Snake Road, Illinois: Part 2

Earlier this week in the “Snake Road, Illinois: Part 1” entry I blogged about a recent trip I took to Snake Road, Illinois.  I posted some of photos of our amphibian finds.  This post focuses on some photos of the reptiles we found on the trip to snake road.  At the end of the post I have listed all of reptiles found by our group during our trip.  I have also posted our bird list.  Keep in mind the focus of this trip was herps and we weren’t really paying very close attention to the skies, we had our eyes on the ground!  Enjoy the rest of the photos…

Snake Road

The Rules!

The Mighty Mississippi

Can't visit Snake Road without a stop to Downhome Do-Dads.

Red-Eared Slider (Trachemys scripta elegans)

Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina)

Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina)

Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina)

Northern Fence Lizard (Sceloporus undulatus hyacinthinus)

Northern Fence Lizard (Sceloporus undulatus hyacinthinus)

Midwest Worm Snake (Carphophis amoenus helenae)

Midwest Worm Snake (Carphophis amoenus helenae)

Midwest Worm Snake (Carphophis amoenus helenae)

Midwest Worm Snake (Carphophis amoenus helenae)

Western Ribbon Snake (Thamnophis proximus proximus)

Western Ribbon Snake (Thamnophis proximus proximus)

Western Ribbon Snake (Thamnophis proximus proximus)

Northern Red-Bellied Snake (Storeria occipitomaculata occipitomaculata)

This little Red-Belly was flaring his lips at us a defensive posture.  Not the greatest photo, but a neat threat display.

Northern Red-Bellied Snake (Storeria occipitomaculata occipitomaculata)

Copperhead- Northern and Southern intergrade (Agkistrodon contortrix)

Copperhead- Northern and Southern intergrade (Agkistrodon contortrix)

Western Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma)

Some of the Cottonmouths have a nice red tone to them like this juvenile.

Western Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma)

Why do they call them Cottonmouths again?  Oh right, the mouth is bright white and opens as a defensive warning.

Western Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma)

Western Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma)

Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus)

Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus)

Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus)

Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus)

Reptiles Observed by Our (Smaller) Group at Snake Road:

*- Indicates a lifer for me!

1. River Cooters- Missouri and Hieroglyphic intergrade (Pseudemys concinna)*
2. Red-Eared Slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) 
3. Eastern Box Turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina)*
4. Northern Fence Lizards (Sceloporus undulatus hyacinthinus)*
5. Yellowbelly Water Snakes (Nerodia erythrogaster flavigaster)*
6. Midwest Worm Snake (Carphophis amoenus helenae)*
7. Western Ribbon Snake (Thamnophis proximus proximus)*
8. Eastern Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis) 
9. Northern Red-Bellied Snake (S. o. occipitomaculata)
10. Copperhead- Northern and Southern intergrade (Agkistrodon contortrix)*
11. Western Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma)* 
12. Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus)

Birds Observed at Snake Road:

1. Pied-Billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps)
2. Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) 
3. Great-Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 
4. Great Egrets (Ardea alba) 
5. Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura)
6.  Black Vulture (Coragyps atratus) 
7. Red-Shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) 
8. Red-Tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) 
9. Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) 
10. Mourning Dove (Zenaida macroura) 
11. Rock Pigeon (Columba livia) 
12. Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) 
13. Eastern Screech Owl (Megascops asio) 
14. Barred Owl (Strix varia) 
15. Chimney Swift (Chaetura pelagica) 
16. Belted Kingfisher (Ceryle alcyon) 
17. Yellow-Shafted Flicker (Colaptes auratus) 
18. Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) 
19. Red-Bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus) 
20. Red-Headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) 
21. Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe) 
22. Red-Eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus) 
23. Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) 
24. America Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) 
25. Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolor) 
26. Carolina Wren (Thryothorus ludovicianus) 
27. Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum) 
28. Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis) 
29. American Robin (Turdus migratorius) 
30. Northern Mockingbird (Mimus polyglottos) 
31. Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum) 
32. European Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) 
33. Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor) 
34. Carolina Chickadee (Poecile carolinensis) 
35. Red-Breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) 
36. Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra) 
37. Dark-Eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)
38. Vesper Sparrow (Pooecetes gramineus) 
39. Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina) 
40. Rose-Breasted Grosbeak (Pheucticus ludovicianus) 
41. Common Grackle (Quiscalus quiscula) 
42. American Goldfinch (Carduelis tristis) 

Good herping and birding! 

~ Kristen Martyn