After the Saturday we'd just had, anything would be gravy. And gravy is what we'd have to settle for because the temps were going to be in the low 50s and it was supposed to be rainy. To me, that sounded like a good time to take a salamander walk in the Blue Hills.
It turned out to be a bit drier under logs than I was expecting and it took a while before we saw any Redbacks, but these godsends were there if you looked hard enough.
We got in a mile and a half or so and got to our turn-around spot. I had started to praise Redbacks for always being there, even when other things were not (even though we'd only seen the two). One last flip before starting back and we got our first Spotted Salamander on the Year. Having missed yet another Big Night, this little guy (far too small to think about breeding) was big news for us.
On the way back to the car, Andrea suggested we hit the reservoir because we've seen toads breeding there before. We went over there and as soon as we got out of the car, we heard plenty of American Toads calling. Finding them was another thing, though.
Finally, I spied one toad body between some reeds.
I got a shot of a Yellow-rumped Warbler, #61 on the year. This is his rump from the angle that doesn't show the yellow. (That's on his back.) Nice cloaca!
We decided to be stealthy (or lazy... you decide) and we sat on a big rock next to the water. Eventually, the calls started up all around us. And the more you looked, the more things started to become visible. Even from the rock, we could see a pair of American Toads in amplexus (almost).
This guy was visible from the rock, though I had to move to get a decent shot.
Looking closer at the water's edge, we saw tons of toad egg strings! There is going to be a shit-ton of tadpoles before too long.
Hopefully, a lot of them will grow up to look like this handsome fella.
Not a huge day, but a satisfying one. We got a hike in and saw some amphibians. Win- win.
On Saturday, April 22nd, we decided to celebrate Earth Day with our first walk of the year around our new favorite spot in Plymouth County. It was cool and breezy, so who knows? Worth a shot.
We walked in and hit our favorite wooded spots to "look for Wood Frogs". I didn't find any and headed over to our meeting place. I was looking around, hoping for an errant Box Turtle or something when I heard Andrea shout in pain. I ran towards her "Wood Frog" area, tripped and rolled, turning my camera on with my ribcage and landing on my metal arm. I got back up and ran (more carefully) to her aid.
She had rolled her ankle while getting up and she'd heard a snap. I got her on her feet and helped her as she walked a quarter mile back to the car. We hit the South Shore Hospital and it turns out she had broken her fibula down by her right ankle. I can't believe she walked as far as she did with a broken bone, but there you are. She's a tough one.
On Thursday, the 27th, she saw an orthopedic surgeon and her prudence about putting any weight on the foot was paying off and the bone was starting to heal, she avoided surgery and has a cast for the next two weeks. At least she got a cool, pink cast.
So, we'll have to figure out ways to look for critters over the next 4-6 weeks (and beyond) that don't put weight on the cast (or boot after the cast comes off). Maybe a rainy night road cruise where I can bring frogs to her door. We'll see. The most important thing is to get her healed and pain-free.
See you in the funny pages!
Sorry to hear about the broken bone! Wishing you a speedy recovery.
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