Fools in the Haunted Swamp 4-1-2026

Hell, it looked pretty good to me. It was in the 50s on April Fools Day and it had rained much of the day so we pulled the trigger, grabbed a pizza on the way out and went to Bristol County, right in the heart of the Bridgewater Triangle, to look for amphibians by torch-light. We got there at about 8:30 PM and could hear Peepers from the parking lot. We considered that a good sign. As we walked across the field to get to the woods, hundreds of earthworms pulled back, away from our flashlights. Man, I do enjoy seeing so many at once. I was thinking of Jeff Lieberman's Squirm (1976). Some were pretty huge. This is my size 12 shoe. (I'm NOT squishing the one under my shoe.)

The Peepers were calling from every side. As we made our way along the trail, Wood Frogs joined the chorus. But we couldn't get out eyes on any. A few eyes glowed from 30 feet away but my camera wouldn't be capable of getting anything. I did flip a Redback right next to a vernal pool, starting our night off.

I finally got a ride-'em-cowboy Wood Frog about 10 feet out. It would be the only one I'd get a shot of, and it was our First of Year.

The Peepers were deafening. I scoured the edges of the pools, the low hanging branches and twigs, and the plants sticking up from the water, but I saw zero Peepers! I spent a lot of time trying. I did see some very small Fairy Shrimp. This guy, and the dozens more that I saw, were all 1/2" or less.

A new spider for us... I thought it might be a Fishing Spider as it's about half-dollar sized, but it is Pisaurina mira- an American nursery web spider. (Thanks, Jef and Aaron!)

We did our usual route, which goes a mile or two out through the Haunted Swamp and past the power-line cut and one thing became clear. Salamanders were not moving this night. There was no sign of eggs or packets in the pools, either, so we wondered if we'd just driven 45 miles for one frog and a Redback. Well, we've done it before so yes. It's OK if we had, but heading back, we saw a small Green Frog, our FOY, sitting next to the path.

I headed back towards some of the vernals that I'd scoured earlier, determined to get a Peeper shot. I mean, there were thousands calling. Surely I could photograph one! Approaching the edge, I saw a pale body doing ride-'em-cowboy and focused on another Wood Frog. Except that it turned out to be our FOY American Toad! He is up pretty early this year!

OK, I was determined and I thought I saw some eye-shine about 20 feet out. I did. And a round throat sac. I took a dozen photos and this is my best one... our FOY mofo Spring Peeper. Damn, that was tough.

On the way out, we had another Green, a pretty big one this time. Couldn't get a shot without the blue eyes, but he's still a handsome bastard.

So, the salamanders were not moving but we made up for it with out first frogs (and toad) of the year. Four new species added, almost doubling our Reptile and Amphibian count for 2026. We're at a whopping nine! Oh well, it's been a weird year already and I don't expect that to change.

I entered the world of Annelid Porn on the way back to the car. Sexy.