Finally! April 9th, 10th and 11th, 2026

Some warm(ish) sunny days had been bestowed upon us and we made the best of it. Thursday the 9th sure felt good but when we went over to the dens on Andrea's lunchbreak, there were no snakes out and about. We did, however, score a pair of Redbacks... Lead and Red.

The next day, Friday the 10th, I took a piece of audio equipment out to Hopkinton, MA for repair and I figured that, since I drove all the way out there, I'd check out a local body of water. It was really beautiful out. My hunch paid off and I saw my first Painted Turtles of the year. (I know, hard to believe this year has been so stupid that it took so long!) I photographed them and didn't feel too badly about seeing them without Andrea. I knew she'd be seeing some very soon.

Man, it sure felt good to see these mofos!

After getting lost getting out of Hopkinton and hitting some excruciating traffic, I still made it back home in time for Andrea's lunch. We headed right back to the dens. It was breezy but sunny. Again, we saw a Redback first. I snapped this shot just as it was heading down a hole and disappearing.

The Cottonwood Den came through with a Garter, the only snake we saw at a densite. Perhaps they have already woken up and dispersed?

The next day (Saturday the 11th) was supposed to be warm but overcast. We figured that would be good for our best Blanding's spot out in Middlesex County. They usually wake up when the vernal pools are filled with Wood Frogs and Salamanders. We got there fairly late (we're not used to nature hikes yet this year!) and headed in. As expected, Andrea got her FoY Painter almost immediately. And then some!

We went towards the vernal pools that we've had a lot of luck with before but it was quiet. No Wood Frogs quacking. Evidently, we were late. The pools were smaller than expected (the ponds are massive, but that is partly because of Beaver work) but we did see some salamander eggs in one of them.

I could see a few Spotted Newts swimming around in that vernal, as well. They do enjoy eating salamander eggs. I couldn't get a photo of them.

Walking past the next pond, I heard a familiar slithering sound in the dry leaves. I saw it was a Ribbon Snake, our First of the Year. It wasn't letting me get a decent shot so, figuring I only photographed ONE in each of the last two years, I made the old-man-lunge and safely procured it for a couple of shots.

I'm not sure what has happened to make them so scarce in the last 4 or 5 years but it breaks my heart to only see one or two during a season where we used to see dozens. But this guy certainly made up for our missing the Blanding's emergence this year.

The pond itself had some Painters up, including this guy playing King of the Hill.

We ran into a pair of birders. We mentioned turtles and they said, "Oh, I just photographed one crossing the path!" She showed me the photo. Blanding's. She said it wasn't far but scour as we did, we couldn't find it. Then, further up the path, we ran into a couple that was hiking. The guy told us about the Snapping Turtle in the the path ahead. Well, we haven't seen one of those either! We kept our eyes peeled. I was looking for frogs (for real, not taking a leak) and when I got back to Andrea, she was holding up her hand and pointing. Why was she pointing at that hiker coming towards her on the trail? Well, she wasn't. Sher was pointing at this guy on the trail.

We watched it going to the water, filming all the way. I made a movie.

Andrea suspects this was that guy's "Snapping Turtle".

Well, that was certainly exciting and it informed me that yes, they have dispersed (or are still dispersing) into the various bodies of water around the place. I decided to try my luck at a hidden pond that I have had luck in sometimes. I didn't have to go far in (thankfully, due to no leaves on anything yet) to get a distant glimpse of a Blanding's and a Painter sharing a perch.

There were at least a dozen Painters and at least one more Blanding's back there but after not-too-stealthily tromping back for a closer look, there was nothing left but empty logs. Still, I can't complain.

So, including Painters, Andrea was three for three with FoYs! Let's make it FOUR. We both got our FoY Bullfrog along the river path.

There were a bunch of fallen trees going into the river. The Beavers were really going to town and I have no doubt that they're thinking about damming the entire Nashua River. Gotta admire that!

We passed another vernal pool but I could see no eggs. Lots of little frogs jumped in but I couldn't see them long enough to ID them. This good sized Green Frog stayed put long enough for me to enjoy it.

We ended the day with another pair of Painted Turtles.

Gotta call that a good day! 3 FoYs for me, 4 for Andrea. And we made it home in time for me to catch a catnap before playing that night. Twas a decent day overall.

Fools in the Haunted Swamp 4-1-2026

Hell, it looked pretty good to me. It was in the 50s on April Fools Day and it had rained much of the day so we pulled the trigger, grabbed a pizza on the way out and went to Bristol County, right in the heart of the Bridgewater Triangle, to look for amphibians by torch-light. We got there at about 8:30 PM and could hear Peepers from the parking lot. We considered that a good sign. As we walked across the field to get to the woods, hundreds of earthworms pulled back, away from our flashlights. Man, I do enjoy seeing so many at once. I was thinking of Jeff Lieberman's Squirm (1976). Some were pretty huge. This is my size 12 shoe. (I'm NOT squishing the one under my shoe.)

The Peepers were calling from every side. As we made our way along the trail, Wood Frogs joined the chorus. But we couldn't get out eyes on any. A few eyes glowed from 30 feet away but my camera wouldn't be capable of getting anything. I did flip a Redback right next to a vernal pool, starting our night off.

I finally got a ride-'em-cowboy Wood Frog about 10 feet out. It would be the only one I'd get a shot of, and it was our First of Year.

The Peepers were deafening. I scoured the edges of the pools, the low hanging branches and twigs, and the plants sticking up from the water, but I saw zero Peepers! I spent a lot of time trying. I did see some very small Fairy Shrimp. This guy, and the dozens more that I saw, were all 1/2" or less.

A new spider for us... I thought it might be a Fishing Spider as it's about half-dollar sized, but it is Pisaurina mira- an American nursery web spider. (Thanks, Jef and Aaron!)

We did our usual route, which goes a mile or two out through the Haunted Swamp and past the power-line cut and one thing became clear. Salamanders were not moving this night. There was no sign of eggs or packets in the pools, either, so we wondered if we'd just driven 45 miles for one frog and a Redback. Well, we've done it before so yes. It's OK if we had, but heading back, we saw a small Green Frog, our FOY, sitting next to the path.

I headed back towards some of the vernals that I'd scoured earlier, determined to get a Peeper shot. I mean, there were thousands calling. Surely I could photograph one! Approaching the edge, I saw a pale body doing ride-'em-cowboy and focused on another Wood Frog. Except that it turned out to be our FOY American Toad! He is up pretty early this year!

Just listen to this deafening racket!

OK, I was determined and I thought I saw some eye-shine about 20 feet out. I did. And a round throat sac. I took a dozen photos and this is my best one... our FOY mofo Spring Peeper. Damn, that was tough.

On the way out, we had another Green, a pretty big one this time. Couldn't get a shot without the blue eyes, but he's still a handsome bastard.

So, the salamanders were not moving but we made up for it with out first frogs (and toad) of the year. Four new species added, almost doubling our Reptile and Amphibian count for 2026. We're at a whopping nine! Oh well, it's been a weird year already and I don't expect that to change.

I entered the world of Annelid Porn on the way back to the car. Sexy.

It's Spring, and the End of March. 3-20,26,29 and 31. 2026

Here is what we have seen in the last couple of weeks.

Friday March 20th.
It was warm and sunny so I urged Andrea to take her lunch in the car so we could check out some local dens. No snakes, but we saw a couple of Redbacks.



Thursday, March 26th.
Same thing except is wasn't as warm. Only in the mid-40s. Looked like it would be another Redback only day, which is, of course, fine. This was a teaching salamander for an interested kid.

The Cottonwood Den surprised us, however, with some Garters out attempting to get some sun.

A Leadback.

On the way home, we got Bird #34, a Common Grackle that will always be in our hearts.

Sunday, March 29th.

It was supposed to be warmish but cloudy on this Sunday but we were determined to get out so we went to our Spring Spotted Turtle place in Norfolk County and were not disappointed.

We heard Wood Frogs a'plenty. There was even one spot where we could hear Woods, Peepers and a couple of Northern Leopards but we couldn't get our eyes on any frog bodies. Andrea saw one Wood move in the distance. But they were there!

We saw a dirty but cute Garter on the way out, near the front where some of the Spotted Turtles were still up.

Andrea still hadn't seen a Two-lined Salamander yet on the year so I netted this large larvae for her to see. The little cutie is almost ready!

We went over to the local cemetery to see if any turtles were up basking. As expected, some Red-ears were eager to start the year. This quartet are not invasive. I saw no army helmets or guns with bayonets attached... just some released pets that said "fuck you, I didn't want to live in your filthy, uncared for tank anyway!"

Humans suck. Turtles do not.

Tuesday, March 31st.

It's a warm but rainy Tuesday. I went alone to see if the recent rain has caused any movement at the local spot. A Spotted Salamander or two have been reported in nearby towns. I saw none nor did I hear any Wood Frogs at any of the vernals that I checked out on a two hour walk. I heard some Peepers. I heard an Oven Bird, which I thought odd... kinda early I'd think.

My only sights were some more Redbacks,. the first of which is leadier than a pencil point.

Thatsa that. Only five species for the year so far but I'm not going to complain. Every critter makes the world a better place.  Oh, and I got a tiny tick today.

March Thus Far. 3-8, 10, 14 and 17, 2026

Sunday, March 8th.

It was warmer than usual so, being quite dumb sometimes, we decided to check out the local dens. Of course, we got almost two feet of snow less than a week ago, but let's look. Well, the paths were pretty treacherous so after a short hike, we just decided to just walk around the cemetery on the cleared pavement. It was rewarding because on the walk, we heard the true sign of Spring, a call of Red-winged Blackbirds. I couldn't see one, much less get the camera on one, but it still warmed our little hearts. I got a distant shot of a Wood Duck (#31) for a good consolation prize.

Tuesday, March 10th.

The temps had been amazing but this Tuesday, it was in the 60s! Andrea said I should go check the dens, so I did. No snakes yet, but I saw my first Eastern Chipmunk of the year.

And then I flipped my First of Year Redback. Actually, I flipped three but they were all really on the move so I had to grab this one and get a shitty shot as it ran away.

Saturday, March 14th

Of course, the weekend was cooler again but most of the snow was gone. We decided to go birding to see if we could get a shot of a Red-winged Blackbird. We went to the spot where Andrea took a spill last time. Most of the snow was already gone, but it was in the low 40s. The only bird I added was a Song Sparrow (#33).

Since this spot adjoins the place that holds what we call our local dens, we said "why not?"... we'd actually checked one den on the way into the park. But we were closer to a different one now and threw caution to the wind and went for it, knowing we'd fail.

We didn't. Andrea pointed out our First of Year snake, a fine Garter.

I audibly gasped when just three feet away, another Garter was out and it was posed in almost the exact same position.

We considered ourselves very fortunate. And we were. It was only 42°- 45°.

Sunday, March 15th.

We'd hoped for another day with at least a little sun. But we didn't get it. We knew that the day before we could have seen some brave turtles up basking as well as snakes, but our den spot isn't much of a turtle place. Knowing we'd fail, but hoping for the elusive Red-winged Blackbird shot, we went over to our spot in Norfolk County with the best chance for an early turtle. My car thermometer said 39°, though.

Well, I wouldn't have mentioned anything if we'd failed so, here is our First of Year turtle... a brave Spotted. It has a leech on the shell... maybe it was hoping to bake it off but there was absolutely no sun.

You never know what you'll see. You'll see nothing if you don't try.

Tuesday, March 17th.

Last night, conditions were perfect for an actual Big Night. It was in the 50s, rain had been pouring and there was a buzz in the air. But we didn't go out. I went out early in the morning the day after (about 3 hours ago, as I type) and hit the local spots to see if I could see any sign of movement. I'm not sure which ponds there get the action but I checked out three vernals and saw no salamanders, packets or eggs and I heard no Wood Frogs so my inspection was inconclusive.

I saw a very cold Leadback (first Lead!) and held him in my hand long enough to warm up and get his butt underground. (It's going to be cold tonight.)

On the way out, in a deli parking lot, there were a bunch of American Crows so I pulled in and got #34 on the year. Sharing is caring! (More like stealing, I suspect.)

That's it so far. We've heard both Red-wings and Common Grackles, so Spring is near. We blew it by not going out in the rain on Monday night where we could have seen salamanders and Wood Frogs, but what can you do? Hopefully, we'll have a decent year, but only if we actually get out and try. I plan on trying.