5-18-11

Trip Details

Location: Buchanan County, Iowa

Weather: Mostly sunny with a high of 68 degrees.

Time: 5:30 p.m.

Herpers: Jim Scharosch

Account by: Jim Scharosch

Photos by: Jim Scharosch

I went out to an area I have been visiting for the last couple of years. I don't often see snakes here, but it is a cool location because it has a reasonably solid population of box turtles.

I was walking a small ridge and found this Ornate Box Turtle (Terrapene ornata).

I took a couple of pictures and continued. After about fifteen minutes of walking I found another one.

Not a spectacular trip, but I really like seeing box turtles. In other parts of the country they are a dime a dozen, but in Iowa they are still a pretty cool thing to find.