We were supposed to have some sun on that Saturday. It was October 22nd and the temps dropped like a bomb in Mid-September, but sun meant possible sightings. We planned on a trip deep into Middlesex County in hopes of some turtles and snakes. (We'd had a 30 snake day here in late October a few years back with the son we never wanted, Wee Matty Cub Cub.) We arrived in the late morning under still-cloudy skies.
Right away, we noticed that it was wet. Flooded and puddled. And with that came a metric fuck-ton of mosquitoes. We pushed on through the damp, cool surroundings. It was quite some time before Andrea flipped this small, dark eft.
I did scare a few late-season frogs into the pond at one point but other than noticing a dark Green Frog, I didn't actually see any. Photos? Forget it!
Eventually, in some weak sun, we saw a Water Snake doing its best to warm up.
There were plenty of birds about, probably excited by the mosquitoes. We saw a Lifer (#176), a Rusty Blackbird.
#93 on the year. I thought it was a left-over Grackle.
The skeeters were getting out of hand. We were getting bitten through our clothes. If we so much as slowed down, we were swarmed. Considering the coolness, it was very surprising. We started moving very quickly.
On the final path to the car, Andrea called that she had a Garter between her feet.
She sure did! I went for a photo and, because we had stopped, we were absolutely covered with mosquitoes.
It was the very worst mosquito day I can remember. We ran to the car and a couple dozen made it in on our clothes. Absolutely dreadful.
After ridding the car of bloodsuckers, we calmed down and decided to hit a different place in hopes of some more animals. We headed back toward home and hit another place in Middlesex County between the first place and the highway. It was only about 3 PM so we had a little more daylight, if not solid sunlight.
First up, I saw some guy laying down photographing some sparrows. They looked like House Sparrows to me, but he later said they were White-crowned Sparrows, a new one on me. Lifer #177, #94 on the year.
This place, while devoid of turtles this day, is still beautiful. There were no mosquitoes here, either. The sun did its best to shine.
It did manage to dapple in to some spots so we started seeing a few daring Garter Snakes. We had to catch this first guy for a photo.
A big gal that Andrea saw.
This other one almost got away but I got this shot.
The last snake we saw was another good sized Garter. This is the best I could do without disturbing her.
It has been very cool in the days since then. Some frost, even. We realize that we might not see any more reptiles this year. In fact, Sea Turtles have started cold-stunning already so we can count on a very big and busy year on the Cape. Second season is in full swing and the regular season is pretty much over.
It hasn't been the best year (no Ribbon Snakes??? What the fuck?) but every day in the field is a good day. Except when mosquitoes are covering you like a thirsty cloud of hate.
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