4-30-11
Trip Details
Location: Central Missouri
Weather: Sunny and warm with a high of 80 degrees. Low wind. Clouds and some rain moved in later in the day.
Time: 11:10 a.m.
Herpers: Courtney Gaverth, Kevin Scott, Jim Scharosch & Matt Ricklefs
Account by: Matt Ricklefs
Photos by: Jim Scharosch & Matt Ricklefs
Thought of the Day: We just need to go down this little hill…
Photo by Matt Ricklefs
This was day two of our Missouri trip and we would be doing some glade herping. Kevin Scott, whom we had met last year, joined us and provided our first location as it was property owned by his family. We had a little drive and a fun and varied conversation on the way out.
There was a lot of cover at this location and soon we had a 3 foot Black Rat Snake (Elaphe o. obsoleta).
Photo by Matt Ricklefs
There was an old car and it seemed appropriate to take some pics of this guy on the car. It’s also a little different that what we usually do.
Our next find was a beautiful Smooth Earth Snake (Virginia valeriae)
Photo by Jim Scharosch
She was about 7 inches and very gravid which added to her size and made for an impressive specimen to take pictures of. I have only found a few of these and they never cease to surprise me at how pretty the yellowish and cream coloration can be on these.
The next find before leaving this location was a Longtail Salamander (Eurycea longicauda) about 3 inches long. I got a few quick pics as we were on the move and so was it.
Photo by Matt Ricklefs
Our next stop was our first actual glade location. Our first find was another salamander, this time a Slimy Salamander (Plethodon glutinosus). This one was about 5 inches long and this would be a common size for ones we found in this area.
Photo by Matt Ricklefs
Our next find was a Great Plains Rat Snake (Elaphe g. emoryi).
Photo by Matt Ricklefs
It was about 3 feet long and darker in color. Up next was a Speckled Kingsnake (Lampropeltis g. holbrooki) about 18 inches.
Photo by Jim Scharosch
This one was a little grungy, as far as kingsnakes go.
We paused long enough for me to get a quick shot of our little group before finding our next critter, a Milk Snake (Lampropeltis t. syspila).
Photos by Matt Ricklefs
Photo by Jim Scharosch
This was a young one in shed about 14 inches long.
Soon after we found our first “hot”; a Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix) about 2 feet long.
Photo by Matt Ricklefs
Our next find was always something fun to find, the eft stage of the Central Newt (Notophthalmus v. louisianensis).
Photo by Matt Ricklefs
Soon we found another Copperhead.
Photo by Matt Ricklefs
The next string of finds was in keeping with what we had found already. A Milk Snake that was about 10 inches I got an in hand shot of, a Northern Fence Lizards (Sceloporus u. hyacinthinus) adult, another Kingsnake this one really in shed and about the same size as the last one.
Photos by Matt Ricklefs
Photo by Jim Scharosch
The next Copperhead we found posed nicely and was particularly attractive; and not just because it was one of the only things I actually flipped all day…It was a younger one about 14 inches.
Photo by Matt Ricklefs
Photo by Jim Scharosch
We also found another Great Plains Rat that was about the same size as the previous one. That was all for this glade and we moved off to the next.
Photo by Matt Ricklefs
Kevin had mentioned this next glade a few times that day. He had mentioned it was a decent hike. Not so much a long hike as it was a steep hike. Now we are all in at least fair shape. Kevin is probably the most in shape so I think he was looking forward to seeing our reaction. I had lost about 100 pounds since August in 2010 and I figured it couldn’t be worse than the glade Ryan Thies took us to last year (which kicked my butt). We got to the spot and went into the woods. Not long after we could see the glade across the way we were headed to. It was far actually but…the hill going down to the valley before climbing the next side was probably about a 45 degree incline. At times it seemed like 90 degrees. Kevin had jokingly mentioned he had never seen anyone NOT fall on this hill. Funny guy. We did make it down with few problems and over to the glade.
As we walked I noticed a familiar shape and color however it was a bit unusual seeing them out and about. It was a Speckled Kingsnake on the move.
Photo by Matt Ricklefs
Later we found another sub-adult Speckled Kingsnake. This one was about sixteen inches long.
Photo by Jim Scharosch
I snagged it and we got some fair shots for one that just wanted to curl up. It was about 15 inches and the prettiest one we had seen so far. Our only other find at this location and what would be our last for the day was a Racer that did NOT want to sit still. It was about 3 feet long.
Photo by Matt Ricklefs
It was looking more like rain and we had a few sprinkles on the way out. We also went down an extra valley and back up before finding where we came in. And the hill…even harder going up than going down. I think Kevin had a good time watching us. I’m glad I’m in better shape than last year, I know that…
It was a great day and it was fun to get out with Kevin and Courtney. We headed back and Courtney and his wife hosted a UFC pay-per-view event and we ate pizza and drank some beers.
It was a wonderful end to a herptastic day.
