Behind the Cheese Curtain... (pics added)

Dedicated exclusively to field herping.

Moderator: Scott Waters

Post Reply
User avatar
Tim Borski
Posts: 1855
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 7:28 am
Location: FL Keys
Contact:

Behind the Cheese Curtain... (pics added)

Post by Tim Borski »

Most years, mainly in spring, I visit Wisconsin to see my Dad, fish and chase some inverts. This year was no exception but I thought it might be fun to “mix it up” a little by adding snakes to the list; there were three I wanted to turn up and decided they probably weren’t going to happen with a fishing rod in my hand. My short list consisted of Milks, Smooth Greens and Fox snakes, in that order. Anything else that put in an appearance along the way would be gravy.

Milk snake: I’ve wanted to see one forever but never had the opportunity to actually look for them, so they were top priority.

Smooth Green: They were the most abundantly encountered snake as a kid growing up in Portage County. We called them Grass snakes back then and I never took the time to photograph one so I figured now was as good a time as any. The pretty little green one made the big 3.

Fox snake: I’ve always been a fan. They’re diurnal, handsome, mostly well mannered and grow fairly large...so what’s not to like?

My two boys and I flew into Green Bay, secured the rental car and drove north into Door County. I needed a couple quick days to reestablish some contact/permissions of access I aquired when I first got it in my head a couple years back that I needed a Milk snake on my list. I was hopeful, my lifer Milk would turn up here later in the trip. We then drove back down south and west, to Portage County, where I grew up and my Dad still calls home.

On the surface, not much has changed since I left 25 or so years ago, but a closer look showed the road sides have been cleaned up. No longer could I drive the back roads and find long lines of downed fence posts and assorted AC to flip and I decided rail road tracks were my best option to turn up a Grass snake…at least while I worked out another plan of action. It made sense in respect that they provide flip-able cover and encompass large, “continuous” areas that run through different habitats. Looking at my Delorme, I picked a small town that had tracks intersecting it, chose some roads that more or less paralleled a set and followed them out on a different compass point each day. North, East, South and West.

Here’s a couple of the tracks I walked that showed some critters:

Image

Image

In the first couple days I encountered only the pretty little Red Bellies and a handful of not so pretty Garters.

Image

Image

Image

Image

On the third morning, in yet another direction, I flipped a smallish, piece of broken RR tie lying on some dried grass and saw a splash of color. Finally, a pretty little Smooth Green. I soon began turning them up regularly.

Image

Image

Image

A couple hours and a few miles down the road, I found an area that held tan phases as well as the more normal greens. It was about a 50/50 ratio of each color.

Image

Image

Image

Here's both for comparison

Image

That night on the local news, I saw the forecast: Sunny/ high of 90 and I decided a change of venue was in order. I said goodbye to Dad for now and headed back east to Door county and (hopefully) a Milk snake. Door comprises most of the little “thumb” looking thingy jutting out into Green bay and Lake Michigan in eastern WI. Being surrounded on three sides by cool water, the temps tend to stay fairly moderate when the rest of the state is experiencing uncomfortable weather.

Wishful thinking in action...

Image

I called an old friend of mine that lives on a 40-ish acre parcel between the towns of Institute and Baileys Harbor. He’s a big strapping commercial fisherman, does some hard core winter fisheries work for the state, has a house full of firearms and is afraid of snakes. Go figure. He’s got a small camper parked alongside an old abandoned farm house on his property and I’ve stayed in it many times over the years. The house is supposedly haunted. In the past I've heard some "bumps in the night," but nothing that had me speed dialing Akroyd or Murry.

Here's the house. Camper on right.

Image

In any event, it’s well within striking distance of my target areas and is a logical base camp for now.

Over the next few days I probably walk 15 miles of assorted rock fences and limestone cuts…flipping as I go. I turn up lots of Fox snakes, Garters, a few Ring necks and some Red bellies but no Milk. I’m happy with the Foxes, cuz they keep things interesting and like I said, I’m a fan.

Here’s a few Fox snakes that put in an appearance...

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

…and here’s quality Fox hab.

Image

Image

Image

As a general rule, the Garters here are prettier than those in the central part of the state.

Image

Northern Ringer

Image

Image

Josef, my 10 year old, keeps bringing up the story of how he and Mom almost stepped on a small “Fox snake” while walking a dirt path back to a place we were staying a few years back. As the story goes: it was well after dark/ they were coming back from getting a late night ice cream cone/ Mom says “look, a snake on the trail”/ blah,blah,blah. I’m thinking of this while sifting through yet another pile of flat rocks and it occurs to me that Fox snakes are diurnal. I think about the area and the open bluff at the top of the hill and begin to wonder if it wasn’t a Milk he saw and NOT a Fox. Ok, I’ll bite, and we go to have a look. The hill is actually a large, steep bluff overlooking Green Bay and I’ve been all over it in years past. At the base is a small pond that dumps into a seasonally active creek. It’s been a favorite place for my boys to look for salamanders since they were old enough to make the hike. Being shaded by old growth, with an open understory and plenty of damp, downed logs, it spits out Red Backs, Blue Spotteds and the occasional Spotted salamander. My boys, like most boys, love “gummies.” (We have to walk through this area to climb to the top so we dawdle and see what turns up.) We find many Reds, Blues and a lone Spotted. It’s the first Spotted that both Josef and Gus have ever seen, is a pretty animal and they are justifiably excited.
We then move on. At the top, we hang a left on the trail I know skirts the perimeter and flip an old rock fence along the way. It’s mostly shaded and turns up nothing beyond Red backs. A little further on, in an open area exposed to a weak sun, there’s a couple of small boards and a little rock pile. It’s cool today (low 60s?) and partly cloudy. Josef and I walk up to a small, dark piece of plywood lying in the open and I lift it. There is a Milk coiled under it and just like that, we have our lifer!
A few minutes later I flip another under a rock at the base of the pile. I’ve only seen two live Milks in my life, but this one looks unusual to me. I walk it over to an old foundation and take some crappy pics of a critter that refuses to sit still.

Image

I take a good look at the hab in the immediate area and in the following days, apply it to other sites. I’m soon turning them up regularly over a broad area. Cool.

Here’s a few.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

A couple days later, I speak to a forum member. He lives in WI but hasn’t ever herped in Door County so I invite him up for a day afield. I get in a few hours of early morning flipping (it gets light at a ridiculously early hour up here) and then meet up with him around 8:00am. We’ve talked before and he’s expressed interest in Brown snakes and Ringers…both of which are tough where he lives. It’s a gorgeous early summer day and we find some pretties. He turns out to be a nice guy and doesn’t seem to mind having kids in tow, so he gets brownie points. We send him home with vouchers of a couple lifers.
Good luck with the Muskies, Ben. It was nice meetin’ ya.

We find a couple dozen more Milks over the next few days. I'm watching the weather and see it’s cooling off back at Dad’s so we run the 200 miles back west again. While we're there eating Bill’s pizzas, flipping Grass snakes and just visiting, an old friend calls. We grew up a couple houses down from each other and haven’t seen each other since High school. He lives in Milwaukee but has a summer place a little east of here and is “up north” for the week. We make plans to meet up there. While on the phone, he mentions he’s been keeping up with me via my web site and sees I like hunting snakes. He says his property has “Gardners”, “Fire snakes” (Red Bellies) and “Blow snakes.” I of course inquire about the Blow snakes and he says “They’re mean.” and adds: “They hiss real loud and flatten their heads, like Cobras…” Ok, I’m in.
We go and have a looksie on his and his neighbors’ properties. It seems nobody has seen one recently but they show me the precise spots three different ones have been encountered in years past. One was a DOR alongside a young Norway pine plantation, one was at the base of a neighbor’s clothesline (‘seems she was hanging laundry and “damned near died.”) and another was alongside a food plot planted for deer in a scrubby, brushy area of Jack pine and Burr oak. This was getting interesting.
When I got back to Dad’s, I fired off a message to a really nice guy named Carl that lives in the southern part of the state and has plenty of experience with Hognose snakes. I asked him if he had a photo I could look at for a search image. He immediately responded with an interesting pic of a dark snake lying alongside a small pile of freshly disturbed soil. Search image acquired. Thanks, Carl. :thumb:

The next afternoon I was back. I already knew that unlike the Hogsnose where I live in FL that tend towards morning activity, these critters were mostly aft/eve movers. I walked several edges more than once as the sun set and turned up nothing beyond a few garters on the crawl. One area in particular, held my attention. It was a tiny little ‘puddle” of permanent water that had been dug to give deer a drink during dry conditions. The banks were caving in from the runoff of recent heavy rain and there were lots of frogs, toads and even a couple turtles that called it home. The surrounding area was bordered on two sides by scrub pine/oaks and food plots on the others. There was part of an old Sturgeon spearing shack lying on the bank; I flipped it and found the partial shed of a Hog next to a couple holes in the sand. The shed was protected from the elements so I had no idea how old/fresh it was but I was feeling good; there’s no substitute for knowing you’re in the game.
I goose-egged but still felt pretty confident and was back the next aft. A couple hours into it, the boys had long since given up and were busily getting wet and catching frogs at the pond. I was walking along slowly and sweeping an edge across the field from the pond when I saw what appeared to be “fresh dirt” tucked under some sweeper branches of a pine. Bingo.

This is what I saw as I walked up to it.

Image

I took some pics and let it go about its business.

After that, I found another fresh mound with hole but nobody was home and a thorough canvas of the immediate area turned up nothing. I gathered the wet boys and drove home happy.

Nobody home

Image

The following afternoon I was back once more. My plan was to look again until dusk, then make the long drive back to Milk country. (My new plan in that venue was to see if I could walk/shine one on the crawl after dark.)

I found a large, fresh shed on the ground immediately. It was at the base of a wooden bench on the edge of a pine plantation that was used to sight in rifles. I knew the shed was fresh from today because I’d set my bag on that bench at dusk the evening before while drinking some water…it was ridiculously obvious and I wouldn’t have missed it.

Image

I looked around and turned up nothing. An hour later, in an open bowl of scrub and pine saplings, my eyes “stuck” on something out of the norm so I walked towards it and found a pretty and dark animal coiled at the base of a stump.

The "bowl."

Image

Hog 2

Image

Image

Awhile later and a hundred or so yards away, another was found stretched out alongside a dirt track bordered by oaks, pines and a food plot.

Image

Image

Josef, tired of the pond, was nearby and got to hold it.

Image

We encountered a third one on the way back to the vehicle then headed east.

Arriving just before dark, and camping for the next few nights, we had a decision to make: Do we try to road cruise a Milk first or go set up our tent…
I’d picked a road to possibly try to drive one up earlier in the trip but dusk temps were in the upper 50s/low 60s and a few quick laps that night turned up nothing but a couple Brown snakes and a Red belly. Tonight the temp at dark was 67. We figured what the heck, a few quick laps of a ¾ mile long stretch wouldn’t mess anything up, so we did.
This particular section of road was chosen for two reasons: 1) I’d flipped a couple Milks near it earlier in the trip and 2) it had no “shoulders.” The margins grew right to the pavement. This, I figured might make snakes less inclined to balk at a crossing attempt.

The road.

Image

(THE road during daylight)

Image

Less than a half mile into our very first pass I see a medium sized “Corn snake” off to the right side. Josef sees it at the same time a hisses “Milk!” Wow, how cool is that?! It’s our first full blown adult of the trip.

The first cruised Milk

Image

Another pass, another adult. Then a few Browns and a few Red bellies. At 11pm (temp/58) we bag it, go set up our tent, make a big fire and heat some soup for a very late dinner. My notes tell me “today was a good day.”

The next night was warmish and overcast early but a cold front was predicted and severe weather warnings had been issued by the folks in Sturgeon Bay…it was all predicted to move through at dusk. Early on, everything was moving. In a brief couple hours, I found several Milks while shining on foot and another two on the road while hop-scotching to other nearby sites before the cold rain/wind came at 10:35pm and shut everything down. Also seen were Garters, a lone ringer on the crawl, some Browns and RBs.

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Ringer on crawl

Image

Same Ringer in hand

Image

Pretty Garter in hand

Image

The days flew by and before I knew it, it was time for me to head home. As always, it was great to see Dad and poke around my old stomping grounds. Looking back, I find it hard to believe I didn’t pursue the herp angle on previous trips and am already looking forward to next spring…this time I’ve got a better plan.

And a few more assorted pics from along the way...

Momma doing the broken wing thing...

Image

...the reason

Image

I'm a chronic moth hunter. There, I said it. 'Can't seem to drive by a light without venturing a guess as to what shows up there after dark...my boys are the same.

Image

Image

Image

Image

If they don't show before 1:30am or so, we make it a point to get back a daybreak before our competition arrives. Cats are our nemesis and normally leave only the scattered wings lying around. They are a good barometer of what's moving while I'm asleep.

Image

Image

Love these guys. Our best night this trip turned up 16...far below our record of 28 set in '07. (just in case anyone's interested.) :lol:

Image

Tiger by the tail

Image

This is the board that gave us our first Milk

Image

Someone fishing

Image


Three amigos. Someone got an ID on the newt? Door county WI

Image

Quick field sketch of a pretty with hab

Image

Bill's pizza. Main Street, Stevens Point WI. My favorite of all time.

Image

Vulture roost/nest

Image

Another evening holding promise

Image


Tim

Edited to add pics/not time-out
User avatar
Nick
Posts: 291
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 9:15 am

Re: Behind the Cheese Curtain...

Post by Nick »

Looks like you had fun. I still haven't quite figured out a good situation for walking hogs around here. :lol: I'll have to try your method of shining RR tracks for milks sometime.

You mentioned fox snakes being diurnal. I do find them basking in the day sometimes, but I also find them crossing roads up to several hours after dark.
User avatar
bladerunner8u
Posts: 154
Joined: June 8th, 2010, 6:58 am
Location: West Central Florida
Contact:

Re: Behind the Cheese Curtain...

Post by bladerunner8u »

Great post :thumb: I need a road trip so bad!
User avatar
Nick
Posts: 291
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 9:15 am

Re: Behind the Cheese Curtain...

Post by Nick »

bladerunner8u wrote: I need a road trip so bad!
Nah dude. You got all you need within an hour of home. :lol:
User avatar
Todd McKinney
Posts: 233
Joined: August 23rd, 2010, 5:04 am
Location: Hardin County, Ky
Contact:

Re: Behind the Cheese Curtain...

Post by Todd McKinney »

Ditto on the great post and on the needing of a roadtrip
User avatar
Josh Holbrook
Posts: 2196
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 8:11 am
Location: Western North Carolina
Contact:

Re: Behind the Cheese Curtain...

Post by Josh Holbrook »

Awesome Tim. Do you ever not clean house when you go to a new area?

By the way, are you joining us in 'Bama in October?
User avatar
Berkeley Boone
Posts: 878
Joined: June 8th, 2010, 4:02 am

Re: Behind the Cheese Curtain... (pics added)

Post by Berkeley Boone »

Dude.
Best. Post. This. Year.

That was AWESOME.
Thanks for sharing.
--B
User avatar
Tim Borski
Posts: 1855
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 7:28 am
Location: FL Keys
Contact:

Re: Behind the Cheese Curtain...

Post by Tim Borski »

Nick wrote:Looks like you had fun. I still haven't quite figured out a good situation for walking hogs around here. :lol: I'll have to try your method of shining RR tracks for milks sometime.

You mentioned fox snakes being diurnal. I do find them basking in the day sometimes, but I also find them crossing roads up to several hours after dark.
Nick, I also found 2 other sites in a different county that had the burrowers, only I didn't know what I was looking at, at the time. Once Carl sent me the image, I realized, I'd walked right by...even dug around a bit in a couple Hog "holes." Not seeing the critter in the process, I didn't put two and two together until after the fact and by then, I was on to other pursuits. I never had the chance to return. When I got home to FL, I saw the cool posts on the nesting Hogs and realized I'd squandered a cool oppurtunity. Next year I'll spend more time in that venue.
You up for a road trip? :lol:

I only saw one Fox actually on the move after dark but flipped a ton of them in early eve when they were back under cover for the night but not yet in their burrows. It was a small but incredibly productive window.

Josh Holbrook wrote:Awesome Tim. Do you ever not clean house when you go to a new area?

By the way, are you joining us in 'Bama in October?
productive window.

Josh, I probably strike out as much as anyone. Not sure on Oct...I think I'm working in WY most of Sept/Oct. :|

Todd, Blade, Berkley, glad you enjoyed.
Tim
User avatar
Nick
Posts: 291
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 9:15 am

Re: Behind the Cheese Curtain... (pics added)

Post by Nick »

Tim Borski wrote:
Nick, I also found 2 other sites in a different county that had the burrowers, only I didn't know what I was looking at, at the time. Once Carl sent me the image, I realized, I'd walked right by...even dug around a bit in a couple Hog "holes." Not seeing the critter in the process, I didn't put two and two together until after the fact and by then, I was on to other pursuits. I never had the chance to return. When I got home to FL, I saw the cool posts on the nesting Hogs and realized I'd squandered a cool oppurtunity. Next year I'll spend more time in that venue.
You up for a road trip? :lol:

I only saw one Fox actually on the move after dark but flipped a ton of them in early eve when they were back under cover for the night but not yet in their burrows. It was a small but incredibly productive window.
I might be up for a road trip. :lol: Wisconsin isn't that far away, and I'm kind of sick of the same old/same old around here anyway! I know some pretty good areas for hogs within an hour or two of here, but really only put in some half hearted efforts when it comes to walking for them. I still occasionally flip them or find them crossing a road, but I really haven't locked on to them.

Temps run pretty hot/humid around here for a lot of June. It's often hotter than FL, which may account for more nocturnal activity. I found that the best time to flip fox snakes is around 5pm to dusk, especially when it is hot... even with temps in the 90s. They're always in a tight coil and almost always have a belly full of something too. Seems to be their routine to heat up as much as they can before taking cover for the night.
User avatar
Jason B
Posts: 525
Joined: July 30th, 2010, 11:48 am
Location: KY: Woodford Co.

Re: Behind the Cheese Curtain... (pics added)

Post by Jason B »

Nice post Tim. I felt like I was right there with y'all. That first milk is neat looking with those small saddles. They've become my favorite snake here in Ky - I love the variation.

Your newt is a central newt eft.

I found a big green sphingid in eastern Ky last week and I've got no clue what it is. I'll try and find the pic...

Jb
User avatar
Phil Peak
Posts: 523
Joined: June 20th, 2010, 8:17 am
Location: Kentucky
Contact:

Re: Behind the Cheese Curtain... (pics added)

Post by Phil Peak »

Lots of neat stuff Tim. I've always been intrigued by fox snakes. I enjoyed the excellent selection of eastern milks too!

Phil
User avatar
FLjeep74
Posts: 76
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 9:47 am
Location: West Central Florida

Re: Behind the Cheese Curtain... (pics added)

Post by FLjeep74 »

Great stuff Tim and as always great critters found!

That 'Tan Phase' of the Smooth Greens is pretty darn neat. The pic of them laying together really makes you appreciate their beauty.

That Hog Josef is holding looks huge. Did any of them feign death?

Congrats on the "Search and Destroy" accomplished with the Milks. To go from none to the amount you found and the variety of looks they have, that's pretty rewarding.

The Fox Snake on the stone slab/wall is a great shot.

Thanks for sharing with us,

Mike
User avatar
geckoguy747
Posts: 325
Joined: August 15th, 2010, 10:46 pm
Location: san bernardino mtns

Re: Behind the Cheese Curtain... (pics added)

Post by geckoguy747 »

wow! what a great post!
josh
bobassetto
Posts: 733
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 5:01 pm

Re: Behind the Cheese Curtain... (pics added)

Post by bobassetto »

YO.....TBORSKI......suma dem milks look like the BORSKI REDZ!!!!!!......the only garter i've seen prettier than that one was wrapped around some chick's thigh!!!!!!......AHHH..... the old daze.... :thumb: :thumb: :cry:
User avatar
Mike VanValen
Posts: 2074
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 4:41 pm
Location: Connecticut
Contact:

Re: Behind the Cheese Curtain... (pics added)

Post by Mike VanValen »

Awesome!!!! You made me want to go to WI!
User avatar
Tim Borski
Posts: 1855
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 7:28 am
Location: FL Keys
Contact:

Re: Behind the Cheese Curtain... (pics added)

Post by Tim Borski »

Nick- road trip, spring 2012?

Jeep- the Fox/stone wall was found "basking" at 5:40am...she musta been a light sleeper. :lol:
Tan SGs are pretty...in a tan sorta way.
I wish I would've spent a little more time in Hog country...it was happening. I saw the posts when I got back home and realized I missed something special. The four I turned up were all the same size: 25 to 30 inches (?)

Jason- thanks for the ID. Central newt was the only newt in my book. (Gary Casper's Amphibians and Reptiles of WI) Are all young newts referred to as "Efts?" I flipped it under a board lying in a ditch. He was peeking out of a small hole in the ground.
(Let's see the Sphinx you found.)

Phil- I really like Fox snakes too. This visit was a treat for me because I turned up over forty of the handsome little buggers. :thumb:
Agreed on Milk variation. I was surprised they were found so handily, AND in such a broad area. Going in, I expected a critter as downright cool as they are to be a struggle.
There were two key elements in their habitat; If I found both elements together, I found the Milks. If I found one or the other...it was a "maybe" at best. Pretty straight forward (and fun) stuff.

Mike- WI is nice; beer, cheese and a few weirdos. YA HEY!

Bob- some of the Milks I turned up reminded me of anery Corns. Plus, they look exactly like Corns when stretched out on a road (so I felt right at home.)

Gecko- glad ya enjoyed!

Tim
User avatar
Jason B
Posts: 525
Joined: July 30th, 2010, 11:48 am
Location: KY: Woodford Co.

Re: Behind the Cheese Curtain... (pics added)

Post by Jason B »

Efts are newt teenagers. Newts hatch from eggs layed in ponds, ditches or some other watersource (usually fishless but not always). As larvae they grow in size and grow spindly legs. The larvae blend in well with the pond substrate. Drying events trigger newt larvae to morph into efts. The ponds don't have to dry completely, but I've noticed more young efts around pond margins during times of little rain. The larvae loose their gills and the fleshy paddle portion of their tail and their limbs grow stronger. Their skin becomes dry, granular and brightly colored to warn potential predators of their toxic skin. The efts venture out into the forest to lead a terrestrial life, usually for several years. They grow ten times their size during this period. Eventually they get the urge to find another pond or ditch to settle in with lots of other newts and reproduce. As they morph into adults they loose most of the bright coloration. Their skin becomes slimy and they regrow the fleshy paddle on their tail. The males have a much more obvious paddle then females. They mate and the cycle continues. I've found a few adult newts in canals down your way, but never any efts. Have you seen efts in S. FL? I wonder if they skip that stage completely down there.

Here's the moth from the other night:
Image
Image

Any clue what she is?
User avatar
Jason B
Posts: 525
Joined: July 30th, 2010, 11:48 am
Location: KY: Woodford Co.

Re: Behind the Cheese Curtain... (pics added)

Post by Jason B »

Sweet green cape!
User avatar
Tim Borski
Posts: 1855
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 7:28 am
Location: FL Keys
Contact:

Re: Behind the Cheese Curtain... (pics added)

Post by Tim Borski »

Jason, thanks for the education on Efts...I had no idea. As a Kid I remember pics of "Red Efts" and thought they were a species unto themselves. :lol:

Your moth is a Pandora Sphinx. Nice looking critter.

The "sweet green cape" is his pillowcase. I think he was some Star War action figure at the time.

Tim
User avatar
muskiemagnet
Posts: 1253
Joined: June 11th, 2010, 8:43 am
Location: kaukauna, wi

Re: Behind the Cheese Curtain... (pics added)

Post by muskiemagnet »

you definitely did well. many of each type is always nice. you deserve it. you and the boys put on a lot of miles.

thanks again for letting me tag along. the brown and ringers were lifer #4 & #5 for the year in wisconsin.

i like the title of the post by the way.

now go catch some tarpon.

ps - you got me excited. i'm going to go explore those tracks. if the weather holds, maybe end up in neceedah for a glass lizard.

-ben
Post Reply