We hadn't much time as that evening, Andrea's (and mine to a lesser degree) band Trainwreck had a gig that night. The first one ever. Preparation was needed, like another last minute rehearsal. So with that in the back of our minds, we hit the trail. First up (including one under "Old Reliable") was a pair of Redbacks.
Yeah! first November herps of the year!
Into the Valley of Nerodia we went, stepping lightly. Andrea noticed them first...
That's a Water Snake on the left and a Garter on the right, laying out in the sun, catching some warm rays. Here are some close-ups.
I stepped into the ravine and saw this Water Snake peering out of the hibernaculum entrance.
She slowly pulled in as I stood there looking at her.
So, we were pretty happy already. We continued on to the Cottonwood dens to see a few small Garters laying about like garland, soaking in some late year sunshine.
In that last shot, I was photographing the top snake but later noticed a second body below it when I uploaded the shot. Surprise snakes are the best kind!
Leaving the Cottonwood area with a few photos and a ton of ticks, we stopped to flip a log in the field on the way out. Surprise again! A Blue-spotted Salamander and a Redback were keeping company.
Feeling quite plucky, we continued on to the Rock Wall dens. Finally, we were knocked down a notch. No snakes to be seen, nor on TP Hill. But, and this is a big but, we did see another Blue-Spotted out this way, the furthest out we've seen this species.
This sighting might go a long way towards answering our question as to where these guys all moved to when the cemetery expansion decimated their hill. Look at that beautiful paddle-tail.
It was time to head out as we still had to make it to an early afternoon band practice. I'd still hoped to be Andrea's hero and find a maculatum for her. Blue Spots might be more rare but regular ol' Spotteds are quite stunning as well. We decided to hit some shady rocks up by the cemetery on the way out. We'd seen salamanders up there before. Nothing could have prepared us for what I flipped under a big piece of marble...
The last thing I expected to see here was a Milk Snake, but there it was. Icy cold and full of slow-moving vinegar.
We don't touch snakes when they're at their dens but we had to replace the large, heavy rock and... surely this guy wasn't near a hibernaculum. Was he? We figured he was out prowling the day before when it was much milder, then got stuck in a cool spot. Or something. When we let him go, he slid back under the slab, hopefully to a warm spot, deep in the ground. At any rate, that was a very happy and unexpected surprise.
We checked back in the Valley on the way to the car. The Nerodia was still out and had been joined by quite a few more small Garters, one of whom skittered right over my foot. We think that one might have been the specimen from earlier.
Right next to the path not much further up, two gorgeous Garters were giving us some really favorable photo ops. I took advantage of their poses and got two of my better shots of the year.
So, obviously, we were quite pleased with out hour and a half in the wilds of Suffolk County. That night, Andrea killed it at her first ever live performance.
Next up? I'm sure we'll be on the beach. It's cold. So cold. And the turtles will be needing us.
you guys are so much my heroes for the sea turtles......
ReplyDeleteawesome!
ReplyDelete