Fox Snake!

Went out to Banner on this beautiful evening (which was supposed to be the end of the world as we know it) to look for some snakes. It is getting pretty heavy in poison ivy now. But I have this one spot I always check, an old piece of carpet along the bike trail that has yielded a number of snakes over the years. This year it has only yielded a little Northern Water Snake and today's juvenile Fox Snake. He was a fiesty little fellow but he managed to let me get a few good shots in. Here they are...

This is the carpet I was telling you about. I always check this thing...most of the time there's nothing there, but you just never know! Today was a prime example of that.

A couple frogs...

The other day was absolutely gorgeous so I left the office and went to a nearby wooded area for a stroll to see if I could spot any herps. I came across a couple different kinds of frogs. A Northern Leopard Frog and a Cricket Frog. The Cricket Frog is very small but it is adult size. Here are some of the pics...

A large Eastern Garter Snake...

Went out on this fine May day and went to a couple of our normal haunts with my son Jacob. After flipping a piece of plywood, we found this 35 inch Eastern Garter Snake. He was really beautiful. My son is the one who grabbed him, and this Garter musked him big time. It was a little humorous, honestly. We walked a fence row and didn't find any thing else, but did see a bunch of milipedes under a log that were very interesting. Here are the pics...

Short trip out today...

I went out on a short trip today to see if I could see anything. Only came across a couple of creatures of note...a small Northern Leopard Frog and an Eastern Garter Snake. Here are a few shots from the day...

Water Snake on a cool day!

Before heading home today I stopped by Fort Des Moines County Park and took a quick stroll by the pond. Sometimes on cooler days like these the water snakes will sun themselves in the taller grass right along the water's edge so they can make a quick dive into the water if needed. That is exactly where I found this beautiful 37 inch Northern Water Snake. Here are some of the best pics...

Bull!

Took my son out to Jordan Creek and on our way back I spotted this snake coming out into the road. I had to go down to the next exit and swing back to get him. He was a beautiful Bull Snake. 62 inches long. I don't normally move snakes from their habitat but he in in the middle of a major thoroughfare and would have most likely been run over. So I took him to a beautiful spot not too terribly far from where we got him that is far from roadways and it is just the kind of habitat he will love...sandy prairie! Here are the pics:

Another trip out to Banner...

I spent an incredibly difficult day working outside when I wanted to be herping the whole time. I was on a farm in Truro, IA and was outdoors all day, but I had little time to herp. So, even though I was exhausted, I took a drive out to Banner when I got home, as the sun was setting. I found a couple snakes DOR (Dead On Road)...which bummed me out...one of them was a really large Eastern Garter Snake. The other was a baby Northern Water Snake. Both probably the underserved recipients of someone purposefully running them over in their vehicle.

But I also found a juvenile Eastern Garter snake alive, hunkering down for the night under a piece of plastic I flipped. Here's the pics...