It's Gonna Be an Anuran Summer. 7-28-2018

Getting to this weekend seemed like it took forever. Work was tough and unrewarding and all I really wanted to do was get outside and see nature. Saturday was supposed to be overcast and cooler (weekday heatwave had us all sweaty). We picked a place deep into Middlesex County to hopefully see a Ribbon Snake. It seems absolutely insane that we have not seen one in 2018. We should have a dozen or more photographed by now.

The weatherperson lied. It was 85° and sunny with 3078% humidity. We realized that we probably wouldn't get any snakes, much less Ribbons, so we turned our thoughts to frogs and turtles, both of which are plentiful at this place. Sure enough, as soon as we were on the path, small, new-to-land Pickerel Frogs were bounding out of the grass. They were tough to photograph but we finally got one.

Mixed among the plethora of Pickerels was a new Green or two.

With all of the rain this year, the place was super overgrown; we couldn't even find our usual pond overlooks. Still, it was beautiful... as is Andrea, seen here with Black-eyed Susans and Queen Anne's Lace.

We went to see if the vernal that was so robust and full of life back in April was still in use. It was all but dry. I hoped to see some metamorph Spotted Salamanders or Woods Frogs but my first flip was a Yellow-jacket nest. I didn't flip much more after that. The remaining puddle had a few Bullfrogs in it.

So, in the first 5 minutes, we had our Big Three Frogs. Not too bad.

Across the train tracks, the opposite vernal was still huge and viable. Many frogs were active in it.

I saw a large preggo Garter crawl under a discarded railroad tie and had Andrea photograph as I lifted the end...

I tried to reach her to move her before replacing the tie but she had pulled a Houdini. Gone.

Back in April, we had seen a number of Blanding's Turtles hanging out in and near the now dry vernal. It appears that at least one tried to make it across the tracks to get to the water on the other side. Tragedy.

Back up on the trail, we saw the weekend's only salamander, a wee Redback.

You just don't see many this time of year and we felt very fortunate.

It was pretty scorching in the sun and our usual Chelonia-filled basking spots were empty. This small Painter threw us a bone.

A tiny Peeper jumped and caught my eye, landing in a photo-perfect pose.

Through the bushes, we saw some turtles but couldn't get decent shots. See?

While I already have a Green Heron counted this year (from Florida), we don't get to see many up here so this long necked goober was a real treat.

This wee Painted Turtle owned this log. He didn't slide into the drink at all. Master of all he surveys.

I decided that a soaker was worth it to get a shot of this tanniny Green Frog. I didn't see his eye until I uploaded, making the wet feet even more worthwhile.

Andrea spied a tiny toad, most likely an American. Our 8th species, 5th anuran.

I managed to see this massive, bright green Green. Not quite the eagle-eye of Andrea but I'm pleased.

One more American Toad for the road.

Pickerels were bounding all over the place on the way out, making this quite the trip.

After a quick lunch, we headed over to Malden to visit Andrea's mum for a bit. We also stopped by to visit her Dad's grave and peruse the pond near his site. We didn't see any turtles there this time but Bullfrogs were representin'.

We had found a Garter in some tarp back by a dumpster there last year so we went to try our luck again. Nope, that's not a Garter.

We were a bit more successful while flipping some broken rocks.

Then, to end the day in mind-blowing fashion, we found a brand-new Garter baby. It seems about a month earlier than usual for neonate Garters but there you have it... another weird year. This little scrub was feisty and adorable. We wish him/ her a lot of luck for a long life.

So, that day was a long time coming and it felt damn good. Even though it was about 10 degrees hotter than we expected, we're happy with our finds. 8 species on a sweltering July day is nothing to sneeze at, even if all of the pollen in the air is.