Cold and windy, but with sun. We went to a turtle spot in Middlesex County but it was flooded and far too windy. We hiked about a mile on a little used (by us) trail and turned back because not only was it freezing, but we knew we'd see no animals. Good thing, too, because in my typical stupid old man fashion, I'd forgotten to put the battery back into my camera.
Much to our surprise, a gorgeous Water Snake was sunning on top of a hill next to the path, shielded from the wind by a tree.
Our first (and only so far) Spring snake. All of the others were still during Winter.
Andrea was down with Covid. That said, it was sunny and mild so I thought that getting a little bit of actual sun onto her skin might be a good idea. I also figured, why not try to see a turtle or two? So I wrapped her up and we drove out to Middlesex County for an easy, short hike with plenty of sit-down places and a chance to see our first turtles of the year.
The spot we went to has Blanding's Turtles but it appears that they aren't up yet, or we just failed to see one. We did, however, strike Painted gold right away.
We could hear Wood Frog Madness from about 1/2 mile away. This gave us a big case of the smiles. This small Bullfrog wasn't amused.
A Painted hoist.
We made our way over to one of the many vernal pools that was so loud with frogs. Sure enough, they were all over, making the wondrous Springtime music!
So many ride 'em cowboys!
After that, we saw a few more Painted Turtles catching the sun, but it was still fairly cool. We took it very easy, sitting often.
From a bench, we enjoyed watching a matched set of Ring-necked Ducks.
And a frolicking, matched set of Muskrats.
Some good nature for a couple of under-the-weather nature lovers.
The next day was unexpectedly sunny so we went over to a nearby place just inside the Blue Hills. It's a good spot (!) for Spotted Turtles, who always seem to come up early. See?
Often in these early days, we can hear American Toads and Northern Leopard Frogs calling, but it was quiet. That said, our next two sightings were of the latter, our first Northern Leopards in two years.
I can't wait until we start seeing the bright green ones in warmer weather!
We slowly made our way out the path. We started hearing Wood Frogs off the trail, singing their choruses in the pools off to the side. We couldn't see them, though. That is, until this small guy hopped across the path.
We went over a flooded area in hopes of a Garter but the sun was too intermittent and we saw none. The Eastern Skunk Cabbage was growing up in cool shapes, like these devil claws!
I flipped a small Redback who lay there like a slug (it was his only defense) when he dropped out of the log, but he righted himself by the time I got the camera in order.
We were sitting down near a pool that was noisy with Wood Frogs. It was pure heaven, just listening to nature's horniest anurans. A woman hiked by and heard the frogs. I remarked how the Wood Frog calls and Red-winged Blackbird calls (also heard) are two of my favorite signs of spring. She added Red Maple buds. They'll be a sign for us now, too.
Still pretty gassed, we were on our way back. We stopped and got a few shots of the more brave Woods next to the path. Eggs were starting to appear.
I snuck a shot of a Painter basking by holding the camera way over my head and hoping for the best before he bolted. Not too shabby.
The Spotted spot at the beginning had three turtles up basking. Repeats of the earlier two plus one? Who knows? Who cares?
I haven't been doing too well with birds so far this year, so I was happy to add a Common Grackle (only #16 on the year) perched in... a Red Maple!!
I learned something.
From there, I had to get a few groceries but before heading home, I figured we could drive around the local cemetery pond and see if any turtles were up there. No Snappers, but a few Red-ears were basking loud n' proud. The first guy is absolutely massive.
The Yellow-belly who has been in this pond for a couple of years now seems to have survived another Northern Winter. Here he is in an amazing pose, ready to blast off into the sun!
Thus ended our Winter... we wound up with 14 species of reptile and amphibian, though the last two are introduced. Still, if they can survive our shitty Winters, they are welcome additions to our state. My friend Mike ended up with 18, I think, rather than the twenty I reported last time. I don't read so well sometimes.
Upward and onward... it is now Spring and too cold to go out this weekend. Oh well.
Seeing some frogs and salamanders at the end of February did my heart a lot of good. We heard that it was going to be pouring on Saturday, March 2nd during the evening hours and, even though we'd just returned from Worcester around dinner time, we headed back out for some road cruising. Our destination was a State Forest in Plymouth.
It really was pouring and the drive there was pretty scary. When we got to the park, we observed the 20 MPH limit and started scouring the asphalt for things crossing. I stopped at what I thought was something squished and was overjoyed to see a very much un-squished Spotted Salamander!
While I was shooting that, our First of Year Peeper was hopping across the road.
The rain was coming down in sheets and though it was in the mid-40s, it's possible that the force of the drenching was keeping some animals hidden. That's fine. We didn't see a lot of road-kill. Niot to many other cars out there, either. Peepers and Spotted Salamanders were braver than most of the other potential species.
We broke things up with this confused little Bullfrog, our first on the year.
But the night was really all about Peepers. I moved dozens out of the road.
It was a hair-raising ride home but, since I am bald, it didn't matter. We were toast after a full day and hours in the car but we regretted nothing.
We didn't get out again until the following Friday. It was sunny and about 44° and Andrea had taken the day off. With the tons of rain we'd been having, we headed over to our close, local spot to see if there were many salamanders up. Might as well check the dens, too.
Yep- a few Redbacks were seen first.
This next guy was only 3/4 sized!
The Cottonwood Dens weren't getting much of the cold wind that we were suffering through. Lo and behold, our first reptile on the year, our FOY Garter!
After striking out a Robles' Den and the Valley, we figured it was too cold, but no... two more frost-loving Garters were present there, as well.
I can't remember Andrea's logic but on the way back, she wanted to hit a hill where we rarely see stuff but have heard stories of "snakes spilling out" from some dogs walkers. It's next to water so we thought an Ambystoma or two were possible. I was up on a ridge and Andrea pointed to a spot I'd just walked past...
I think we just found ourselves another potential densite.
We ended the day with a nice Redback.
The following day, it was cold and rainy. We stayed in. Sunday was unexpectedly sunny and about 50° so we went back. The sun wasn't staying out long, clouds kept moving in, but we stuck to it. We hit Robles' Den first. A dusty Garter!
And right below him, a last-year's-model Water Snake, just as dusty. Our First of Year!
Already worth the visit.
A Redback that was under a log that has been beddy beddy good to us in recent times.
In the two days since our last visit here, there was a lot of accumulated standing water. We figured we'd see more salamanders but this guy was our only one on the day.
The Valley was more serpentine this day, too! Two more Garters.
We moved on to the Cottonwoods, expecting big things. Nothing. But our first visit to the Rock Wall Dens had our first Garters there in a couple of years. Andrea spied this one I'd walked right past... a very clean specimen.
I chipped in with this stubby guy who really needed the Vitamin C to heal up that tail tip.
We heard some happy Wood Frogs, but that was it for the day. So, in three days, we'd seen snakes at five different hibernaculum areas here. This place is like having a nature show that you can visit. We've decided that we can't go back again any time soon. It might be cheating. But that's nine species of reptile or amphibian for the winter, and that's pretty good. Our friend Mike has about 19 now! The rules have all changed. Big Night doesn't really exist anymore. Things come out when the feel like it.
If we can get out this weekend, we may see more Winter critters. The year is young and I am not, but I hope to have a fun 2024 in the field.
