Herpin' Back to my Baby (and I don't mean maybe) 10-10-2015

(Ace Frehley reference for the uninitiated)

Finally, I got back on the trail with Andrea! Unfortunately, the first day of our three day weekend together was going to be a bit chilly. It wasn't supposed to hit 60° but it was going to be sunny. After Friday's heavy rains, we decided to get deep into Norfolk County and look for salamanders. Surely no snakes would be up.

We got to our destination a bit late as we wanted to let it warm up some (and to be frank, sleep in). When we got out of the car, we actually tested the air to see if our breath was showing. It was not. In fact, in the sun it was nice. We hit the restrooms and before hitting the trails, flipped a stone behind the facilities... a Redback trifecta.

A good start.

We went over to check some tarp that was warming in the sun. No, nothing. But about 10 feet away, sitting in a patch of sunlight, two Garters were there.

No way... and their tails were entwined! (Though they didn't look engaged).

One more look... their Kraftwerk cover.

These snakes were so chill (literally) that the periscoping one let me tickle her chin.

OK, so two snakes were out. Score!

Within a couple of minutes, Andrea saw a big gal Garter on the path. It was still only 59°.

She had a skin tag on her neck... not a scar or anything, just a small nodule.

It was 11 AM but I guess our timing was right. The sun had been warm enough to bring out some snakes. The next one was foraging near the water's edge.

This goldtop was sunning just off the path as we made our way in.

OK, so where were the salamanders that we had come for? Andrea found a couple more Redbacks.

Painted Turtles were jockeying for position in the sun.

This Painter couldn't be bothered with that socializing crap.

Andrea spotted this speedy little Pickerel Frog.

We searched what is typically a Water Snake-heavy area here but it seems that the Nerodia crowd wasn't as desperate as the Thamnophis folks. That said, this sirtalis had just found something to her liking for lunch.

Olive noggin.

We hit an open spot and our sweatshirts came off. The ambient temperature was cool but in the sun, it was toasty. This Peeper hopped into the shade for his photo.

We flipped but one snake in the sunny part... this assertive little Garter.

This was our seventh Garter on a day we had figured on none.

Leaving that area, I almost tripped over this guy...

Super-pretty Garter! #8.

We got to the section that had originally been our target... an area where we had found Spotted and Four-toed Salamanders. None. The Devil did, however, send us these lovely Twins of Redback.

Moving on, Andrea spotted these two Garters lounging on a sun dappled hill just off the trail.

That's 9 and 10 for those keeping track at home.

We finally got to the half way mark (!) and found ourselves in the sun again, with no shade. Mmm... this is how October should feel. At a stone wall, Andrea saw a snake and pointed it out. I lunged and we had our first Ribbon Snake in quite a while.

This guy had some battle-scars.

Still, such a beautiful animal. An animal hater that was going by heard me say "beautiful" and made some anti-snake remark and I called her a C-word. (Edited for the pearl-clutchers out there.)

We went for a while after that without seeing much, just a stray, speedy Redback or two. I searched a stream bed for Two-lines but found none. We were feeling pretty tired but pushed on, intent on getting over to a place with plenty of rocks (though it's also the most popular spot for *ugh* humans). We made it and managed to flip a lovely, shiny Garter #11.

Ironically, after flipping lots of heavy rocks in the stream bed, I flipped a small brick in a mucky pool at this spot and got a nice Two-line.

We were toast by now so we headed back to the car. On the way, we decided to see if 6 hours had made a difference in the tarp. We flipped up the edges but nobody was taking advantage of the warm, black plastic. I walked away and all of a sudden, Andrea proclaimed "Garter"! Sure enough, in the chilly shade, a small Garter was stretched out. #12 of this species.

We moved him to a woodpile next to the tarp, a place where he could warm up and thermoregulate, and decide where to spend the night.

Too cute for just one picture.

For a day that never hit 60°, we sure didn't expect a count of Lucky 13 for snakes. It's yet another example of never knowing what to expect from nature. All of the experience and knowledge in the world can only get you started. The animals themselves run the show.

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Herper Oct. 6,7 and 9, 2015

After that cold weekend last week, we got super-excited about a potential warm-up in the forecast. Unfortunately, we would be at work instead of enjoying it. But I didn't want to be outsmarted by logic so I rushed out of work on Tuesday, Oct. 6th, and on the way home, stopped by a local spot to see if any rocks were warm enough to have snakes under them. It was in the mid-60s when I got there at about 4:30 PM.

I rushed through the main part of the hike, content with flipping a few logs with Redbacks under them.


My hurrying to the sunny rocks was almost for naught... they were now in the shade. They were, however, still warm to the touch and before too long, I found a slender and feisty Garter.


He sure showed me who is boss.

Ahhh... it's nice to see October snakes.

I headed over to the sunnier side of things and flipped another ornery Garter. His body was quite warm.

I kept trying to release him and he would crawl under my pant-leg. Finally, I got this shot before he went in the right direction and disappeared under his rock.


Further up the path, barely still in the sun, this blue-eyed Water Snake was catching some rays.

I reached in to try to move the leaf in front of her for a better shot and she zoomed off... almost 3 feet of Nerodia.

That was a fun after-work hour or so. I wish Andrea had been with me.

I wished the same thing the next day (Wed. October 7th) when I hit a different Suffolk County herp spot on the way home. It was almost 70° and I wanted to get to this place to try my luck with Garters. I hadn't seen one there in nearly 2 years.

Just inside the place, under a log that borders the path, I saw the biggest Spotted Salamander that I'd seen since Spring Migration. A gorgeous adult.


Already a successful stop.

It was pretty chilly in the woods. I managed to flip a stubby Redback.


I got to the pond and was sad to see some people there with their off-leash dog who was jumping in and out of the water. The man saw my camera and asked what I was shooting. I said I was hoping for frogs and turtles but it looks like I wont look here. He apologized. Lucky for him, the other side of the pond had a nice basking area being utilized by a few intrepid Painters.



One was in for a swim.


In a waterless stream bed, I flipped some Two-lined Salamanders, one of which looked just like this.


That was that for a while. I continued walking and flipping, pretty much giving up on snakes but looking for salamanders. As I was getting near a stream that guarantees 2-Lines even in the dead of winter, a flipped piece of bark held a sweet surprise.

I had never seen a snake on this side of the woods before. This thin rope of a Garter lay still for the photo. I had to pick him up to make sure he was OK. He was and he slid off into the leaves and disappeared.

The aforementioned Two-line stream indeed had Two-lines there.


Not a bad after-work hour again!

Last year, an unprecedented number of sea turtles washed ashore in Cape Cod, stunned by the cold. We read of the disaster and the heroic efforts of the many volunteers that assisted in the rescue of these endangered animals. We decided to volunteer this year ourselves. Being so far away, there may not be much we can do but we'll be happy to roam the frigid beaches on holidays and weekends and transport ailing turtles to the aquarium, which is on our way back anyway.

To volunteer, we needed to take a short seminar to see what is involved. Unfortunately, the only available time was Friday (the 9th) at 9:30 AM. I took the day off from work so I could attend. Our Fall and Winter are going to be BUSY! But hopefully we can help make a difference.

By 11 AM, the meeting was over and there I was on the Cape. I decided to look around. I didn't expect many herps, especially Box Turtles and Diamondback Terrapins, but hope springs eternal. It was fairly warm and sunny but there was a vicious wind cooling things off. I spied a pack of Painted Turtles basking through the trees.


A Bullfrog was sitting atop some lily-pads... just like they are supposed to.


This Painter is a tree-hugger, like me.


I walked out through the salt-marshes to the beach. No terrapins but a flock of Brants had just landed. Not a need-it bird but beautiful none the less.


A trio of preening Greater Black-backed gulls were there, too.


I headed back to the woods to try my luck with Box Turtles, though it was sunny and cool. Again, through the trees, high above from the path, I saw an 8-pack of Painters sunning on the shore.


A Green Frog posed nicely for me, bringing my species count to 3.


I put about a hour or more into Box seeking. I saw a few empty forms but no turtles. That's fine; I would have felt horribly guilty had I seen one without Andrea. I hit the road by 1:30.

Of course, I was hungry so I figured I'd pull over at some point and get a bite to eat. Hmm... Plymouth is only about an hour or so away... maybe I'll just go there. And since there are herps in Plymouth...

OK, I'm not proud but I pulled off the highway and drove to the National Forest in Plymouth and went directly to a spot that we found three snake species at on our last visit. I got out (and my teeth fell into the sand. Really.) and it was very cool now. I had driven through some rain, heavy at times, and the wind was raw. I flipped a bright Redback in the sandy soil. Just as I clicked, a cricket jumped on his head.

After regaining his composure, the Redback posed nicely.


The only other herp I saw at that spot was a large Spring Peeper.

Perhaps it's an Autumn Peeper.

After that, I hit the road, hit the traffic and got home after an extremely full day, a day mostly full of driving. A pretty good week of herps but I can't wait to get back out with Andrea. We have a three day weekend and the weather is looking good. It ain't over till the fat Peeper peeps.

Making Lemonade. October 3rd and 4th, 2015

It is amazing how abruptly this herp season came to a grinding halt. Oh, it's not over but the season sure changed hard and fast this last week. It started with torrential downpours on Thursday and Friday. That's OK, we needed it. But the temps dropped too and we knew that the weekend was going to be a tough one... cold and rainy. Armed with that forecast, we switched gears and decided to concentrate on the herps that don't mind the crappy weather... Salamanders.

We got a late start on Saturday, which is fine. We slept in and did some errands before meeting Teá and Mike at a nearby Suffolk County spot that has plenty of good vernals... and a population of rare (for this state) Blue-spotted Salamanders. In a most amazing feat of pure Andreaism, her first flip produced a big ol' Blue!


Mission accomplished, but plows and tractors were destroying the habitat as we stood there. (A nearby cemetery is expanding and from the looks of it, leveling the hill in which these guys, Redbacks and Spotted Sals hibernate.)

Further up, we started seeing the beautiful and ubiquitous Redback Salamander.

^Peek-a-boo!


A dried up vernal had our second Blue-spotted.


From there on out, it was Redback City. We hiked for a while in hopes of a Spotted Sal (or less likely, a snake) but it was all Redbacks all the time. Which is fine by me.



Teá made this triple flip look easy! Leadback in da house.


Take that, shitty weather! We herped anyway!

Sunday was going to be a tough one to figure out. It  was supposed to have sunny moments but never get out of the 50s. We decided to hit a local Reptile Show to get some supplies and look at cute stuff before hitting a Norfolk County spot in hopes of seeing Andrea's Marbled Salamander population. We met Teá and Mike again at the venue, where Teá generously presented us with a gorgeous, living gift! An Avicularia versicolor spiderling!

Such a beauty... I hope we can give it a good life.

After the show, we headed home to drop off frozen mice and live spider, then headed back to our herping destination. We got there at about 3 PM... late by anyone's standards. It hadn't hit 60° all day but the sun was warm. Still, no snakes were seen. Or frogs. Or turtles. Or toads. But bless the salamanders.

Redbacks were plentiful. I didn't photograph many, keeping the blog in mind and not wanting to inundate it with a plethora of plethodons.


We got to a stream that was surprisingly dry. After the tons of rain 3 days prior, we figured it would be running strong. But this gave us a chance to walk right out into the bed to flip for Two-lined Salamanders. I flipped a dark one right away before going for a brighter one as well. Good thing, too, because the darker one was a squirmy Leadback! The light was going and this wet stream bed is always full of 2-lines... I had just assumed...


Luckily, I had also found a nice bright Two-line.


We hiked on, flipping obvious snake spots, knowing we wouldn't see any but hoping for Spotted Salamanders. They have been a tough species this year. We got down near the suspected (but eventually proven not to be) Marbled Vernal pool. It too was dried up, but it was moist under some logs and sticks and we were treated to the sight of this small fella.

Ah, hitting targets is a wonderful thing.

Look at that face!!

So, mission accomplished again, we headed back. It was getting pretty dark by this time anyway. We kept flipping, hoping for a Spotted but only Redbacks were representin'.

I was just about to say how it was sad that we might not see any Spotteds east of Hampden County when Andrea flipped this noggin-head.

*whew* Just when I had given up.


So that ended our rainy weekend excursions but we feel great that we didn't give up and call the weekend off. Hopefully, we'll get a few more warm days and some more reptiles as well but we sure feel smart that we targeted... and found... some special amphibians on this cool, wet weekend.