As I began the drive North, the landscape changed, becoming increasingly flat. Tippecanoe county was already much flatter than my native Southern Indiana, but the farther North I went it became even more so. This is due to the late Wisconsin Glaciation event. Prior to around 20,000 years ago, roughly half of Indiana was covered in glaciers (pictured below), which had drastic effects on the landscape. Glaciers steamrolled the hills, leaving the landscape uniformly flat. They also carried with them vast amounts of soil and nutrients, which were deposited as the glaciers retreated. This resulted in Northern Indiana having some of the finest growing soils in the world (which contributed to the loss of prairies mentioned earlier, through the conversion of land to agriculture).
Anyway, when I finally arrived I parked and started to walk back to an old abandoned railroad. This railroad provided lots of cover to flip, mostly in the form of old railroad ties. As I was walking through a field to get there, I noticed many large sand mounds. One had a small burrow in the middle, so I stopped to take a closer look-and I am extremely glad I did.
Bullsnake (Pituophis catenifer sayi) in-situ LIFER
Honestly, I stood still for a minute or two, nearly stunned by what I saw. Here I was less than 5 minutes into my herping journey, and I had already found what many consider to be the jewel of Kankakee, and it was even the first snake of the day! The snake remained motionless as I took a few "in-situ" shots, seemingly relying on its camouflage, or hoping I hadn't seen it. Once I picked it up, it began the typical bullsnake behavior I have always heard about-hissing and striking. Bullsnakes have a specialized hole in their lower jaw that produces a hissing sound when air is passed through.
In the video below, the snake can be seen inhaling to produce the hiss. The result is a very impressive defensive display.
(Note: It is important to clarify that this is defensive behavior exhibited by the snake once being provoked by me. Prior to this, the snake attempted to flee, and resorted to "aggressive" behavior only because this failed)
I put the snake onto the sand mound to reflect the habitat of this snake in my photographs, and got some decent shots.
Bullsnake (Pituophis catenifer sayi)
As I circled the sand mound to get a better angle, another much longer snake started to flee into the grass...expecting another Bullsnake (perhaps a large female, as it is nearing mating season for snakes) I grabbed it, and was very surprised and pleased to find my lifer...
Western Fox Snake (Elaphe vulpina)
I'm a sucker for co-species shots, so I took the opportunity to get some. It was also interesting to compare differing defensive strategies of the fox, who attempted to hide its head, and the more confrontational bull.
Bullsnake (Pituophis catenifer sayi) left and Western Fox Snake (Elaphe vulpina) right
After I released the bull, I took some field guide style shots of the fox.
Western Fox Snake (Elaphe vulpina)
At this point, I was elated. Barely 10 minutes into my excursion I had found both species I really wanted to. I could have left then and been happy-but of course, I didn't, despite the fact I had little chance of topping this.
As I made my way to the railroad tracks things were fairly slow, which was surprising given the start I had. I eventually turned up a cute little juvenile fox, which posed nicely for a few pictures.
Western Fox Snake (Elaphe vulpina)
At this point, things started to pick up a bit. A Chicago Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis semifasciatus) actually found me while I was photographing the little fox. Before I knew it they were everywhere, and I nearly stepped on one. The final count was 8 garters, but I only photographed one.
Chicago Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis semifasciatus)
Avoiding stepping on garters on the way, I went on a little farther down and managed to flip another adult fox snake, right near its (presumed) hibernaculum, coiled in a hole in the log.
Western Fox Snake (Elaphe vulpina)
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