A few weeks after we moved into our home in June of 2000, there was a tremendous rainstorm that flooded the streets and left standing water everywhere. Walking out the side door afterwards, I came across a rain-soaked American Toad (Bufo americanus) crouching by the gate, and then nearly stepped on a Plains Garter Snake (Thamnophis radix). The snake zipped away, and I tucked the toad under a bush, out of harm’s way. In our twenty five years here, I’ve not seen another toad, but the yard garters have been constant companions during fair and foul weather, and a source of much enjoyment. As a field herper living in the middle of The Great Corn Desert that is central Illinois,…
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Occasionally I’m asked questions like “what is your favorite herp / herping place / herp adventure?”. Answers for the first two change constantly, but to date I have a pretty steady answer for the third one. I’m a card-carrying thamnophile. My love affair with the genus Thamnophis carries across four decades now, and shows no sign of stopping. After a trip to Oregon in 2007, where I had a great day in the field with handfuls of Oregon Red-spotted Garter Snakes, I wanted to return to the west coast and see every species of Thamnophis out that way. I expressed my desire to anyone who would listen – “hey, we could start south, maybe San Diego, and work our way…
