Indiana summertime herping

[Sushigaijin]

I took a day trip to northern indiana in search of a few things that aren't readily found in chicagoland. Here's the roundup of usual suspects, all with the 50 f/2 macro and oly E510:

brownsnakes were ubiquitous. I stopped counting how many we saw.


we saw a few redbelly snakes, including this stunner.

posed:



as found:



plains gartersnakes have so far eluded me this year, although they are not an uncommon snake. I was glad to find a few.



we stumbled across a couple of painted turtles trying to get run over.



and of course, the amphibians were common. American toad.



I was glad to find a smooth green snake, an abundant but uncommonly seen critter. Here in defensive pose:



And the largest western ribbonsnakes I have ever seen. We saw three in the three foot range. HUGE for a ribbonsnake.



and the most exciting find of the trip, this amazingly colored common gartersnake.





And with the sun high in the sky and the mercury rising steadily, I set my sights on a few dragonflies.



this one with breakfast:



and I will leave you with a portrait.



Hope you enjoyed these as much as I did! Snake season is winding down, so I'll probably be moving to more bugs in the coming weeks. I think I need a longer macro lens!!

[scott-devon]

Incredible shots as usual Erik. I won't even try to choose a favourite...

[beccyboo]

wow, what great shots, I love the dragon flies and the first one of the garter snake is amazing!

[slayer7124]

That smooth green snake shot is pretty awesome. All of you pictures are great.

[GeraldTheMouse]

Love these shots! Mind if I ask where exactly you took these? Because my dad and I are looking for some new places to take pictures.

[Dylan8i]

hey sorry ive been out of interweb access for a while.... those snake shots are great, i like the pose on the green and the colors on that garter are awesome.

[paulnj]

Very nice images as always!1

Hey Mr herpman, are there any bog turtles up in your neck of the woods by any chance? Just wondering.

[Copy_Kot]

Great pics Erik!

[Sushigaijin]

:thumbsup: thanks everyone!

Gerald:

I'd rather not tell you where I was exactly, but I'd be glad to take you there in september. These days it is getting too hot for good snaking and the interweb is too insecure for me to post exact locations. Besides, a point on the map won't do you a whole lot of good without someone to show you exactly where to look - Loupey went to a spot where I regularly have 100 snake days and didn't see a single snake. If you want to go bugging, I'm usually game on mondays - send me a PM and we can set up a place and time to meet.

Paul: I'm not terribly up on turtles, but I do know that illinois does not have any bog turtles.

[paulnj]

I caught a bog turtle a month ago on the road. Awesome , as I further protected the property it came from and was going to from the developer's hands:thumbsup: