We were still hoping for some turtle hatchlings so we planned our Sunday in a turtle-heavy spot. Unfortunately, it was going to be cool and rainy. Never say die! We headed to our other favorite Plymouth County spot.
We got there fairly late, which was fine, because the dog-walkers were finishing up and we'd have the place more or less to ourselves. We headed into the woods first, knowing that the weather might be good for Box Turtles. We saw none, but scored a couple of Redbacks while in there.
A Peeper and a Toad outsmarted me and avoided my camera, too. Grrr...
Up on the path, we walked around the bogs in hopes of seeing some stirring. The weather brought out at least one Snapper. Sadly, I couldn't get the shot... the camera focused on the foliage. Oh well, here's proof of the turtle, at least.
Bullfrogs, bless their dumb little hearts, were up and enjoying the weather.
The resident Osprey had caught some lunch. It took umbrage at us walking up his path.
I saw a toad hopping along and when I went to get in front of it, I noticed he might have been hunting a shoestring Garter who disappeared into the grass. Sorry 'bout the lunch, Toady! (You owe me, Garter.) A decent sized American Toad.
We got to the big pond and enjoyed a sit-down at the picnic table. A couple of distant Painters were determined to bask in the sprinkling rain.
Much to our delight, just in the water near the picnic table was a Water Snake hangin' out.
We headed back. We obviously weren't going to see a ton of animals on this dreary, drizzly day. Still, a few turtles were going for the gusto. Another intrepid Painter...
A Redbelly reared it's head in the water before disappearing.
Our last animal was a beautiful Pickerel Frog.
Not gangbusters, but a nice walk (if a bit damp) and some lovely animals. Maybe we'd see some of those mythical hatchlings the next day...
The next day was Labor Day and we were both off (thank you, Unions). We decided to hit a spot that is often filthy with humans, but also a decent turtle hatchling place. We got into gear and got there fairly early but humanity had already filled the parking lot. No worries. We knew what to do. Stay away from humans and enjoy nature!
Our first two sightings were of the Nerodia variety.
Andrea spied our first Garter, who slithered off without a photo. I went into the bushes and procured it for a picture. A Russian woman who was there looking for mushrooms thanked us for capturing it so she could get a better look. She proceeded to pet the indifferent snake.
The lady then said she was going to a different place to look for mushrooms, saying "there are too many Russians here." Umm... OK.
Going by visits in past years, we kind of know where to look for shoestring Garters. It must be the perfect spot to dump your babies. Sure enough, the spot had a couple of newbies. This guy was very well hidden... except that cute snout!
The pond had a few visible Painted Turtles, though with the humans about, you had to really look for them.
Again, knowing how to look makes all the difference. These three Garters were all just off the path, in plain view, but nobody saw them. (I walked right past the first two myself!)
Moving on, we eventually got out to where less humans travel. Oddly enough, we see less animals out there. We searched for Snaplings but saw none, but this American Toad helped ease the pain.
I finally got revenge on Peepers from the day before. This guy was only about a half-inch long but he patiently posed for me.
We walked around a few ponds, stopping to make friends with the Sunfish once, then moving on. This large Garter was resting in the shade just off the path.
We were headed back to the beginning and passed the "Garter nursery" again. There were two shoestrings out and I gently corralled them into Andrea's little bag for photos. As you can see, they did NOT cooperate!
Later on, this large Nerodia (same one as was swimming earlier?) was basking on a rock next to a picnicking family. They were aware of and cool with the Water Snake's presence.
We were pretty toasty by this point but we wanted to check the pool, a man-made structure that is coveted by frogs. On the way there, I flipped an absolutely perfect Ringneck.
The pool was, quite literally, hoppin'! There were plenty of Bullfrogs, including this small golden fella.
Some Pickerels, too!
It seemed odd to us but there were tons of tadpoles this time of year, as well. There were many different sizes, though most of them looked like Bullfrogs. Perhaps they're all first-year and the bigger ones are better eaters?
(Yeah, I see that guy in the lower left... I'll get to that.)
A teeny, freckled Bull with a bit o' tail still hangin' on.
The only thing missing was a Green... wait- here's one!
Another lovely Pickerel.
Before leaving, I was looking at the tadpoles again and saw some legs sprouting...
It wasn't until I was home and uploaded the pictures that I noticed the eyes on the side of the head and the red tail... this is a Gray Treefrog, a species we hadn't yet seen this year. The red tail is indicative of stress, usually brought on by the presence of fish. There are no fish in this pool, but I suspect being around all of those frogs and Bull tadpoles is pretty damn stressful. Looks like he'll be exiting the pool before too long.
Not a bad Labor Day. In the end, we had 10 species that day, 16 for the whole weekend. Sadly, the season will be winding down soon, so we're thrilled to have such luck. It'll have to hold us through the cold winter.
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