On the Road to Rhinebeck- October 19th thru 21st, 2012

Every October, we take a trip to the Rhinbeck Sheep and Wool Fest in Rhinebeck NY. It is a knitter's Woodstock. Some years, the weather is cool and grey. This year, the forecasts called for milder weather. We decided to herp on the way up if at all possible. Well, the Friday morning weather was cool and rainy- not conducive to finding herps. So we drove along and, for the most part, recounted our successful herp year!

When we were almost to our hotel in Poughkeepsie, NY, we noticed a lovely stream with a field around it... it looked inviting. On the spur of the moment, I pulled off the road and up a small side street, hoping to find the park. I did... it was right there! It turns out that it was Sarah Taylor Park and we were in Fishkill, NY.


It was still raining lightly and most of the area was flooded with puddles, but we needed to stretch our legs, so we looked around this beautiful place, flipping here and there...




Such a lovely place, but surely it was too cool to yield any herps. Not even a salamander under those rocks! We got to a spot where there was broken up black-top and I stubbornly kept on flipping. Much to my surprise, one flip had a coil under it!

This Garter Snake was as startled as I was to be seen under that slab! He rapidly calmed down and we got some good shots of him.


Sorry Anon, I just couldn't control myself!

So, what a wonderful spontaneous half-hour success story! Seeing this little guy made me so damn happy! All aboard the gravy snake!!

When we reached our hotel room, the nature trip wasn't yet over! There was a stink bug in our room!

We carefully corralled him and put him outside.

Saturday's weather for the Festival (October 20th) was excellent... in the low 70s!! We decided to herp the next day instead of doing the Fest for 2 days, hoping that the weather would be as nice. On Saturday, we saw no herps but there were many Wild Hoars!

So, on Sunday (October 21st) after breakfast, we trekked over to the near(ish)-by Minnewaska State Park Reserve in New Paltz NY. Research showed us that there are many resident snakes, including our two venomous favorites. The car ride was longer than expected, but we pressed on. When we got there, we found that it was very crowded. It seems we were not the only folks looking for a sunny hike!

Outside the car, it was far cooler than expected and very windy on these hills! We hiked on but it became clear fairly soon that we might not have the good fortune of spotting any herps! Still, the place was gorgeous and with the colorful leaves and dozens of tiny streams and brooks cutting through, Andrea couldn't help but document the walk!







We got to a sort of summit, where there were huge tables of rock exposed to the sun...

Seemed like a good place to poke around; at least we'd stay warmer even if we didn't see any basking beauties! There were many rocks to flips, though it was moist underneath them. Eventually, however, we found herps up there! Redbacks!




The above fellow lost his footing on Andrea's hand. To those who are concerned about such things, we often pick up the salamanders before replacing the rocks so as to not squish them. Careful we are.

When the sun went behind the clouds (which was a frequent occurrence) it got pretty damn cold!

We decided to go head back down the hill, already planning a trip here in the warmer months.

By the way, we saw signs of the very scary Wild New Paltz Hippy, but were lucky enough to not see any live specimens!


On the drive back to the thru-way, we saw these three small trees who summed up our feelings about each other, herps and nature...


The year is almost over, sad but true. But what a great year it has been! And we're not closing up shop just yet!

Once upon a Plethodon- the Blue Hills 10-13-2012

Let's face it, this season ended abruptly. But does that mean we're done? Down and out? Givin' up? Well, it should but we're hardy souls with never say die attitudes, or at least folks who would be bored on Saturday morning if we didn't try.

We decided to head to the Blue Hills and search for Salamanders. These hills are also reportedly home to Timber Rattlesnakes and Copperheads. These venomous beauties might be up basking in the sun on the rocky outcrops at the tops of the hills. But I doubt it. The temps were going to be in the mid 50s, so we waited until about noon.

Well, as expected, Redback Salamanders were about... and very easy to find!

The funny thing is, there was often a Redback phase and a Leadback phase sharing real estate under a log!


Why can't we all just get along... like the Plethodon do?!


Some more sexy Redbacks... solo!



We ran in to another hiker and she'd said that there was a sunny spot atop a hill with some rocky outcroppings. Sounded good enough to us... we needed to warm up!

The terrain looked pretty good, and it was warm. Snakes, however weren't present. Andrea discovered this, though...

They look like snake eggs to us... stuck in some moss outside of a large rock... from under which they probably came.


I flipped an agonizingly large boulder to find... an eft!

Andrea picked him up and he took a walk...

right into her mitten!

Gotta love the warmth!

So, the Dome was pretty cool and it's a place we'll definitely check out when it gets warmer.


More Redbacks followed...


Even some more racially diverse couples!



The Gods of the Hills watched over us!


So, we took a stroll up Wampatauk Hill, a place with a wonderfully sunny summit! We poked around for a while and it was there that I saw the most beautiful Copperhead!


But no snakes.

On the way down, a flip produced a surprised American Toad!



The Blue Hills Reservation actually has a good map (we wish other places could claim that).We were looking at it trying to decide which way to head back. Andrea suggested that it might not be too late to check the ponds for basking herps. I doubted it, but we went that way anyway.

She was right. I saw a shell. We silently approached, nary uttering a breath. I got this shot and only this shot...

A non-native Red Eared Slider. Funny, after last week's diatribe against fools releasing Red-ears to their imminent deaths, this chap was the only turtle up warming himself.

The last animal we saw was this Heron, who Andrea saw landing at the very top of a very tall tree.


He had to hurry home because there was an Oktoberfest Party goin' on at our friend's house... the ever-wonderful Kate and Snag! Readers of this blog (Me, Andrea and Snag) know that there is a wonderfully happy colony of Dekay's Snakes in their yard! We just had to check, even though it was very nippy out!

Yep- two shoestrings were there, shivering in the October chill!


Like the Spotted Newt earlier in the day, they made a B-line to the warmth of Andrea's sleeve!




All in all, a pretty good day. Being able to herp at all in October is reason to rejoice. Let's hope we can squeeze a few more in before we're forced to call it quits for 2012!

Illegal Aliens in Allendale!! 10-6-2012

We had a wedding to attend in the early afternoon and, since they are dear friends, we did not want to be late! But we also wanted to herp, as it was supposed to be a mild day. So, knowing we could do it in just a couple of hours, we headed to Allendale!

It wasn't yet as warm as it was supposed to get when we got there (about 10 AM) but it was warm enough for some Redback action!



Andrea had a very successful flip and landed two Leadbacks and a Redback!

One of the Leadbacks took a stroll and, like Garter Snakes have been known to do, camped out in her sleeve!


We'd never been able to access behind the fallen-down-house foundation before, so this was a cool sight to see...

Sadako was not home.

We got to the pond and I was sure I saw a shell basking... I snapped this shot-

Good news and bad. It's a new species for Allendale; the Red-Eared Slider! The bad news is, they are not native. That means some dolt has let his pet loose in a place it does not belong. It's a crap-shoot whether or not this species will survive a New England winter; some do and some don't. We wish this guy the best.

I saw some other shells, but they, as well as the slider, slid into the water when I approached. There were three, but I couldn't ID them.

From the other side of the pond, we saw that some were back up, so we snapped a shot...

Another Red-Eared Slider, as well as the original guy, and a small Painted Turtle had come back up.

OK, there are at least two Red-Ears in the pond. I hope they survive. But in the meantime... DON'T RELEASE YOUR PETS!!!! TAKE THEM TO A SHELTER!!! OR AT LEAST CONTACT ME AND I WILL TAKE THEM IN!!! IT'S NOT MORAL OR LEGAL TO JUST THROW THEM AWAY LIKE THAT!

Why do people have to be so damn stupid?

So, with time getting tight, we moved on. The vernal pond was hopping with Bullfrogs... literally. Upon my approach, easily 50 Bullfrogs launched into the water. They came from nowhere! This is the only guy I could capture on film!


This gorgeous Redback was our last herp of the day...


No snakes, but a good walk on a nice day... that got even better as our friends Jen and Bat tied the knot!