The next morning was another chilly one, but the sun was out early, and direct sunlight can go a long way to make up for cool temperatures when it comes to finding herps. We broke camp and headed out - we were working a set of railroad tracks today, my favorite set of tracks at that. We made a brief stop at a little junkyard along the way, hoping to flip a Shawnee king or two, and we did just that! The two we found were the first Shawnee kings ever seen by most of the group, and they were quite excited to find them. Although I've seen my share of these pretty snakes, the enthusiasm is still there, and being present when someone else adds them to their life list is worthwhile.

Onward to the tracks, and starting out we turned up a number of Fence Lizards and Six-Lined Racerunners. The first salamander of the trip was a nice Marbled, and we found several more in short order. Don was quite pleased, as this was another new species for him. Being from Iowa, and having never herped in this part of the country before, nearly every animal encountered was a new experience for him. His excitement was contagious.

Despite the presence of the sun, the tracks were not producing a lot of herpetofauna this day.  We saw a couple of Cottonmouths, and a number of Ringnecks, but the usual components, the Black Rat Snakes, water snakes, Shawnee Kings and so forth, were not to be found.  Two nights with temperatures in the low forties were enough to drive herps under cover and out of sight.

The day had wound down to the point where it was time to head home. Including the productive Friday herping that Marty and I missed, the crew as a whole had a successful trip, in spite of April's fickle weather. I had a great time out in the field with some great people.