Saturday, March 1st
It wasn't absolutely bone-chilling so we went out in hopes of some birds or maybe a dumb snake poking out of its den in our local spot but no, we saw no critters and had to be happy with just a lovely walk. I needed something so I pulled into a nearby parking lot and headed through the slush and ice (alone... Andrea had better sense!) with a net and bothered a bunch of Two-Lined Salamanders. I only got a photo of one, in hand, because they're speedy little devils.
First amphibian of the year!
Wednesday, March 5th
Wednesday, March 5th
It had been warmish the previous night and it was going to be pouring so we threw caution to the wind and decided to head out to the Haunted Swamp. I'd said over the weekend "I'd drive 40 miles for a Wood Frog" and I felt that we just might see one that night.
It was more like 50 miles, there and back, but we did see three Wood Frogs! I call that a win!
Life is better with frogs. We got absolutely drenched to the skin but it didn't matter.
Thursday, March 6th
The next day was fairly sunny so we took a look at the dens on Andrea's lunch break. No snakes were about but we managed our first Redback on the year!
Birds were pretty happy with the sun and we saw the sexiest of them all, a Common Grackle (#31) who was making some fun electronic calls.
My favorite sound of Spring... the first Red-winged Blackbirds (#32)! Got this guy giving it his all!
I didn't need a Black-capped Chickadee for the year count but he was posing so nicely right in front of me that I couldn't resist!
We saw another pair of Redbacks before lunch was over.
Thursday, March 13th
The following Thursday was sunny but only 40°. Now just why did I say we had to go out? There was a cool breeze keeping it cold. We figured that we'd rather spend a lunch hour walking in the woods than sitting around the house, so we went out. The Valley was empty but Andrea spied a 3-pack of Garters in the Cottonwood Den, the breeze being blocked by a fallen tree, First Garters are alway a treat!
While photographing those, I noticed a solo Garter to my left in a neat coil.
That was time well spent.
Saturday, March 15th
I was sick (still am) and played the night before and had about 2 hours of sleep, but I knew what I needed to do. It was sunny and warm, in the low 60s!!!! We knew we'd see shit tons of snakes! Well, we didn't see any. What the hell do I know? We did see lots of nice stuff, though.
Hey look. An Eastern Bluebird (#33).
Finally, the first turtle since late October 26th, 2024. A wee Painter.
We continued our search for snakes but still saw none. A White-tailed Deer was in the distance, though.
We saw a couple on the path with binoculars and figured they were looking at the deer. They said no, an American Woodcock. Now, I've been wanting a photo of one for years because I'd gotten a few shots many years ago (when I almost stepped on a nest and the adult almost took my head off) but hadn't had a chance since I started my Life Count. That incident was 12 years ago! So I was very happy to finally add it in. I thanked the couple profusely.
We continued along the sunny path and were rewarded with an adult Painted Turtle.
It does my soul a world of good to see turtles again.
Andrea spied our first Bullfrog of 2025.
Heading back to the car, we ran into the delightful birding couple again who were trying to get a long-distance shot of a Green-winged Teal. My photo was so-so but then we started watching Muskrats being cute and that seems like a good place to end this.
Goodbye Winter. You ended nicely. May Spring bring us lots of good sightings!
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