First things first... I hadn't seen a Two-lined Salamander all year and I wanted to. I went to the stream that runs near the Spotted parking area and flipped a few stones. Two adults evaded me but I managed to net a Two-lined larvae, which will have to count as First of Year for now.
Onward to the trail. The first Spotted area was not a let down. Not easy to photograph, but great to see so many basking Spotties.
I watched that middle guy haul out... so cute!
A bit further down the trail, on the river side, a trio of Painted Turtles were up.
Not bad, considering it wasn't more than 52° and it was pretty cloudy. When the sun forced its way through, it wasn't bad. When it was hidden and the breeze kicked up, it was cold.
Andrea came through with our only Redback of the weekend.
We weren't seeing many animals but we still continued further out the main path. Humans weren't too abundant and it was quiet. We listened to calling Leopard Frogs, birds and the occasional Peeper. We chose a turn-around spot, then started back. It seems the sun had come out long enough to interest a few Garters that we encountered on the way back.
Going back past the first Spotted Turtle area, there were still a couple up and this guy was lounging in the algae.
Not bad... 5 species, some exercise and 5 species on a day we hadn't planned on leaving the house.
The next day, Sunday the 12th (Easter) was supposed to be nicer. Cloudy still, but warmer. We chose a place in Plymouth County, just about as far as we're willing to travel at the moment. (We will not be using public restrooms in the foreseeable future.) We were greeted outside of the place by a gorgeous Turkey Vulture.
But, of course, the place was packed. Oh well... we put on our masks (not many people were wearing them) and headed in, hoping to avoid as many people as possible in this large, spread out place.
Andrea had her frog eyes on and she started pointing out some very welcome anurans... a Green Frog!
A couple of Bulls!
Frogs have been at a premium this year so these are very welcome sights.
We usually check Great Egrets off the bird list in Florida but without our annual trip this year, we were lucky to see a handful of them up here. #28 on the year.
More beautiful still is this mammal I photographed.
That there mammal pointed out a couple more Green Frogs who were braving the stiff, cold wind.
We heard plenty of Pickerel Frogs calling but never saw one. They remain a "need-it" on the year.
Have I mentioned the wind? Yeah, the wind was a problem. It was cold. The air temps might have been in the mid-50s but with the wind, it was downright cold. We took the trail next to the pond, but took it quickly. Turtles were going to be tough. Eventually, we saw one brave Painter.
Some Mute Swans (#29) flew by overhead.
A massive surprise... a big, fat female Water Snake was in the grass right next to the choppy pond. We did not expect to see any snakes out here today. Look at the grass bending in the wind.
Lookit her face!
Not more than 10 feet from her, I saw another tail. I took a safety shot.
I tried to sneak around the other side to get a better shot and almost stepped on a third Water Snake. Needless to say, those two disappeared very quickly. But hey- I'm shocked there were any snakes out there at all.
The reason we persevered along the pond path was for a certain log that always has Painters up basking. As we approached it, we saw it was empty. But then, while we watched, this fellow hauled himself up.
We headed back, intending to check out the forest trails. They would be less windy and maybe we could score some snakes. Just before heading in, we saw some Painters through the bushes.
A Mantis egg sac, spied by Andrea.
In the woods, we heard plenty of American Toads calling but we never got our eyes on them. Still, it was beautiful and far more serene than the open trails. I spent plenty of time checking closely in the trees for Gray Tree Frogs. One such potential tree was approached and I almost stepped on this absolutely stunning Garter.
If I was one of those dick-heads that helped myself to wild animals, this guy would have come home with me. Check out those olive tones and that zipper-broken stripe. Just perfection.
Andrea couldn't help but pick him up and we got our FOY Muskfetti.
That was our weekend. Now, Monday morning with Andrea working in the living room, it's gorgeous out. Don't it figure?
Great shot, kids. Better you than me braving that wind.
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