That which does not freeze us solid makes us stronger... 3-2-2013

February sucked here. No herps. Snow every weekend. Blech.

There has been a ton of rain of late, melting the snow and raising our hopes. There are thoughts of Spotted Salamander migration dancing in our heads. Friends in states to the south have been finding some amphibians. We decided on a hike around our favorite pond in Norfolk County for some exercise, if nothing else.

Temps in the low 40s- our expectations were low, but our spirits were high as we headed towards a vernal pond in which we'd seen Spotted eggs before. But it was still frozen pretty solid...


In fact, the pond was still frozen solid... it seems we had arrived a couple of weeks early at that...


But we were here for a hike, so we continued around the pond. Time to start getting our legs into shape for the warmer weather.

This is us just past the halfway mark...


Surprisingly, the far side of the pond is the side that gets more sun! (I'd have thought it would have been the dam area...) There was less snow and ice over there... and flipping a piece of bark, we found a herp!!! A massive Redback Salamander!

Perhaps this guy will eventually grow into his head!

Elated, we carried on... herp warriors that had just conquered the world by finding a 3/4 inch long Plethodon!!!!

And then, Andrea found another wee one!


Then, we started finding a few more!! Twelve Redbacks (one of them being a leadback) total!








Not bad!!

On the last leg of the journey, we came upon the fresh streams that had given us Two-Lined Salamanders and Pickerel frogs recently. I was rooting around in the water and got latched onto by the only animal that gives me the skeeves... a LEECH!

A haven't had one on me since I was a child and I got grossed out! I could feel his teeth ripping into my flesh, syphoning my sweet red life's blood out into its greedy maw with annelid glee... draining me... killing me.

So, I pulled it off and we carried on toward another stream. We got lucky(ish) this time. I saw a 2-Lined larvae, but the lil fella was too fast for me and got away. I really wanted to try out our new "observation tank" for photographing them!

Andrea found another and, after some chasing, I scooped up a fistful of sludge and he was in it. As I tried to maneuver myself towards the tank, my foot slipped and most of me went into the muck. BUT, I safely got him in for these wonderful photographs!


Even a belly shot!


So, the tank works beautifully and we had a great 3 hour+ walk and saw 14 (photographed 13) herps on this winter morn!

It's so tough waiting for the warm weather... thank goodness for our native salamanders!

Andrea's herpday Party 2-16-2013

Well, this February has been snow storm after snow storm and it looks like we won't be able to find an actual wild herp this month. Drat! We'd hoped for at least one every month this year! BUT... with Andrea's birthday being in this bitter, cold month, I decided maybe some herps should come to her instead!

Rainforest Reptiles to the rescue! I have seen this crew many times over the years and knew they put on a fun and informative show, so I gave them a call and booked a cold Saturday afternoon. A few family members and good friends made the trek over to share in the experience.

The set-up is very professional, with pictures, props and, of course, many live animals. A wall of display tanks started our excitement!


The normal colored Chacoan Horned Frog in the upper right corner (bottom pic) was very cantankerous, moving around all day and entertaining us! I could hear the Fire-Belly Toads chirping a few times too. All of these beauties kept us enthralled until the show began.

Mike Ralbovsky put on an informative and humorous show for us, explaining facts about the animals and how Rainforest obtained them. Most of them are rescues. First up was a massive Cane Toad, who blew himself up to impress Andrea!


Another special guest was a Gila Monster! He had pooed his carrying tank, but we didn't care... how many other folks in New England had a Gila Monster poop in their living room last week? NONE!


Cinnamon, a 45 lb Boa Constrictor was also there! She was in a shed, but very well behaved.


It appears that Andrea is holding a young Nile Crocodile here. She is!!


Whitey, the American Alligator was also in da house!


Two big smiles... I like that!

So, after the talk, we all got to touch and learn more about the animals! Lilah got to touch her first Nile Crocodile! I had to wait 50 years... she only had to wait 7 months!


This Black Throated Monitor, who has a cantankerous reputation, found his favorite place on Earth... being held like a baby in Andrea's arms.

It was pointless for anyone else to try to butt in... the lizard was completely happy here.

I got to hold some animals too! Here's Cinnamon taking me for a ride!


My Gila Monster puppet show was a flop...


I can't recommend Rainforest Reptiles enough! Though they usually set up at schools and children's parties, an adult party is, obviously, also an idea! Many many thanks to Mike for helping us get over our cabin fever this February with a fun, hands-on show!


Set up your own adventure with Rainforest Reptiles...  http://www.rainforestreptileshows.com/

February 9th, 2013... Blizzard Herping!

Well, with weather reports of snow not bothering us in the least, we decided to try out a new place in Suffolk County MA... a place by the name of Dillage Vale.

We got there at about noon...


We immediately started flipping, not really expecting anything, but we hoped to be surprised.



We took a promising-looking trail and found a  discarded rug. Thinking about our success with such AC (artificial cover) at Boyden in the past, we decided to flip...


Andrea yelled "snake" and I got this quick in-situ shot...


Luckily, her quick reflexes responded and she nabbed it...


Was this our long sought after Hognose? The field guides to the herps of Massachusetts that we'd brought  along didn't help our IDing any!



So, we're calling it an Eastern Garter, because they can be so variable... if anyone can ID it any better, then you're a better herper than I!

Spurred on by our luck, we decided to ascend a mountainous trail that leads to potential good habitat.


This vernal pond had dried up, though I'd heard about a Red-Eared Slider sighting here in the past...


Andrea, always keen on finding venomous snakes, tried her luck in some good looking Timber habitat... but there was nothing...


I found a cave and explored it, but there were no herps... just some scat, probably mammal.


On the way down the mountain, we took a side-trail and I made a very exciting find... a lizard!


Now, there aren't supposed to be any lizards in Massachusetts, but here was one!!! 5-Lined Skinks have been found in Connecticut, however, and with this global warming upon us... we're pretty sure that's what we have right here!!


So, not bad for February!! 2 herps, one new to Mass!!! This will look good on the database!

COME ON, SPRING!!! HOW MUCH MORE OF THIS SHIT DO WE HAVE TO TAKE????

The ground is frozen, Brah! 1-19-2013

The temps were going to scrape the 40s for the first time in a week... and for the last time for weeks (maybe months!) so we went to our favorite semi-local pond in Norfolk County in hopes of seeing a salamander or two, but mostly to scout for the spring. We've never found the elusive "Duck Pond" on the map... because we always forget to actually take the map on hikes!

There was a lot of parking available... like next to this car who had a broken windshield thanks to a falling limb!


We got to a favorite winter spot to look for some Two-Lined Salamanders. Other mammals had preceded us recently...

Looks like a dog and perhaps a raccoon?

Sure enough, there was some 2-Lined larvae present!


(There are 7 and a tail present in this shot!)

We dropped in a penny for size comparisons...



That was fun! But it was still very icy, despite the fair air temperature. Flipped rocks had ice under them, so we doubted any Redbacks would be up. We were right.


Icy, indeed!

So, with map in hand, we searched for this so-called "Duck Pond". In truth, it was quite easy to find... with the fucking map! And man, are we psyched for warm weather!

Plenty of basking spots for chelonians and snakes! This place should be excellent for many herps!


We have already figured out a way to add this to our usual itinerary at this particular place! We figure we could add at least another half dozen herps every trip! The paths leading to and fro look like excellent snake habitat as well!

Really boss Andrea habitat too!


So, herp-wise, we found about 10 Two-Lined larvae today... not bad for a day where the ground is frozen! Our second species for 2013! But better still, we learned a bit more about one of our very favorite places... knowledge that we think will increase our sightings in the future!

We leave you with a tree that will not be standing much longer...