Autumn Coppertops. 10-16-2021

 I dedicate this post to my friend Box Turtle Tim, who loves himself some Coppers.

5 years ago to the day... a small group of us went to the hills in Norfolk County and saw 16 Copperheads between us. Many of the same crew got together again to try our luck this year. The weather seemed like it would be in our favor. Sunny and mid-60s.

Things started out nicely. The rain during the week and the milder weather had salamanders up and hiding under logs. A chubby Spotted was our first encounter.

Then, a thicc Redback.

Keeping with the theme, a pair of Marbleds!

Oh yes, it was salamanderiffic! Red/ Lead.

There were 2 Marbleds under this log, but one quickly retreated into a hole.

Another Spootie Patootie Cutie.

One more Redback for your viewing pleasure.

We got to a vernal pool that hasn't dried up this year, and likely didn't last year. We'd seen some massive Bullfrogs in it in the summer. This guy wasn't massive but he was enjoying the full pool in October.

So, we got to our spot and headed upwards. We went slowly because A.) we wanted to be super careful and respectful of the habitat and B.) I'm old and just can't move too fast anymore. A Racer sped out of sight before anyone could get a camera out, but soon, we came upon this neatly folded Racer just grabbing some sun. He remained very patient with us.

We were just getting towards our sweet-spot when one of the gang... I'll call him Ryan... called out "Copper"! At the same moment, I saw this chunky gal just off to the right in front of me. Is she still holding babies inside? She be thicc.

Over where "Ryan" had called out, there was a mess of Copperheads. I saw a tail disappear as I stepped over, then settled down to photograph four that were just laying about.

We moved on very slowly because A.) I'm old and B.) there were Copperheads everywhere and C.) this habitat is extremely important to preserve.

Andrea alerted us to this one in a crevice that we'd been standing right next to as we photographed other specimens.

Nice pits!

Obviously, it was an embarrassment of riches. This is the last of 12 different Copperheads that I photographed. I'd missed a few of them but I didn't need to photograph ALL of them!

I was done being on unsure footing, so I moved to easier ground and was rewarded with a small Peeper.

Andrea and I sat and relaxed for a while as "Ryan" went on scaling the slippery slope and our other friends departed. He came back up having seen another Copper, making the total 17 sightings. We beat 5 years agos' record by one!

We slowly started down. "Ryan" later said "oh my god, Andrea went about 5 feet in 15 minutes!" Hey, whippersnapper... we've got old people's knees! Her leisurely descent got us another species sighting... an adorable, wee American Toad.

Back to the path, we saw another Spotted salamander.

One last peek into the vernal on the way out... a Bullfrog looking like he's contemplating hibernation. Ready to take the plunge into Winter.

So, October 16th seems to be our magic Copper Date. We were very satisfied with the day and getting to experience this together. Like-minded people seeing beautiful animals in very special habitat, being careful... with the animals' safety first and foremost. 

The next day, it was much cooler but sunny. We wanted to see some turtles, so we went to a Middlesex County nature preserve. I forgot my camera. Oops... my frequent nightmare came true. Oh well, I controlled my disappointment and we hit the trail. Andrea had her phone. It was so windy that it was pretty cold at times. (Luckily?) we didn't even see any turtles. We saw a neatly folded Water Snake, though

We also saw a few Garter Snakes grasping some rays on a cool Sunday.

We did see one intrepid Painted Turtle up on the other side of the river but even if I had remembered my camera, I couldn't have gotten a decent shot. No harm done with my forgetfulness... this time.

One thing to keep an eye on. This place used to be great place to see Northern Leopard Frogs. This year, we saw zero here. Very few frogs at all. I wonder if they have used something to control either the invasive plants or the River Carp and it has hurt the frog population. Something to think about.

October is speeding towards the finish line. Blech. But we are signed up for Turtle Patrol again. Maybe the second season will be a rewarding one.