Heatwave Herping 8-16-2015

Having no solid herp plans going into the weekend didn't make me all anxious and nervous like I thought it would. In fact, when our friend Ryan asked if we wanted to meet him in Plymouth County on Sunday morning, it sounded like a pretty darn good plan to us. It would be his first visit to this National Forest and we could show him where we had been successful in the past... and to show him that this place can break your heart and your spirit! Plus, we always have a shot at seeing herps that we don't get closer to home.

But it was going to hit the mid-90s and that meant that snakes would be very tough to find. It was already in the mid-80s when we arrived. We all hopped into one car and headed in. Our first stop is an open field with minimal cover. Not much luck there until a Fowler's was unearthed.

He looks thrilled.

The next stop has been a source of frustration for us. We missed a Hognose a few years ago and haven't quite overcome the loss since then. This day had no snakes here but a Painted was up enjoying the heat.


Some Bullfrogs were bathing, too.


Another Painter was swimming about.


And tiny toads were still plentiful.


We drove to another area, one that has been the source of a bee attack and a Hognose. We fell somewhere in between those extremes on this hot Sunday. There was a Bullfrog in a Bog...


... some more Tinys...


... and Ryan noticed some Green Frogs.



I flipped a rock and the sand blinked at me.


Walking along, Ryan told me I had a large dragonfly on my backpack. Andrea photographed it.

I'll be damned! It was eating a bee on me!


A small, round Painted Turtle was also in the bog.


We packed up and went to yet another spot in this massive place. This one proved to be uneventful, except for shit-tons on tiny Fowler's toads.

You can't say we didn't try... we walked the full trail up and back, about 2 1/2 miles total, in the sweltering heat. Intrepid Warriors Я We.

We had one more stop to make and I was hoping we could show Ryan something new and cool. It was he, in fact, who noticed these turtles up basking.

Why, those are endangered Red-bellied Cooters, Ryan.


These small individuals were Ryan's lifers, and damn cute ones, too.

We checked one more spot but admittedly, we were toast after 5 hours of heat herping. Seeing anything in this weather was pretty darn awesome and we didn't have to prove anything to ourselves by getting all sick and dehydrated. A good, honest day of herping, a lifer for Ryan and ice cream for me and Andrea on the way home. I consider the day a rousing success.