Bolting into 2018 at the Speed of Molasses.

Since I was last here, it has been cold. Record cold, I think. 2018 has gotten off to a very slow start. We have been catching up on our movie watching, though!

On Sunday, January 21st, our dear friend Teá asked us if we wanted to hit a few spots for birding. Since it was going to be a nice day and we always enjoy spending time with her, we accepted the invite and met her and a friend (Laura) at a nearby pond to start our 2018 bird count. We got a few of the obvious ones (Canada Goose, Mallards, etc.) but started off in good form with a bird we didn't get last year at all,  this Ring-necked Duck.

This spot also had some favorites there like a pair of Hooded Mergansers, a Wood Duck and an adorable American Coot.

The sun was out and we were all happy just to be outside without gloves on. I got herp-happy and checked a stream for salamanders. I did, in fact, see a speedy Two-line, but wasn't able to get a photo. We decided to head over to the local dens to see if any knuckleheads were poking out.

To be honest, we really jumped the gun. No noggins there but we did get to observe a couple of Red-tailed Hawks, including this youngster.


But yeah, there was still ice everywhere. I suspect the local Garter crew had no idea it was a pretty nice day out.


Our next spot was right out on Boston Harbor to see some sea ducks. Another species we missed last year was a Long-tailed Duck. Cuties, they are.


A few more species we didn't get last year (which was, at 92, the lowest bird count in 4 years)... Bufflehead.


Dunlin.


And Goldeneye (female).


We really have to thank Teá for not only getting us out of the house but for pointing out some birds that I might not have otherwise bothered to photograph. I ended up with 16 species on the day, not a bad start at all.

Saturday, January 27th was the day we joined our fellow turtle-people for necropsies. Never a particularly pleasant experience, it is always a fascinating and educational one. Between Andrea and myself, we worked on two turtles, then assisted on others. Yes, we found plastic in some. Not cool, humanity.

We got to have a (not long enough) chat with our friend Box Turtle Tim. He'd mentioned the lack of Hit Me With Your Nature Stick in 2018. So, this post I dedicate to him. He also put it into my head that I really had to get crackin' to get a January reptile or amphibian. Having been around dead turtles all day, we vowed to find a stream salamander on the way home. But I didn't want to go to the same stream we always hit... where we got December's only herp.

We stopped at a couple of nature spots before getting off of Cape Cod but as good as these places looked for Hognoses (duly noted for future visits during the warmer months) we realized that no stream sals (or streams!) would be available to us. We headed home, stopping once more at a favorite spot to check out a waterway. Nope. Then, I noticed we were passing a spot in the Blue Hills that I knew had a trickling stream. We stopped in and it sure looked ready for us...

So, yes... on our fourth stop, just as the light was starting to fade, we finally found our inch-and-a-half long quarry... a Two-lined Salamander. The first amphibian of 2018.

He looks pretty pissed at me, too. I did see another darker one but he was faster than I.

So, the year has officially started with a herp count (1) and a bird count (16). While numbers aren't going to be important to us again, we hope to have a successful year learning and hopefully helping the animals and habitats around us.