A No Rock-turning Survey of the Amphibians, Turtles, and Reptiles of a Select Area of Ellsworth County, Kansas
The following survey of reptiles,
turtles, and amphibians covers the area of Ellsworth County, Kansas bordered on
the east by highway 141 and on the west by the town of Ellsworth. The southern border
is highway 4 and
the northern border was highway 140.
It covers a time span from Friday evening the 26th until Monday morning
the 29th of May 2006. During that time several trails were hiked
and about
200 miles were driven over several of the gravel roads in the area. Searching started
as early as 6:00 AM
one morning and ended as late as 11:00 PM one evening. Weather conditions were dry
and quite
windy. Temperatures ranged from
the upper 60’s F. to the middle 90’s F.
Many of the plants and animals encountered were documented using digital
photography.
Several
trips, both during daylight hours and after dark, were made to the Horsethief
Canyon area in search of Western Diamondback Rattlesnakes. Recent reports from a reliable
source
had indicated that there had been at least two more sightings in the area. One near
the restrooms at the parking
lot and entrance to Horsethief Trail in Horsethief Canyon and the other about
0.7 miles to the northwest of the parking lot at the top of a ridge. No examples of
the Western Diamondback
Rattlesnake were documented in either area or in any other part of the county
during the survey.
All
common names used in this article are in compliance with the Third (Revised)
Edition of A CHECKLIST OF THE VERTEBRATE ANIMALS OF KANSAS by
George D. Potts and Joseph T. Collins published in March 2005. At least one specimen
of the animals
listed with an asterisk by their common name was documented within the
Kanopolis Park area with a digital photograph or by a distinct call in the case
of one frog species.
AMPHIBIANS
*Northern Cricket Frog (by call only) 10 +/-
*Bullfrog
19
TURTLES
*Common Snapping Turtle 01
*Northern Painted Turtle 11
*Ornate Box Turtle 05
*Slider 01
REPTILES
*Eastern
Collared Lizard 04
Lesser
Earless Lizard 01
*Texas
Horned Lizard 36
*Prairie
Lizard 02
*Six-lined
Racerunner 05
Eastern
Racer 03
*Prairie
Kingsnake 01
Western
Rat Snake 03
*Gopher
Snake 07
Prairie
Rattlesnake 01
*Massasauga 07
In
addition to the 17 species (117 total individuals) of amphibians, reptiles, and
turtles that were documented a total of 51 species of birds, 8 species of
mammals, and one species of fish were also documented within the survey area.
Survey conducted by and article written by: Larry
L. & Suzanne L. Miller
Kansas Heritage Photography
840
S.W. 97th Street
Wakarusa,
KS 66546
http://www.KsHeritage.com
About the photographs:
01:
An
adult Gopher Snake searches for a meal the morning of 27 May 2006 near one of
the nature trails in Horsethief Canyon.
02:
An
adult male Eastern Collared Lizard perched on a rocky outcrop along a gravel
road west of the lake the morning of 28 May 2006.
03: Two
Northern Painted Turtles prepare to dive from their perch on a log near a
beaver dam in Horsethief Canyon the afternoon of 26 May 2006.
04:
The
restroom area at the parking lot near the beginning of one of the horse trails
in Horsethief Canyon may be one of the areas where non-native Western
Diamondback Rattlesnakes have been released. Reliable sources have reported sighting the species in the
area on more than one occasion.
(Photos 01, 02, & 03 were taken in the wild. Credit all photos to: KANSAS HERITAGE PHOTOGRAPHY)
