We got there at about 10 AM and it was already T-shirt weather. And in fact, Andrea looked so cute, she was my first picture.
She turned out to be in my second one, too. While we were looking at some rocks at the top of a hill, this good sized Milk came slithering out of a bush behind her.
This guy is about ready to shed and is sporting some ghastly scars... just above Andrea's hand it looks like he was almost cut in half! There is a similar healed wound near his vent and one mid-belly. Tough snake right there.
How about a small American Toad? Here you go.
Considering how nice it was and our quick start, we didn't see any more cold-blooded critters for a while, but the birds were keeping me entertained and frustrated. Out on the Alley, Andrea saw another Milk basking between the rocks.
There's the noggin!
This is a remarkably beautiful snake... check out those oranges!
We went all the way to the river and poked around. I saw some distant logs, like 1000 feet away, and I thought I saw some potential turtles up. Sure enough, there are 3 Painted Turtles in this shot. Dig out your magnifying glasses.
From there, we went back and headed into the woods through the tunnel. We finally started to see some salamanders. Here are two perfect Redbacks.
Our board line at this place is long gone but we still use that area as our turn-around point. It's a good rest spot and there are plenty of rock piles and potential. There are also a few old sheets of tar-paper up there that have been good to us before. Today, it was where we found a Leadback.
We also unearthed a tiny DeKay's who almost gave us the slip. Andrea gently procured it for a photo.
Heading out of that spot, I wanted to look under a remnant board. All of a sudden, a small Ribbon streaked through the leaves.
A yearling, we're guessing.
This had suddenly turned into a huge day!
On the trail heading back, we were moving pretty quickly. I didn't want to be late for practice. We weren't moving so fast that I couldn't hear a swooshing through the leaves, though. A big, gorgeous Garter had slid deep into the bushes. Luckily, she stopped long enough for me to find a hole to shoot through. It came out as a pretty good photo!
Our last critter was another large Garter gal that Andrea spied snuggled up next to a tree.
This isn't the clearest shot ever, but just look at those red spots going down her side... stunning.
So, not a bad morning. We don't get too many 4 snake species days up here. The weather was beautiful and I made it to practice on time. Oh, and there really weren't too many humans out there, either. Win win win.
I simply love milk snakes. Its been a while since I've seen a really big one.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous animals. Box turtles are out in force. We've got to get together soon.