5-4-19
Trip Details
Location: Jackson and Linn Counties, Iowa
Weather: 76 and sunny
Time: 12:30 pm to 6:00 pm
Herpers: Jeff Faircloth, David Becker, Don Becker, Jim Scharosch in Jackson County, Laura and Jim Scharosch in Linn County
Account by: Jim Scharosch
Photos by: Jim Scharosch except where noted
We went to our site in Jackson county to work on our habitat restoration project. We planned this as a working day with a chance to maybe see some herps, but it was a working day first. We finished our work on the project around noon, packed our gear and went to see what herps might be out. It looked like it was going to be a really rich rattlesnake day when we approached our first outcrop and saw this large adult Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) basking along the edge.
Photo by Jeff Faircloth
We checked the den site and the other areas where we normally see timbers at this den and didn’t see any more. It isn’t surprising as seeing one snake at the south den is about what we expect. We didn’t turn very many rocks so our snake count was fairly low. One small rock Don stopped to check had a skink under it, and after it ran, Don was looking around for it and noticed a Milk Snake (Lampropeltis triangulum) coiled in the nearby grass. You don’t often see milks laying out in the open. This photo isn’t in situ as I missed getting that shot.
We went on to the north den and we were completely shut out there. I’m not exactly sure what that is about as the weather was good and this den normally produces well. It could just be the odd weather highlighted by cool temps and large quantities of rain that we have had this spring. We did find this dark brown colored milk snake under a tin that we placed a few years ago.
We moved on to the west den and found a last years baby milk snake which I chose not to photograph. At the base of the den site we found another adult timber rattlesnake.
Photo by Jeff Faircloth
It was basking tucked up under some branches. It blended in really well and was difficult to pick out of its hiding place.
That was it for the day. I expected to see a lot more timbers, but as I said, it has been a strange spring and maybe they just aren’t out in numbers yet. We will have to try again in a few weeks and see what is happening.
After a long day of working and herping, I got home and Laura said she wanted to get out and see some herps. I wasn’t really feeling it, but I’m not going to turn down a chance to get out and look around. We headed to a sand prairie in Linn County to see what was moving, and just like earlier today, there wasn’t a lot to see. We found a couple of Racers (Coluber constrictor) under cover objects.
We didn’t take the time to pose them for better photos. I didn’t expect much at this site. We normally don’t see much here until later in the spring and through the summer. It was a nice day to get out and walk around though and I always enjoy when Laura and I get out together.
