Oddly enough, on Friday morning, Andrea suggested our biggest nemesis place... the State Forest in Plymouth County. This place has repeatedly kicked our asses for the last two years (we call it the Pine Barrens of Massachusetts). But because we saw a fleeting Hognose (no pics, so it didn't happen) and a few Redbellies years ago, we've never counted it out. We have, over the years, learned a way to handle this massive place, though. Many short stops instead of a massive hike.
So, we got to our first stop, Electric Toadland, at about 9:30 AM. It was starting to warm up after a chilly (low 50s) night. Right away, we found some small Bullfrogs in a puddle that is often there!
Andrea flipped a piece of cardboard and there were 3 more in and under it! That last guy hopped over and hid under her foot.
He seemed to be very taken with her... lookit that smile!
Just before we thought about changing our name for this spot to Electric Bullfrogland, Andrea found the day's first Fowler's Toad!
I stayed by the puddle...
and found another Bullfrog.
We explored the other side of the road pretty well and saw a few more toads, like this one!
Our next stop was a pond that is usually filthy with humanity, but was empty today because it was after Labor Day. Some DCR guys that were there cleaning up (there was a road race earlier... we drove through the end of it) said we could park and herp for about 45 minutes until they were done. That was plenty of time!
I headed over to an area where I saw some Redbellies 2 years ago but every time since, had only managed to get yelled at by camp dwellers who don't like my looks. While I was flippin', so was Andrea elsewhere, and she found this plump Spotted Salamander!
We got together and discovered many Fowler's!
These next two were the rare Soooon...phase.
While Andrea took advantage of actual plumbing, I flipped another Spotted Salamander outside the cabanas!
While still parked, we scooted to a nearby pond where we had seen turtles, frogs, toads and that fleeting glimpse of a hognose before. This Painted Turtle was up and made me grateful for the 42-Zoom... this was my only shot, from atop the hill, before he slid in!
This Bullfrog was also down there:
Our next point of interest was to get back to the place where we were attacked by bees in August, 2011. We haven't been back since but we recalled it being a very promising part of the Forest. We attempted it this Spring, but the road was closed. Not so this time.
We saw a DOR juvenile Racer on the way, which is sad. But when we got there, we headed to the cranberry bogs and started looking for frogs. They were plentiful! First up was a large Pickerel!
There were many Bulls!
We soon spotted our first Green Frogs of the day!
Besides the bogs, there are sand-dunes and a lake. Such great habitat! The lake had many spots for basking Painteds!
At one spot, where there is a small stream cutting through a sandy area, I saw what appeared to be an exit hole to a turtle nest... there was an empty shell and, unfortunately, a deceased hatchling next to it. I excavated it and found another dead one, but found 4 or 5 empty shells, which leads me to believe that some of the clutch made it!! There were also some scutes laying there...
Based on the size and shape of the eggs and the white stripe down the back of the scutes, we're thinking that perhaps it was a Box Turtle nest. Any insight or corrections are appreciated.
This half hidden Toad didn't seem to care one way or another...
So, after exploring a bit more and finding this Praying Mantis
we decided to head back to the car... maybe leave the park for some lunch and then come back to hit a few more spots. That seems reasonable, huh?! So, we got to the bee attack path and were very cautious.
Near the end of the path, we saw something in the middle of it. I think it dawned on Andrea first. This is what we saw.
Hot damn... we were photographing our first Eastern Hognose! As we slowly approached, I asked Andrea "what is your heart doing", as mine was racing. She said "I think it's beating"... I got in front of him to try some straight-on photos and he hooded up...
Andrea said, "Oh boy- here comes the floor show"!
Now, these guys are hands-off... threatened in this state, so we couldn't just grab him and hold him for photos. Corralling him into the middle of the path wasn't an easy task. They say "harassing" this species is against the law as well. Well, harassing to me and harassing to a Hognose might be two different things, but I was careful to not piss him off. But methinks we did anyway.
He stayed flattened out and coiled tightly, rolling his tail into a spiral. It looked like a second head.
That is a happy herper!
Big smile!
We had to coax him off of the path and eventually (after about a 10 minute photo session) he crawled off the path, still hooded.
We didn't get the fake death or (mercifully) the regurgitation and poop, but we just put an end to a long Hognose drought! That, my dear, is what herping is all about!
How the hell do you top that??? I guess with a Pickerel Frog!
We headed to the car, elated, and went for some lunch. On the way, I thought I saw another DOR snake. I did. As much as I loathe putting dead things on this blog, this is our first ever proof that, yes Virginia, there are Smooth Green Snakes in Massachusetts.
Now, let's get some pictures of some LIVE ones!
This shot of basking Painteds is from the car. All things considered, not too shabby, huh?!
After some Subway and water refills, we headed back in and went for the HQ, a place where we have seen few animals, but there are some good rock flippin' spots. We walked alongside a stream that we thought looked like excellent Snapper habitat and indeed, I heard some splashing and saw a frolicking Snapper... a huge one, but could not secure a snapshot. Grrrr....
Rock flippin' netted us a Four-Toed Salamander, though!
Evidently, large Racers are around too!
Smooth scales... big... yup- that's a Racer all right!
But there wasn't much going on there and it was nearing 5 PM by now, so we headed over to another sandy pond path where we've seen hatchling turtles and plenty of frogs and toads before. There's GOTTA be some Garters around somewhere! This Green Frog greeted us with a big "toothy" grin!
Bulls were here, too.
Hey look! Another Four-Toad!
So, after the pond, we were walking up the path, planning on going to a spot where there are plenty of small rocks just off-path where we might find a Redbelly or Green or something. I was walking along and stopped just short of stepping on this:
We really broke the seal! That is a fat, new Hognose!
He proved to be much more manageable than the adult we had found a few hours earlier. In fact, despite a quick wee-hooding at the very beginning, he was just hanging out with us. We didn't have to corral him... in fact, he was crawling over Andrea's shoes while she sat there photographing him!
My camera was a playground too!
At one point, while Andrea was checking to see if her pictures were coming out, he crawled under her and coiled up under her lap!
It was a shame to have to shoo off this guy (who obviously hasn't missed many meals!), but it was getting late! We found him at 5:15 PM!
Well, this day had shaped up pretty well! What would be our last herp? How about a Gray Tree Frog, a species that we had never seen before this year!
Thank you, Plymouth County! I'll never bad mouth you again! Unless you make us wait 2 years for another Hognose... then all bets are off!
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