Lick Creek Wildlife Area - It's So Warm!

I went out hiking at Lick Creek Wildlife Area on November 1.  The leaves were mostly off the trees, though enough were still on to make the hike quite enjoyable.

Dozens of juvenile Cricket Frogs (Acris crepitans)- which I think I can safely call Illinois' most numerous frog species- hid among the leaf litter and logs on the edge of Lick Creek.  Most were as well concealed as the one above.  I eventually found the Cricket Frog below, for once large enough to be capable of eating a cricket!  (Most Cricket Frogs are about the same size as a cricket).

The plentiful wetlands in this preserve allow for its high frog population.  Little-maintained, it amazes me that they're as biodiverse as they are.  The elusive Kirtland's Snake is rumored to live here, but I have seen none .  Actually, to be honest that's why I keep visiting.  Hopefully, I can find one of these rare, harmless snakes.

Kirtland's Snakes prefer grassy wetlands, where they eat slugs and earthworms.  Nocturnal, they hide in crayfish burrows during the day.  The wetlands here are probably as ideal as any place in Illinois.

It  had not rained in several days, or I would not be able to walk along the edge of the creek as I did.  Sadly, this meant that the local salamander population had gone to ground- literally!  They retreat into their burrows during dry, hot, and/or cold seasons.

The woods are lovely, this time of year.  That is, what's left of the woods:

Evidently, the local beaver population is hard at work!  I've never seen a gnawed stump like this before.  It's quite exciting.  As it was in a remote section of the preserve, I suspect that the beavers remain quite undisturbed most of the year, save when canoeists and bloggers come around.

Further along, Lick Creek feeds into Lake Springfield, and the American White Pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) dwell here, feeding on the plentiful fish at the entrance of the creek.  If a fisherman were to struggle through an hour's thick brush to get to this spot, he might well enjoy it.

I had believed that most of the Great Egrets (Ardea alba) had left.  However, I saw a couple back here.  I suspect that these linger on here, in this great habitat.  In shorebird season, if the water levels are lower, this spot might be quite worth checking.  As it is, only the Great Egrets, several pelicans, and a Killdeer were seen.

(CAUTION- Now Entering Insect/ Spider Section)

Moving on, I kept flipping driftwood after driftwood. Rolling over one log, I found this nightmarish larvae, like something straight out of Star Trek II "The Wrath of Khan!"  I've been told since it's possibly a Stag Beetle larvae, which is almost as cool.  (Stag Beetles, for the unaware, are bizarre-looking.  Do an image search for Stag Beetle.)  I didn't get too many photos- it creeped me out!

Also solidly in the creepy category was what is hopefully this year's last large spider (Editor's note, This was sadly not the case.  I've had a Black Widow spider on my gas pump in the last month, as well.  Honestly, the arachnids have been a bit too friendly of late.)  This is a  Dark Fishing Spider (Dolomedes tenebrosus).  Part of the reason they're so "dark" is that the females invariably kill the males when mating.  (I suspect this is a female, considering it's probably past mating season.)  Even female Black Widow Spiders don't always kill and eat their mates, but, according to the limited studies done on female Dark Fishing Spiders, they do!

On a more cheerful note, I did find this Southern Leopard Frog (Lithobates sphenocephalus).  It's hard to dislike frogs, in my opinion, though I have a few friends who do.  Frogs are amazing, though. They breath through their skin, can jump several more body lengths than an Olympic gymnast, and, best of all, frogs eat spiders.  What's not to love?

I made my way back to my car, crashing through thick brush as I did so.  Thankfully, there are large sections of Lick Creek Wildlife Area as healthy as the one above, where no bushes intrude.

SNAKE WARNING!

It's no Kirtland's Snake, but I'll take a Dekay's Brown Snake (Storeria dekayi) any day, especially in November.  These are woodland snakes that also eat earthworms and slugs, just like Kirtland's Snakes.  Brown snakes, however, are far more common.  This foot and a half long specimen is easily the largest I've ever seen, and one of the most active.  However, despite my catching it. it never tried to bite me, which I strongly appreciate.  I let it go, after a couple of photos:

Walking onwards, I ran into this enormous shelf fungi, and here's my hand for scale:

At this point, I thought I'd seen everything that Lick Creek had to offer.  However, a few minutes later, a man jogged by, shirtless, which I noticed because I thought it was a bit bold for November.  I know it's seventy-odd degrees out, however. Then, the man recognized me: he turned out to be one of my pastors!  What a sight we might have been, if we had gone to church in those clothes at that moment!
I left shortly thereafter, just as two women began smoking something in the parking lot.  I guess everyone has their recreations.  My current one is listening to Mussorgsky's Khovanschina, Act 1, Scene 3, and writing blogposts at 12:30 AM. (I don't recommend it... writing at this time, I mean.  I'll recommend Khovanschina to anyone fond of opera, but no one I know seems to be.)

 Good morning, I guess?  Happy Veteran's Day!