Ending 2019.

Nature-wise, it was an odd year for us. Personally, I ruined it with my broken arm and later my pneumonia. But we also had family matters, crappy weather and EEE to contend with, giving us a lot less time in the field than usual. But we always enjoy any time we can out and see animals and we did see a number of wonderful creatures this year.

On December 23rd, Andrea had work but I was off. She urged me to take advantage of the warm (50°) and sunny day and take a peek at the dens. I did, though when I got there, it was still super icy and I doubted I'd have any luck.

But never doubt the tenacity of a snake...

This was a big, beefy female Ribbon Snake down in the Valley, stretched out on the ice. She has a stub tail and a few scars and might have been looking for some extra Vitamin D for her winter. I wonder if this is Robles, who we'd seen a few years ago at a different den site. "He" had plenty of scars and a tail ready to go.


While photographing her, I looked down and this feisty little Garter was actually striking at me!

Easy, cowboy... save enough energy to make it back underground!

Obviously, I worried all night that they didn't get back to their hibernaculums before freezing to death. Andrea had the following day off, so we went back and they were both gone. Either they returned to their winter beds or they froze and were eaten. Nobody was out that day.

Saturday, December 28th, it was sunny again though the wind was pretty stiff and it kept the temps low. We went to peek anyway, thinking there might be someone up. I'm very happy to report that our Ribbon friend was back in the sun of the Valley, getting as much vitamin D as she could.

I can't see any obvious injuries on her but her scars prove that she knows what she's doing, so I feel good about her survival. Could it be Robles? At any rate, I'm happy that Andrea got to see her.

Back behind the Valley, there are hills that get a lot of sun. I'd never inspected them before; I'd only been back to that spot to "look for Wood Frogs" but I decided to scan the terrain. There, about 10 feet up the hill, hidden but still in the sun, was a beautiful Northern Water Snake!

That was a hell of a nice way to end the year. I mean, this blog post has more snake species in it than most of my summer ones! That Nerodia face makes me so happy.

So 2019 is all but over, mercifully. I end with 101 birds (kind of a let down after my amazing start) and a few new lifers. We had many good days, saw the Boston lizards, finally got an EDB and got to see a few friends. Turtle Season was short and not many came in, which we'll say is a good thing.

May 2020 be wonderful for everyone.

2019 is winding down...

I've been neglecting this blog . So what?

We always say that we'll be ready to walk beaches on Thanksgiving Day. A lot of folks want to have family time, so we make ourselves available. And, of course, we got asked to walk Thanksgiving. The weather was supposed to suck again (though not as bitterly cold as last year's debacle). Cold and rainy and windy. We were also asked to walk the high tide in the middle of the night, so we booked a hotel nearby and decided to make a really tiring day of it.

High tide was at 12:30 in the afternoon on Thanksgiving. We got there on time and tried to hit the beach, but the surf was pounding into the dunes, well above any high-tide we'd walked before.

We walked the gut for a bit and found a few spaces where we could get to the "beach", or at least see where turtles might come in.

It was miserable. The rain kept spitting, even though the weather forecast said it was supposed to stop. The "gusts of 35 to 50 MPH" was a constant, high wind, enough to hold up my fat 215 lb. ass. And that surf was relentless. There was almost no beach along the first 2 miles of the Island. Needless to say, we saw no turtles.

The high surf was making the erosion pretty scary. I walked over these fallen piles of rock and clay to look beyond but Andrea said she could still see bits crumbling and falling as I was out there.

2 hours after high-tide and the waves were still smashing into the dunes and cliffs. We deemed it too dangerous to continue and turned back a little less than 3/4 of the way out. The point would have been completely underwater anyway.

We checked into our hotel and peeled off oursoaked clothing. We'd been invited to Thanksgiving dinner at the Sanctuary's dorms and I had to wear a pair of Andrea's stretchy pants because I had no dry ones. That's OK... everyone was cool there and I even got to dry my sweatshirt in their drier. It turns out that no turtles had come in, despite the heavy winds. It seems the waves churned so much that anything would have been pulled back out.

Dinner was excellent, talking with friends... Tim and Kim were there, so I got some good talkin' time in with them. A BBC film crew was there for a production they're working on and they had good stories. It was decided that, due to the super-high-tide, that the midnight walks should head out a couple of hours after high tide. Fair enough. We'd get more sleep that way. Lights were out by 8 PM.

We got up at 2 AM and got into our more or less dry clothes. The room's heater did a decent job on drying my pants. We bundled up and got to the beach at about 2:30 AM.

This was our first full-island night walk and it was pretty weird because all of our usual landmarks were gone. But it wasn't too bad. The wind had died down a bit and at least it wasn't raining. We saw a lot of this, though. (That's sand, not icy rain!)

We only knew we'd hit the point because a bunch of light colored birds took off, probably gulls and Eiders. Then we headed back. We found no turtles along the way. We didn't even see any wrack line. Everything had indeed been pulled back out. We got back to the starting point just as first light was starting to peek out. That's usually when we got there to start... it felt weird ending at this point.

Obviously, we had become pretty hungry by this time. Two (well, one and 3/4) long beach walks, about15 miles of wet sand and wind-fighting in about 18 hours... we'd earned a breakfast. We went to a nice place as the sun came up and talked about how I was about to write my first blog post with no animals in it! Then we got a call. They had a few turtles already and a few more coming in and needed us to drive a some to the aquarium on our way home. So, we ate up and headed over to the sanctuary.

One turtle was very interesting. It's a Kemp's Ridley, a massive one at that- almost 50 pounds! We usually get 3 pounders, or so. But more interesting was the fact that this poor turtle was suffering from fibropapillomatosis, a disease which causes tumors to grow. This turtle's tumors aren't too bad but it is the first case we've seen of the disease up here. It has only been seen on turtles in the tropics before. This was a special turtle, indeed. Add to that, a healed wound that looks like a shark bit a chunk out of the rear-left shell. This one is a warrior.

There was also a live Loggerhead waiting to go to rehab.

This guy was a little more active.

The new car got put to good use. I got it to fit more turtles and here we were, only putting two in. But it was over 80 pounds of chelonia, so we were glad the Corolla didn't attempt this move.

I was filmed driving up to get the turtles... wonder if I'll be in the BBC documentary!

We kept the temp at 55° for the 90 mile drive to the aquarium and dropped off our cargo. The staff was very interested in the Kemp's. They will (or already have, I haven't heard) perform surgery on the tumors and hopefully, it will make a full recovery.

We got home and napped. For a few days.

Because we're gluttons for punishment, we answered the call again for high tide the following weekend, on Sunday the 8th. It was an afternoon high-tide and the weather was pretty agreeable. Of course, we knew we'd see no turtles, but duty is duty, so we headed out.

I finally got to triple digits on my 2019 bird count, with #100 being Sanderlings and #101 being Dunlins. There were plenty of both out there.

Not many seals this time, either, though a few watched us from afar.

Nope, it was quiet and I had time to get artsy-fartsy.

It was a quiet and pleasant walk but the devastation from the previous week was very evident. This "island" wont be here forever and it took a huge hit. The erosion was epic.

So, that was that. No turtles had come in, so none had to be transported.

The light turtle year has continued. Only 289 as I type this (Dec. 17th). That is good and bad, I guess. Hopefully, it means they just didn't get caught in the cold and made it past the Cape and headed South. Anything that comes in from here on out will probably be dead. We'll probably get back on the beach this year (we're a favorite clean-up crew) but the hope of any live rescues is remote. Still, necropsy season is right around the corner and even the dead turtles provide a lot of information. Perhaps some will shed some light on this year's low number of strandings.

As a side note, it had been warmer and rainy the following weekend. Saturday the 14th was in the 50s! So on Sunday, December 15th, despite a frigid wind, we went to look for salamanders nearby, hoping to actually see a live animal. Well, we saw no salamanders but Andrea spied this female Garter Snake just outside her den, trying desperately for some sun. She only had intermittent luck.

Very healthy looking... "in good flesh" as my former lizard's vet used to say. I poked her to make sure she was still alive and she sure was. 

That was a nice bonus. Also, our 21st straight month with a Massachusetts snake sighting. March, 2018 was our last MA Snake-free month (though we saw a ton in Florida that month).

I hate Winter. And it isn't even Winter yet!

Stepping into the Second Season. Nov. 10th and 16th.

Back to the beach for us. Winds and temperatures were making it look like turtles would start washing in so we made an effort to be on the Cape, on our big beach at first light on Sunday, November 10th. We made it. It was going to be pretty warm but winds had been blowing and maybe some knuckleheads would wash up. At any rate, we needed desperately to do the walk, to get ourselves into shape for the season.

The beach was quiet when we got there (6 AM), the water tranquil.

We pretty much knew right away that we'd not see turtles in need, but we welcomed the walk and did a little birding.

It was pretty uneventful the whole way out. We went to the very tip, roughly 4 miles out.


It was out there that we finally saw our first seal of the year, a Gray.


Here's a cute Semipalmated Plover (#97).


As expected, we saw no turtles, even though the high tide was coming in as we walked back. One Kemp's was found on this beach later in the day (in the opposite direction) and luckily, somebody was there to rescue it.

The next weekend followed a week of very cold temperatures and wild winds. Turtles started coming in on Wednesday and many volunteers were  beckoned to walk during the high tides. We didn't get a call, as we live off-Cape, and we don't expect to get many this year. But we told them we'd be at our island at first light again, which would be at low tide.

It was a hell of a lot colder this Saturday morning than the previous week and very very windy. The low-tide made things tough as we had to scan the sand flats that were exposed. The enlarged shoreline presented a few challenges. I was looking for a dinner-plate sized turtle among a maze of rocks and seaweed.


We couldn't tell where the high tide had reached (at 1 AM during the night)... I thought it hadn't reached very high, as I could see the night-walker's return footprints down by the shoreline. But Andrea stubbornly stayed up higher. As it's good she did. Almost to the point, she yelled "turtle!"

I ran up and she'd found this stranded fella, obviously missed during the high-tide walk.

Now, we'd never seen a Green on our walks before so we knew this guy looked a little different, but couldn't comfortably call "lifer", especially since it showed no signs of life. We called him in and covered him up before continuing on. We were almost there.


As we neared the end, Gray Seals started to spy on us.


Almost there, Andrea stopped and urged me to look at the point... it was covered with seals!


Obviously, despite their curiosity, they got into the water, but stayed very close as Andrea walked by.

There must have been 60 or so seals out there!

They followed Andrea for a while as she started back.


We were asked to retrieve the turtle and bring it back to base, so since I'd neglected to bring a towel, I secured it in my backpack to keep it out of the wind. I put a heavy rock on the sled so the wind wouldn't blow it over. Dead or not, you have to treat them like they're alive.


I'm not going to lie... the walk back was pure hell. The heavy wind was right in our faces and the turtle/ rock combo was making me really work. I could feel the damn plate in my arm as I pulled the sled. We struggled up the eroding, sandy dune and got to the car, windburned, muttering that perhaps we really are getting too old for this. But we had a turtle, so we had to do it.

We got him back to the sanctuary, laid him out and had it confirmed that yes, it was a Green Turtle, the first that we'd ever seen on our walks. The "pinhead" is our new diagnostic for these guys.

Best of all, it had shown a little response to some testing... I even got a slight blink as I wiped some sand from it's eye (a test that had yielded nothing on the beach). It was alive. Barely, but it was alive.

There were no other turtles there as a batch had been taken to the aquarium at 9 AM. (It was now about 10:45 AM). Wait a minute... there was one other turtle there... a poor Diamondback Terrapin whose hibernation had been interrupted by somebody gardening!! He was not in a good mood.


Since the next turtle delivery to the aquarium wouldn't be leaving until 2 PM, and high-tide would be at 1:30, no more turtles would be going up on the day. We said we'd be happy to take this one to the aquarium on the way, since we actually pass the place on the way home. Calls were made, it was approved and we had our first turtle in the new car.


We kept it as close to 55° for the next 90 miles and dropped him off. Less than 5 hours from beach to aquarium. We don't know if he'll survive but we gave it our best shot. And now the new car has been properly sanded and still smells a bit like turtle. It's all good.

Getting Ready for Bed, 11-2-2019

Andrea and I had been wondering if everyone was back to their den sites since the nighttime temps were scraping the freezing mark these days. So, since we had just a little time before an afternoon band thing, we went to our local stomping grounds to check out the known den areas.

On the way, we saw a Redback under a rock. No frost yet, so this was still possible.


We got into the Valley of Nerodia and Andrea spotted a namesake snake... a gorgeous (if a bit dusty) Northern Water Snake stretching out in the sun. It was only about 45° but the sun was obviously warm enough.

Beautiful snake, easily 3 feet long. A yard of Nerodia.

The Cottonwood Den had a heartbreaking sight waiting for us... the very tree for which the den is named, a huge Cottonwood introduced to us by our friend Andrew, had fallen.

This tree was our signpost, our beacon in the woods to alert us to the Cottonwood Den that Andrew had introduced us to, a den site that usually delivers a stubborn Garter or two.

Undeterred by the fallen tree, this little Garter was sunning outside its hibernaculum.


On the way to the Rock Wall Den, we encountered another plump Redback.


The Rock Wall Den didn't show us anything until we were leaving to head back. This slim Garter was poking around in front of it.

That scale in front of the eye almost had me thinking we'd seen a Ribbon!

Heading out, we looked in on the Water Snake, who was following the sun. Just beyond Sly's Den (which has been empty for a few years now), this Garter was deciding whether or not to return to the underground.


Lastly, up at Roble's Den, this slim Garter was grabbing some last minute rays.


So, we had answered our question. Yes, snakes are all back to their Winter digs and will be there for the next 5 months or so. On sunny days, we will probably visit them until the Spring but our usual hikes have ended for the year.

Besides, we're back on the beach on Sunday.

October at a Glance.

I got sick, the weather has been vile and we have been busy. This is my catch-all post for October.

Saturday, October 5th, 2019.
We had to go to the Cape for Sea Turtle sign-ups. I wasn't feeling great but it had to be done. We'd made plans to meet up with our friend Tim to go look for Box Turtles with him but to be honest, after the meeting, I wasn't sure I had much left in my tank. But we did go out and Andrea found the only Box the two of us would see.

It was a best case scenario... Tim had last measured this one in April, now in October he could see how it had fared through the summer.

He asked if we'd like to join him while he searched for his tagged turtles but I was already feeling pretty poorly. We saw a few more things before the long drive home. Like a Chipmunk stuffing his cheeks.


A short stack of Painted Turtles.


A very green Bullfrog.

That was that. I got home and became very sick for a week. I had pneumonia. Not sure just how I got it, but there you are. I had to cancel plans, band practises and work. I had a 5 hour work week.

Sunday, October 13th, 2019.
8 days later, I wanted to try some fresh air. We took a very easy hike to a nearby spot in Norfolk County, the one that had been decimated a few years ago but has showed (small) signs of improvement this year.

We went slowly. Our first sight was a massive American Toad. If this is the last one we see this year, we went out big.


We were both standing right over this "hidden" Garter.


Out on The Alley, the word was Mantid.



I was feeling better but far from good but the next thing I saw perked me up, for sure. A small squiggle on the edge of the Alley's path was a this-year's DeKay. It is the first DeKay's we have seen on the Alley since the destruction in May of 2016. This is big news for us. He was born here.


Obviously, work-trucks were still slamming through this area but at least the tread-mark puddles were being used. This gorgeous Peeper plopped into one.


Andrea then found a feisty Garter who in turn found her... tasty.


Our last sight was another DeKay's, still on the Alley. This was a brute. Dekes don't get much bigger than this one!

I survived the hike. Getting some sun on my skin and some walking in was very good for body and soul.

Saturday, October 19th, 2019.
My band played the night before so we were toast but it was pretty nice out in the morning, so we went on a salamander hunt. Our goal was our First of Year Marbled, but we didn't see any. We started the day with a plethora of Plethodons... cinerus, to be exact.




Lots of Reds and Leads and some real chunky monkeys.

We did have some non-Marbled Ambystoma luck. We were seeing spots, both small and large.




We were actually at the Copperhead spot but neither of us had the energy to go up the hill so we just turned back, happy with our caudates.

Sunday, October 20th.
We were minding our friends' cat. I peeked in their backyard, despite it being in the 50s and overcast. A neonate DeKay's and small Redback didn't mind the weather.



Friday, October 25th.
My band played again on Thursday night (I told you it's been a weird month) so I was out until all hours, but we'd both taken that Friday off. Our plan was to go pick up our new (to us) car (a Subaru Impreza that increases our turtle capacity), then take a drive out to a spot in Plymouth County. The sun was supposed to come out but it never really did. So we crossed snakes and turtles off of our list and enjoyed the plentiful Redbacks present.



We were reasonably sure there were no Racers in a trashed sofa... this mouse told us so.


Redbacks save the day.


Almost a medic-alert.


I think this is a Lesser Pine Katydid.

I'd thought about it earlier in the year but this day made me decide to do a Grasshopper/ Cricket/ Katydid (the Orthopterans if you will) count in 2020.

This Red Squirrel and a buddy of his put on a hell of a good chase show, then this one yelled at me until we left. Got some hilarious shots, anyway.


Last up, I think a Pine Tree Spur-throat Grasshopper, laying eggs in a crevice in a wooden handrail.

We barely made it home, so tired we were.

Saturday, October 26th.
 Our last excursion in October was a fun one and a potentially important one. Our friend Jef works at the local zoo. He asked us to come over to the zoo and the surrounding park to look for animals and help identify habitat. We're honored to have been asked and hoped to have some success.

We all agreed when we met up at 11 AM that we wished it was about 10° warmer but the sun was up and we were a tenacious lot. Andrea struck first with a dark Redback.


A stream got us one more salamander, the first Two-Line we'd seen in quite some time.


Of course, we all wanted to document a snake on the grounds but we weren't going to get so lucky this day. Milk Snakes have been seen in and near the Kangaroo enclosure before, obviously attracted by the mice who nom on 'Roo food. But despite some exemplary habitat, we saw no snakes.

The pond in the park had some reptiles for us, though, including a surprise. Of course, being a public pond, we'd get our released Red-ear Sliders. That big one is an almost all-black old-timer!


A nearby stack had the usual Red-ears and a couple of Painters... and that bigger one. I showed it to some of my friends who are well-versed in turtle ID and we've come up with... Eastern River Cooter.

We'd seen these in North Carolina years ago but I wasn't aware of them being in the pet-trade. Evidently, they are. So, this guy was released here. I'm told they can tolerate varying temps, so I hope he'll continue to thrive.

Can Map Turtles (seen at Petco recently) be far behind?

Here's a full-on indigenous Painted Turtle grabbing some rays.


We looked around the "backstage" area behind the Kangaroos... filled with rocks, debris, dumpsters, greenhouses... Milk Snake heaven! We hope to go back in the Spring to walk with Jef again and find the Milk House. I wish we'd have been able to do a better job for him this time out but it was just a bit too cool. Our last animal was this Grey Squirrel who was hiding. "Nope, you can't see me."


Yeah, we realize the healthy herp season is just about over. Within a couple of weeks, we'll be back on the Cape, patrolling the beach, and looking for sick sea turtles. As much as we love doing that, it can be exhausting and very emotional. I like the good ol' summer walks where you see a Garter slithering off the path. But the turtles need us and I think my arm will be ready to go when needed. I just hope we don't have any 88 lb Loggerheads right away.