It's always tough getting back from a warm trip in March but it hasn't been too horrible up here lately. In fact, on Friday the 17th, it was pretty darn nice and it just felt like snakes would be poking their heads out, despite the overcast sky. So, when Andrea's lunch hour hit, we headed over to the dens. It was in the mid-50s, temp-wise.
It was fairly cool with the breeze and when we got there we started to doubt our decision, but then Andrea spied this clean Garter catching some UVBs in the Valley.
Towards the back of the Valley, we almost stepped on this young Northern Water Snake, our First of the Year.
Over at the Cottonwood Den, this pair was woven together, poking out from the ground.
Then, we saw our fourth Garter. Not a bad half hour!
Two days later, Sunday, the 19th, we went to a Toy Show in Franklin, MA and looked for a spot nearby to hike afterwards. We chose a trail that goes around a pond in hopes of doing some birding. It was a raw 35° and our hopes for reptiles or amphibians were low.
The place is beautiful. The pond is filled with tall, straight trees and many of the tops had Heron nests.
It looks like it will be turtle-crazy, too! Lo and behold, we did flip a plump Redback, our First of 2023.
We got lost trying to find our way out but we'll definitely be checking this place out again.
Apparently, no real salamander movement has happened here in Massachusetts yet, at least nowhere near us. We decided to head out (after band practice) into Bristol County on Thursday the 23rd to see if anything was up yet. Our friend was going to be there and she said that Wood Frogs and Peepers were very noisy. Good enough for me!
Sure enough, it was noisy in the woods. The rain had stopped so we figured that the chance of salamanders moving was slim. Our first animal photographed was this plump American Toad, our first of the year.
While we were looking at him, a horny Wood Frog tried to mount him but the toad shook him off. Our first Wood Frog of the year, with the pissed-off toad in the background.
A couple more ride-'em-cowboy Woods.
Another lovely American Toad.
Yee-haw!
It's always a treat to see our favorite freshwater crustaceans, Fairy Shrimp.
We were attempting to go deeper into the hike but our headlamps and flashlights were failing. I'm pretty disappointed with the crap I spent some decent money on... they can't hold a charge or they're just stupidly difficult to charge at all. At any rate, we had to turn back before seeing our friends, who were way out there. On the way back, we saw a couple of Redbacks on the crawl. That is always such a great sight... Business Redbacks.
No Ambystoma for us this time but we'll keep trying. The season is just beginning.
On the way out, we were marveling at the abundance of earthworms in the field. Some massive ones, too. Here is a pair doin' it. Bow-wakka-bow-wakka...
Another cool post! Thanks for doing these. The wood frogs behind our house are noisy every night and have been for a week.
ReplyDeleteYour recently found pond with the heron nests is one of our favorite walks. It is surprisingly devoid of turtles in the summer. Not sure why as it looks like a perfect place for them. Keep up the good work folks.