5-29-10

Trip Details

Start Time: 7:30 a.m./9:30 p.m.

Weather: Day: Mostly sunny and little wind. High 97 degrees. Night: Little wind and about 73 degrees.

Location: Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma and Cherokee County, Texas

Herpers: Mike Pingleton, Jeff LeClere, Jim Scharosch & Matt Ricklefs

Account by: Matt Ricklefs

Photos by: Matt Ricklefs and Jim Scharosch

Thought of the Day: All glory to the Hypno Toads!

It was a beautiful morning and as we headed back to take pictures of our finds the previous night (see the 5-28-10 post) we found a few things on the road that morning. Our first find was a Red-Ear Slider (Trachemys scripta elegans), a good sized female about thirteen inches long.

Photo by Matt Ricklefs

After getting some normal "hiding" turtle shots we put her well off the road and headed on. Our next find was a Three-Toed Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina triunguis) about five inches long. Same drill as with the Red-ear.

Photos by Matt Ricklefs

Unbeknownst to Mike, he had picked up a hitchhiker. He had a small Walking Stick on his shoulder and I got a quick picture before we pulled over and let it go.

Photo by Matt Ricklefs

Now, it was time to go to Texas!

We stopped at a few spots we saw in Texas along the way, but the heat was oppressive. We stopped for the day and lounged at our accommodations, which was a house that Jim got us set up at. It was great! Not often do you have such a nice place to stay on a long term herp trip. After a nice Mexican dinner we were able to head out to a forest and do some looking around. Our first find was a nice Texas Rat Snake (Elaphe obsoleta lindheimeri) about four feet long.

Photos by Jim Scharosch

A habitat shot from the area the snake was found

Photo by Matt Ricklefs

Upon release, the snake crawled around and then hid in a hole in the ground.

Photos by Matt Ricklefs

We drove for quite a while and all we saw was a DOR Eastern Hognose Snake. Later in the evening we passed several ponds where there were thunderous frog/toad choruses going on. We finally decided to stop and spent some time at one.

Photo by Matt Ricklefs

There were several species calling including Green Treefrogs, Grey Treefrogs, Gulf Coast Toads and a mystery toad. I did get a picture of a Gulf Coast Toad (Bufo valliceps) about four and a half inches long and we did get some pictures of what we thought may have been a Houston Toad but never did get a good ID.

Photos by Matt Ricklefs

I also got a shot of some weird bug.

Photo by Matt Ricklefs

The night ended on the toads. It was quite a racket with everyone calling, but it was very cool. We were looking forward to the next day and more hopefully happy herping.