It shore been a cold, cold wintah. (Mick Jagger- "Winter")
Mick ain't lying. We didn't get out too much. We snuck out on Sunday the 11th to go to Castle Island to look at sea ducks but it was really far too cold to stay long. I've decided freezing wasn't worth a larger bird count. There were a few resilient avians out, though, like a Red-breasted Merganser. (#10)
Purple Sandpipers are always a delight. (#11)
A male and female Common Eider. (#12)
That was about it until the last week of the month when it got pretty warm and sunny. While we were stuck at work, some local friends were finding critters during daylight. Unfortunately, things cooled off as the sun went down. But rain moved in on a few warmer evenings and on Wednesday, Feb. 28th, some friends said they were going to visit the Haunted Swamp and we decided to join them. The temps were going to drop during the night but at 7:30 PM when we got there, it was still balmy. We headed across the earthworm studded soccer field and into the swamp.
We heard no Peepers or Wood Frogs but I felt really certain that we'd see at least the latter. Other local friends had been lucky the night before. Our luck soon struck when we saw our first Reptile or Amphibian of 2024, a pretty Redback who was swimming in a puddle. I love to see them swim! Nice cirrus, man!
An upcoming puddle had exactly what we had driven 24 miles for... our First of Year Wood Frog. He saw our lights and hid under a leaf but I scooted him out to the side for a photo. He sat there like a hockey puck. "You don't see me!"
It wasn't just amphibians out. This Spotted Fishing Spider was skimming along on a mudpuddle.
We saw ghost lights off in the distance in the Haunted Swamp and before too long a friend of one of our crew met up with us. He had seen a Blue-spotted Salamander about a mile up the trail. That perked us up even more. In a vernal pool where we often see a lot of Wood Frogs, it was quiet. But upon close inspection, we found a Spotted Newt there, the first we've ever encountered at this spot. Look at that belly! Gravid or fat?
It wasn't long before we saw our first Blue-spotted on the year!
I saw one Puckwudgie. Not as scary as the stories say they are.
It was our night for Blue Spots! Here are three more!
We turned back after going a mile and a half in. Pretty darn good Wednesday night in February! A pond that we'd missed on the way in was calling to me as we passed it. It's a good thing I heard it because there, we saw three Spotted Salamanders! Here are (dicey) pictures of two of them. They were pretty quick to get away from out flashlights.
That spot was also teeming with Fairy Shrimp, so here is my annual photo of one!
Our last sight was another small Wood Frog, nearly where the hockey puck one was.
I call that a worthwhile trip! Five species on a cool, rainy February evening. On the way home, the heavens opened and I had a white-knuckle drive, but it's all worth it. The storm brought in a cold front and the following day was below freezing, but most of the animals we saw were in good position to shelter in deep pools for the next few days.
Yay amphibians!
