We got there and, sadly, there was a bunch of people visible from the road. That is strange for this place. When we passed them, they explained they were shooting a film up there. The funny thing is, not 15 feet from where they were set up, some Garter Snake love was going on in the woods. I shot my own film.
I doubt theirs is as good.
Those weren't the only horny snakes we saw, in fact our next sight was a trio of Garters trying to get funky.
There were plenty of other Garters poking around this area that my camera was having trouble capturing. Andrea got these two (from the trio above) getting ready to get it on.
This little perv was watching.
I'm not sure if I startled her but this very eligible female came out of nowhere and struck a pose. Beautiful olive head... she made up for the Greens that we never saw.
We headed in the same direction, but on different, parallel paths. Mine was closer to the edge of a bluff and Andrea's was easier. Remember, she wasn't feeling well. She saw a DeKay's Snake go shooting from the path into the grass and stop at the base of a tree. It stayed there and waited patiently while I tried desperately to get an in-focus shot. I eventually did.
I went back to my path. I had no snakes on it but there was a large Red-tailed Hawk sitting on a branch that went right over the trail. I snapped pictures as I approached. I soon realized, it wasn't going to go anywhere... it was the boss bird. So I got a shot from right under it, stink-eye and all.
My path ended with a short climb up a steep, rocky incline. Right there, almost ready to slide off the cliff, a Garter was sitting. With not many options (and the hawk right up there), I picked it up and put it into my pocket. I got musked and that's always pretty bad here... the Garters have a predominately seafood diet and the musk is extra pungent. Andrea was resting when I got up there and I asked her to reach into my pocket. The contents made her smile and that always makes me happy.
Andrea continued to rest and bask for a while so, like she did last week while I took a break, I looked around the area. I saw some movement in the grass but no snake. Was there a Green? No... it was a shoestring Garter enjoying his first Spring. I put my hand in old dogshit while trying to photograph him. I grabbed him and gave him to Andrea while I went down to the water to wash up.
While that wee one was drinking spilled water in Andrea's camera bag, we saw another shoestring up in the rock she was sitting on.
After putting the little guy back, we walked around for just a little while longer and saw plenty more Garters, though we weren't able to photograph them all. They were warmed up and moving quickly. This guy was a flip... this is as found.
I had mentioned that I was surprised we hadn't seen any Redbacks when all of a sudden, we flipped this one inch of lead-backed Plethodon fury.
The last Garter was seen in a spot near the road. I shall call him noggin.
Andrea hadn't really eaten for 36 hours before that morning's breakfast so she was getting hungry and I'm always hungry, so we stopped at the world's worst Papa Ginos for some pizza. (Good pizza, abominable service.) Then, we went over to a newish spot (to us) to see if we could see any Racers or turtles. Having struck out on Greens (a common occurrence) we hoped for some Racers or a first-of-year frog or two. Well, we did see plenty of Painted Turtles, though they were all in the distance.
^ Spider-Turtles.
I was also able to add 4 more bird species to my year's bird count, including a favorite, the Killdeer (#63).
So, no snakes or anurans (though we heard plenty of American Toads calling and an occasional Pickerel Frog) but considering Andrea was ill, we did pretty darn good.
The next day, Sunday, was going to be cloudy, rainy and cool. We had nothing planned except staying home. It wasn't pouring out at noon and I had some errands to do. I asked Andrea if she wanted to join me. She said no until I said I was planning on going to Ringneck Hill in Norfolk County to see if any knuckleheads could be flipped. She got dressed and off we went.
Almost immediately, I started prexxing, which is to say, my blood sugar was low and I got all wobbly and shaky. We still managed some nifty Redbacks.
In a reversal of the day before, I found myself needing to sit my ass down for a while. I drained my water and cursed myself for not bringing a granola bar. Andrea looked lovely, as she always does, in a beautiful setting.
I did my part on Ringneck Hill, though I was still quite fuzzy. I gave up after a while and then heard Andrea yell "Ringer"! She had procured our First-of-Year Ringneck Snake!
Ever notice some Ringers have a John Waters mustache?
When the sun was out, it was pleasant, but it just wouldn't stay out for long. But this hour or so was a bonus and we got our main target. While at that beautiful stream, I wanted to try to see a Two-lined Salamander, too. They're usually pretty easy to find here but the water level is super high and I had no dip net with me. Still, it was very pretty.
I did, eventually, manage to flip a Two-line but it was far too smart for me and this is the best I could do.
Outwitted by a 2" amphibian once again.
Before heading back, we sat there enjoying nature's perfection.
That is called making the most of a shitty weekend.
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