Herpers Gotta Herp... 5-5-2013

Well ever since this night a few weeks ago, we were dying to go back to this wonderful place located in Middlesex and Worcester counties. What better way to spice up our Cinco de Mayo than to see it in the sunlight? And sunny it was going to be!!

Much to our delight, our friend Steve (who calls this National Wildlife Refuge his go-to place) cleared up his schedule and decided to join us! We were a bit late arriving (we'd been out late the night before... an increasingly rare occurrence), but got there at about 10:30 and hit the trails.

It didn't take long, just a few yards up the trail, when we saw this shy, dorsal-stripe-challenged Garter!



Followed almost immediately by the brighter, smaller specimen!



It seems like all of the frogs that we've been missing all year decided to show up all at once! It was a lovely sight! Here's a 4-pack of Green Frogs that we saw right away!

Andrea was hard at work getting the shots with the new camera:

One of the big draws of this place is the multitude of turtles, including some hard to find species. We didn't see any of those this day, but be prepared to see a ton of Painteds in this post! Here's a taste!


We got to a spot where we could see a Water Snake making staccato moves and vibrations. Hmmm... what was going on? Then we heard some Marvin Gaye music and we knew what was going on... Nerodia Whoopie!

There done be two of them here!

This Bullfrog sat by watching. Pervert.


Meanwhile, Andrea thought she had seen a Ribbon Snake drift into the water. Not quite... he was hanging off the ledge, just out of the water!



Not far away was another amorous couple of Water Snakes!



Damn! This day was shaping up just fine!

Steve mentioned that this place had never been a real salamandery place, so we were pleased with a couple of flips that netted us some Redbacks!


(Note the tail of a 3rd Redback to the right of the worm... being shy!)

Much to my surprise, a flip soon after produced a small, golden Four-Toed Salamander!


Followed quickly by a Spotted Salamander (that Steve had seen in this spot before)!


Needless to say, all three of us were very happy to see so many 'phibs!! The Ribbon Snake motoring over the train tracks also delighted the hell out of us!

(Down, boy!)



What a beauty!

Just as we mentioned that we hadn't seen a Water Snake close up, one crossed the path in front of us! Ask and ye shall receive! We were happier with the chance to photograph him than he was... he struck a bit and musked a lot!

(The above photo is by Steve New England Herps)



OK, you wanna see some turtles? I'll show you some fucking turtles!


There's over thirty in the above pic!




Let us all take a moment to admire a Red Eft and a Bullfrog...



OK... where were we? More Painteds!



I heard some shaking in the leaves and slowly inspected, and saw another pair of Water Snakes, but I startled them when I got my camera ready, so you'll just have to take my word for it!

How about some more frogs? A Green!


A 4-pack of Bulls!


Well, instead of going the full route, we headed back in favor of more water and potential rare turtles and Water Snakes. We saw one of the latter, alone and in need of a friend.


This guy had one bum eye... probably a retained eye cap. He also had an unusual belly!



We saw more Painteds, but no other turtle species.


Back towards the beginning, Steve spied a garter in a bush. We were unable to get good shots, so I hauled him out... oops!

He had a hefty meal in him! Had I known, I'd have let him be. His mouth bubbled a bit, meaning he might hurl on us! We snapped a shot or two fast and released him to digest. I felt bad.

A speedy yellowey Garter had zoomed into a nearby bush. I grabbed for his tail, but he eluded me and sped across the water! Steve was fast enough to get this action shot!

(The above photo is by Steve New England Herps)

Nearby, yet another Garter charmed us...


He took umbrage with Andrea when she picked him up, much like our cats do.



We were unable to photograph a speedy Ribbon, who sped into a bush and disappeared. But hey... 10 species! Tons of turtles, frogs and snakes and a good time herping with a friend!!! Top notch Sunday, indeed! I can't wait to get back!