La Rue-Pine Hills Ecological Area, Union Co., Illinois. September 30, 2005

Sunny, with few clouds; high 88F, no wind with Steve Coogan and Marty Whalin; special guest appearance by Bill Rudden

Steve Coogan and I arrived at the La Rue - Pine Hills Ecological Area around noon on Friday.  We planned to meet Marty Whalin there; Marty is a rugged guy who had spent the week backpacking along the River To River Trail.

Signs of summer's long draught were in evidence as we pulled into the parking lot at Winter's Pond.  American Lotus had expanded outside its usual place, taking hold in places normally too deep for the plant.  The dry spell, while killing the corn crop elsewhere in Illinois, had dropped the water level out in the swamp six inches or more.  Another dry autumn in southern Illinois, the second year in a row.

Even in the driest weather, the cricket frogs won't let you down, and as the three of us headed down the road they jumped away in all directions.  Toads, normally an RFC here (Regular Faunistic Component, a term I stole from some lepidopterists) were absent.  Usually we see a number of Fowler's and Dwarf American Toads; I can only assume they were hunkering down somewhere wetter.  Southern Leopard Frogs were about, and of those I managed to get pictures of one of the prettier ones I've seen.

Where were the snakes?  The day was warming up nicely, but no snakes showed up as we walked towards the southern end.   Finally, we spotted a small Western Ribbon Snake on the road, which slipped into the swamp quicker than we could react, and while scrambling to catch up with it we managed to turn up two more, both of which also eluded our grasp in the vegetation along the road.  Ribbon Snakes 3, Clumsy Mammals 0...Marty managed to spot a small Cottonmouth in the water near the bank, but it slithered away before cameras could be brought to bear.

Reaching the south gate, we came on a tall, lanky fellow leaning against his car, who turned out to be Bill Rudden from St. Louis.  Bill and I had corresponded through email, and so it was great to finally meet up with him in meatspace.  I made note of our dismal findings, and Bill said he had found a small copperhead along the roadside.  He had spotted it walking down the road, and coming back 90 minutes later it was still there.  Were we interested in having a look?  You bet!  We walked a short distance back up the road, and Bill had some fun with us as Steve and Marty and I tried to spot the darned thing.  It took a few minute to pick it out of the leaf litter; I'll say it was a heckuva good spot by Bill in the first place.  It was a small snake, perhaps this year's young.  What a beauty it was, with a nice 'southern' pattern to it, and it had not moved a bit since its initial discovery.  That's one of the cool things about copperheads - they rely on that cryptic color pattern to render them invisible from predator and prey.  Sooner or later, a lizard or a frog or a small rodent would happen by the snake's place of concealment and...

We hiked up to a place with a small population of Cave Salamanders, as we usually do, just to check on them and their habitat.  There's a certain rock that always has a couple of lucifuga underneath - "how many are under there this time, Mike?"  "Three," I said, and three it was.  Even a blind pig finds an acorn once in a while.  The habitat was fairly dry and there were only a handful of Cave Salamanders in evidence.

We shook hands with Bill and parted ways, heading back up the road as the afternoon turned into early evening.  We passed the copperhead again, still in the same place. The walk back produced nothing of exceptional interest, other than a Fowler's Toad, at long last.  This was one of our poorest experiences here on the road, but then again, we weren't working, and it's always great to be out of doors.  Steve got a number of good birds, and we all got a glimpse at a couple Pileated Woodpeckers, secretly wishing they were Ivorybills of course.

Next day's target:  Mingo Swamp

Species Observed:

Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus leucostoma)
Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix mokasen)
Western Ribbon Snake (Thamnophis proximus proximus)
Fowler's Toad (Bufo fowleri)
Blanchard's Cricket Frog (Acris crepitans blanchardi)
Southern Leopard Frog (Rana sphenocephala)
Green Tree Frog (Hyla cinerea)
Cave Salamander (Eurycea lucifuga)
Longtailed Salamander (Eurycea longicauda)
Central Newt, Eft stage (Notopthalmus viridescens lousianaensis)