly warm day and they spooked before we could get anywhere close to them.

As we walked around we found a few cool things including:
Common Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina)
Crane-fly Orchid (Tipularia discolor)
Northern Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus)
Plain-bellied Watersnake (Nerodia erythrogaster)

Plain-bellied Watersnake (Nerodia erythrogaster)

Sunday 25 August 2019

Allegheny National Forest

After my brother and I enjoyed a great family trip to Pennsylvania around Easter we decided to go back to Allegheny National Forest with a group of friends. It was a very social trip and we mostly were checking out the sights in the area. We stayed in Dewdrop Campground. It was a very nice campground but they were very strict on the noise level and we actually almost got kicked out despite it only being 10pm.

Dewdrop Campground

The campground was right on the Allegheny River and it was a lovely morning walk. When I started walking the river was thick with fog but this slowly started to evaporate and blow away.

Allegheny River

Our first stop was to take in the view from of Allegheny River at the Seneca Generating Plant. This was mostly just a quick stop to take in the view.

Allegheny River at the Seneca Generating Plant

The first hike we did was out to the Rimrock Overlook. The trails went through rocky forested areas.

Rimrock Overlook, Allegheny National Forest, Pennsylvania

It was a very short there and back trail to get from the parking lot to the actual outlook itself but it was a very nice trail. It was well maintained and there were a decent number of people using it.

Rimrock Overlook, Allegheny National Forest, Pennsylvania

The rocky cliff areas were the most interesting part to me. They looked really really cool. In some places you could even climb up into the cracks or get into some small cave areas but none of those went very far.

Rimrock Overlook, Allegheny National Forest, Pennsylvania

The outlook itself had a lovely view over the Allegheny River out towards our campground.

Rimrock Overlook, Allegheny National Forest, Pennsylvania

The understory vegetation wasn't very thick but there were some interesting plants growing there including:
Crookedstem Aster (Symphyotrichum prenanthoides)

Crookedstem Aster (Symphyotrichum prenanthoides)

Indian Cucumber Root (Medeola virginiana)

Whorled Wood Aster (Oclemena acuminata)

Indian Pipe (Monotropa uniflora)

At one point a lady walking past us along the trail warned us that there was a snake up ahead. I must admit I ran for it. That is ran towards it! Haha I doubt she was expecting that reaction since she was not a huge fan of snakes. Turns out it was just a harmless Common Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis) soaking up the sun. It was a very beautiful snake and didn't mind me taking photos. All it did was move it's head a little to look at me.

Common Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis)

Monarch (Danaus plexippus) are best recognized by their characteristic orange, black and white colouration as adults; however, they also have a very strinking and unique looking chrysalis. The emerald green coloured chrysalis exterior is flecked with gold.As the butterfly matures within the chyrsalis you can start to see the wing patterns through the semi-transparent chyrsalis but this one I found wasn't quite that mature yet.

Monarch (Danaus plexippus)

Our third point of interest was the Kinzua Bridge in Kinzua Bridge State Park. This railroad bridge spanned 625 meters across Kinzua Creek and was 92 meters tall. It was built in 1882 and was the tallest railroad bridge in the world for two years. It was operational until 1952 then was converted to a historic site and made part of a state park.

Kinzua Bridge in Kinzua Bridge State Park

They started restoring the bridge in 2002. But ironically before they could complete restoration the bridge was hit by a tornado in July 2003. The center of the bridge collapsed but sections on both ends remained in tact and they concerted one of them into a lookout with plastic see through floors. Looking out at the valley from the bridge you can actually see the path of destruction left by the tornado.

Kinzua Bridge in Kinzua Bridge State Park

There is a trail you can hike down into the valley that takes you across Kinzua Creek and into fields where you can walk through the towering metal debris.

Kinzua Bridge in Kinzua Bridge State Park

The valley floor has floodplain and meadow species growing thickly around the debris. The habitat is still very open so you have a lovely view all the way up to the intact bridge and you really get a feel for how high it is.

Kinzua Creek in Kinzua Bridge State Park

Turtlehead (Chelone sp.)

Arrow-leaved Tearthumb (Persicaria sagittata)
Indian Tobacco (Lobelia inflata)
Sensitive Fern (Onoclea sensibilis)
Flat-topped Goldenrod (Euthamia graminifolia)
Steeplebush (Spiraea tomentosa)

Steeplebush (Spiraea tomentosa)

Our last hike and point of interest was at Jake's Rock. This is another rocky outcrop turned into a viewpoint. The trail was very well maintained and easy to walk.

Jake's Rock

Jake's Rock, Allegheny National Forest

Sightings of a world traveler

Monday 14 October 2019

There is a Road...

Sunday 25 August 2019

Allegheny National Forest

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