The next morning, folks gathered to receive instructions for the day's herp survey, and then dispersed into the surrounding hills.  Our group worked along exposed rocky areas on several hills, and it didn't take long before herps started turning up.  Several Horned Lizards were found, along with an opaque Prairie Kingsnake (Lampropeltis calligaster).  I lifted a rock and found an outstanding Speckled Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula holbrooki).  The snake featured lovely yellow ventrals and speckles on a dark background.

The wind had died down a bit this morning, and the sun peaked through as clouds scudded over the prairie.  A young boy with our group grabbed a small lizard scurrying across the bed of a small wash.  It was a Northern Earless Lizard (Holbrookia maculata maculata), not recorded from the county in over forty years and thus a significant find.  It was the boy's first herp trip and the first herp he caught himself, adding to the significance.

We spotted a handful of Ornate Box Turtles (Terrapene ornata) during the course of the day, mostly bright-eyed males out looking for females to mate with.  We found several Lined Snakes (Tropidoclonion lineatum) under small loose rocks, and I found another underneath a dried cow patty - just as good as a rock to a small snake.  Someone flipped another Yellow-bellied Racer, a real beauty.