On Saturday, February 10th, we took a walk around a local pond to look at birds. It was a balmy 44°. We didn't get any new species on the year but saw plenty of avian activity. We decided to go over to the local stream to look for some Two-lined Salamanders. I must say, it felt good to get wet and dirty in the pursuit of salamanders.
We wound up with a cupful of larval Two-lines. Not a bad 10 minutes of dipping.
After a couple of pleasant days during the week, we decided to get crazy and drive to Worcester County to look for Dusky Salamanders on Saturday, February 17th. I decided not to go alone on Friday because I didn't want to see things without Andrea. Well, the weekend was far colder than the weekdays (familiar story) and it was pretty darn chilly at the stream.
But water was running, so we flipped many a stone looking for Two-lines and Dooks.
In the end, we found none. Though both species can be found in icy water, we didn't get lucky. A photo of a frozen waterfall would have to suffice.
Being New England, the chill wasn't going to last long. In fact, by mid-week, it was supposed to be warm. Tuesday the 20th hit up around 70° and Wednesday was going to be even nicer. I made my apologies to Andrea and declared my intention of talking a walk by the local dens after work on Wednesday to see if anyone was enjoying some winter sun.
February 21st, 2018... I got to my spot at about 4 PM, after work. Wearing no coat, I went to check out the known hibernaculum sights. Much to my delight (though not really to my surprise), a lovely Nerodia gal was about 3 feet from the entrance to the underground, coiled up into a warm pile of snake.
First snake of the year... Northern Water Snake.
The next couple of den areas were snake-free. The shadows were getting longer so I suspect that any Garters that might have been out had returned to their underground resting spots. Speaking of spots, a log flip revealed this beautiful Blue-spotted Salamander.
The Rock Wall Den (®) had one Garter catching the last rays of sun on this warm day. (It was about 74°... just gorgeous.)
He looks very pleased with himself, doesn't he?
I headed back, picking ticks off of my pants as I went. I had about a dozen on me, all told. I flipped some logs and rocks, hoping for a Redback or Spotted Salamander, but came up empty. I took the path up the hill to Robles' Den (®) site and "looked for Wood Frogs (®)". After zipping up, I noticed something on top of the mound... a small (12" or so) Garter was up there. He had obviously followed the shifting sun to grab all of the rays he could before retreating. The lighting was tough but I finally got a voucher shot.
I swear as I walked off, I heard him singing "Tomorrow may snow so, I'll follow the sun..."
By now my time had come, and so my love I must go. But I stopped by Old Faithful (®) and finally flipped a wee Redback Salamander, the first of 2018.
Not a bad hour's work. Four species. I know other people in the state had seen some turtles this day, too. I hope all of these knuckleheads made it back underground by nightfall, as it got pretty cold. (The Water Snake had started heading home when I walked by on the way back.) And in fact, the small Garter was right... it did snow yesterday. Winter hasn't abandoned us yet but this small respite was much needed.
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