Hit Me With Your Nature Stick: Illegal Aliens in Allendale!! 10-6-2012

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Illegal Aliens in Allendale!! 10-6-2012

We had a wedding to attend in the early afternoon and, since they are dear friends, we did not want to be late! But we also wanted to herp, as it was supposed to be a mild day. So, knowing we could do it in just a couple of hours, we headed to Allendale!

It wasn't yet as warm as it was supposed to get when we got there (about 10 AM) but it was warm enough for some Redback action!

Andrea had a very successful flip and landed two Leadbacks and a Redback!

One of the Leadbacks took a stroll and, like Garter Snakes have been known to do, camped out in her sleeve!

We'd never been able to access behind the fallen-down-house foundation before, so this was a cool sight to see...

Sadako was not home.

We got to the pond and I was sure I saw a shell basking... I snapped this shot-

Good news and bad. It's a new species for Allendale; the Red-Eared Slider! The bad news is, they are not native. That means some dolt has let his pet loose in a place it does not belong. It's a crap-shoot whether or not this species will survive a New England winter; some do and some don't. We wish this guy the best.

I saw some other shells, but they, as well as the slider, slid into the water when I approached. There were three, but I couldn't ID them.

From the other side of the pond, we saw that some were back up, so we snapped a shot...

Another Red-Eared Slider, as well as the original guy, and a small Painted Turtle had come back up.

OK, there are at least two Red-Ears in the pond. I hope they survive. But in the meantime... DON'T RELEASE YOUR PETS!!!! TAKE THEM TO A SHELTER!!! OR AT LEAST CONTACT ME AND I WILL TAKE THEM IN!!! IT'S NOT MORAL OR LEGAL TO JUST THROW THEM AWAY LIKE THAT!

Why do people have to be so damn stupid?

So, with time getting tight, we moved on. The vernal pond was hopping with Bullfrogs... literally. Upon my approach, easily 50 Bullfrogs launched into the water. They came from nowhere! This is the only guy I could capture on film!