Searching for Vipers in Massachusetts 4-23-2016

My friend Ryan and I are all about the big, annual events. Last year, we got a group together to go to a nearby reservation to look for the fabled Timber Rattlesnakes of Eastern Massachusetts. We saw a ton of Racers that day but no vipers. Andrea and I had planned this past weekend to hit this spot for the racers but when Ryan suggested trying to get the gang together for another search, it sounded like a good idea. Sadly, nobody else could make it so the three of us went by ourselves. Ryan is hell-bent of finding a Massachusetts viper. We were glad to help him.

On top of the lower than wanted turnout, it was cold and rainy. We figured that starting in the cool rain at about 10 still made sense as it was supposed to clear up as the day progressed and we'd be up where we wanted to be. But, damn... it was cold when we started out. We could hear American Toads calling from the reservoir, though. They were cautious but we saw a few. This guy was looking for a mate...


These two pairs were already entangled in committed relationships, at least for the time being.



We made a slow but steady ascent. Ryan knew he was hiking with an old-timer. He had just said something about what a crock-of-shit flipping is when I flipped a Ringneck.

It was only about 50° and it was raining but this guy picked up our spirits.


Within 10 minutes, we scored another, slightly larger Ringer.

This is the first time we had seen this species in this spot. Already, the effort was deemed "worth it".

We got up to an open spot at the top. We looked around. I'll be damned if this spot doesn't look perfect for what we were looking for. Crevices, south-facing, lots of nooks and crannies... if the sun had been shining we might have been able to better decide.



We searched the top and sides of this peak, moving West for a few hundred yards. The only herp we found was a decent sized Spotted Salamander.

We spent a couple of hours searching the area and deemed it worthy of rechecking in the future. A Towhee caterwauled in agreement.

Our descent to the next spot netted us our only Redback of the day.


We headed back towards where we started and took a new path to a different spot. There was plenty of rocky slopes to explore. Andrea uncovered a small, reddish American Toad.


Ryan had gone to the top of a hill and called Andrea (on the phone) and suggested we come up... it looked good up there. We hauled our aging bones up. I did find one venomous animal up there... a Northern Black Widow.

It had rolled up into a ball and yes, I used my finger to roll it over.

Ryan decided to head down as we got to the top. Hell no, wee one... we hauled ourselves up there, we were going to look around. See, our frequent rests had conserved a bit of energy. Besides, we saw this place:

Again, South-facing, hiding spots, crevices... everything we need. The sun had started to poke out a bit, too. We took the coordinates again. This spot looked very good indeed.

Admittedly, we were all a bit tired by this point. We'd been in for about 5 hours. Plus, we got a bit lost heading back to the cars. I saw a Hermit Thrush, though (thanks for the ID, Bob!) which was a lifer (#154) and #84 on the year.

Ryan also scared up a Racer who had emerged with the sun but it made a typically Racer-like getaway.

Finally, we got back to the cars but we could hear the Toads still going mad out in the water. When we got there, we saw that a couple of large Painted Turtles were catching the day's first rays as well.



The Toads were far less attentive than they were in the morning... in fact there was a full on orgy in progress.

In the picture below, there are at least 14 couples (and one single guy that is striking out).


For a recon mission, I'd say we did pretty well. We scoped out a couple of places that look like likely viper homes and, best of all, we didn't completely strike out on herps while finding them. It's always good to be in the field with like-minded friends, too.

By the way, the sun was strong and warm when we left at about 4 PM. Figures, doesn't it?

Andrea Saves the Day 4-18-2016

I was tired but we made it out the door on time and embarked on our fourth straight day of herp adventures. Thanks to a Massachusetts Only holiday (Patriots Day), we were both off from work and, as always, we headed South on this day. The Boston Marathon ties up the city, so we head in the opposite direction. This year, we chose Plymouth County.

Our destination was a State Forest where we have seen Milks, Racers, Greens, Redbellies and Hognoses, as well as Garters, Ribbons and Water Snakes. We were hoping for a first-of-year on any of the first ones mentioned. We got there at about 10 AM and hit the trails... a cranberry bog was our first hike. Oddly enough, the first "herp" encountered was a few Spotted Salamander egg masses...

Interesting but when we stopped to think about it, not all that surprising. Pretty good spot, really.

Frogs and turtles are common in the bogs but there was not yet any lily pads or other cover available so the sightings were relatively sparse. A few Bullfrogs braved the open areas.



The bogs were red with cranberry blossoms.


We went up and away from the bog after exploring it thoroughly and started to look around an open area with a rocky road going through it. The road is dotted with small flippable stones and I was hell-bent on finding a Redbelly. I spotted some AC; a mattress, sofa, and a chair. As I approached it, something big tore out and sped under the sofa. I called out "something big" but Andrea didn't hear me over the wind. I flipped the couch and saw about 4 feet of black coils unraveling and going under the upright portion of the couch. "Racer!" I dropped the couch down and it raced over to get under the chair. OK, now I knew exactly where it was and I could catch it and impress Andrea, restoring her faith in my waning abilities.

Let's just say I got a finger on it but it was way too fast for me. He escaped into the field and was gone. First Racer of the year and it wouldn't count. I was immediately crushed and I cannot lie... it ruined the whole day for me. I looked all over and found no Racer. I'm getting super bummed out here 4 days later just recalling how shitty I felt.

We moved on. In a hot, dusty field, we flipped a consolation herp... an unexpected Spotted Salamander.


We drove on to the next spot. The wind was blowing much harder there and it was pretty cool. We flipped a rug that was in sandy soil and there was a Redback under, trying to burrow back into the sand.


I looked next to my foot and saw another Redback, smooshed into the sand. Oh no... had I stepped on him? No, the carpet had... he pulled himself out and walked off.

Redbacks are weird. They can be found in so many different habitats. Here is a pair or more normal acting ones who were flipped under a log in mossy soil.


By now I was having camera problems. I still can't explain it. I just couldn't get it to focus and the settings were weird. While driving to the next spot, we saw a pile of Painteds from the road. We pulled over and it took a lot of frustration and swearing before my zoom would focus on this group.


Our next destination was a more public spot in the forest. We've been pretty lucky here before, though. In fact, right away, we saw a Red-bellied Cooter who was up basking about 30 feet out. I snapped a safety shot.

Good thing, too. Right about here, a huge pack of screaming kids and their hippy caretakers walked by. Amid piercing shrieks of TUR-TOLE, the terrified animal  slid into the drink, fearing for it's life. Of course, I had just focused in on a decent shot at that point. On top of my self-loathing, and camera problems, I was adding extreme hate for the human race again. And the male hippy actually said, "I guess it doesn't like the kids..." or something. Ya think, asshole?

So, I was even crankier. Imagine poor Andrea having to put up with this. We hopped into the car and headed over to the next spot. I was hoping it would be the last spot. I wanted the day to end. We hopped on to the trail along the side of a pond. There was a long stack of Painted Turtles on a perch on the other side of the pond. As I stood there fighting with my camera, they all slid in with a synchronized sploosh. While it might have been funny at any other time, I actually felt the sting of tears building up behind my eyes.

On we went. We saw nothing along the trail. No toads, which was very weird. This is one of the toadiest places in the state. I flipped a Leadback, though.


We had been hearing Chipping Sparrows all day and I finally got a usable shot of one, my 83rd bird species on the year.


On the way back, many of the Painted Turtles had replaced themselves on the log but the damage had been done to my psyche.


Right around there, Andrea expressed interest in a trail that met up with the main path. Since she hadn't been feeling great the past few weekends, I wanted her to enjoy herself as much as possible this weekend, especially when her herping partner was in such a bad place. We went up the trail for a bit and she explored a sunny field while I sat on a log wondering how to die without hurting Andrea. Then we went further on.

We explored more sunny fields and flipped many logs and stones and thoroughly combed the area. No toads, no snakes... I was failing badly. That Racer was my albatross. We had decided we'd had enough (rather, Andrea did... I'd quit an hour earlier). Heading back, I was about 10 feet in front of her when I heard, "Mike..."

"What?"

"Hog"

"... really?..."


Yes, really.


On the previous trail, while chastising myself, I had said in my head, "well... she hasn't found anything either..." Well, now she sure as hell had. Our first Hog of the year. Andrea gently brought her out and placed her in the path so we could photograph her.


I got in front of her to try to corral her. It sort of worked. She crawled in between my stretched out legs and stayed there. Evidently, I was a warm and comfortable resting spot.





I wanted to move my camera strap away from her. It bothered her a bit.


After sitting there for a while, I also wanted to move my stiff right leg. That sat even worse with her.


OK, I couldn't sit like this all day!


I finally moved myself away and we had a typically assertive Hognose... flat and hissy.



We didn't detain her as she crawled into the brush and disappeared.

I had said earlier in the year that I'd love to get some Hognose pictures where the snake isn't agitated. I'd have to say we accomplished that. And what a beautiful specimen. The marking on this one are exactly like the very first one that we saw here a few years ago... one that got away with no pictures. That made this one doubly rewarding.

So, did that help my frame of mind? Of course. Having a Hognose get comfy in my lap was an awesome experience. I'm not going to lie and say that I'm not still trying to recover from the internal verbal self-bashing that I do so well, though. But Andrea certainly saved the day.

We moved on, still hoping for toads. Even Electric Toadland was empty.


So, there you have it. A first-of-year Hognose and an almost first-of-year Racer. Oh well, we'll get one next time. Until then, keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars. This has been American Top 40.

Bristol County Tour 2016 \m/ 4-17-2016

Our third straight day of herping was going to be just the two of us. The son we never wanted was going to busy. Our plans were to hit three places in Bristol County... a favorite spot, an abandoned drive-in that we couldn't find last year, and a ruined river mill that is often good for Water Snakes. We headed out a little after 9 AM and got to our first place by 10. It was in the mid to high 50s, plenty warm with the sun.

We got off to a pretty good start right away. The path in, which is usually barren, had a Redback waiting for us.


As the trail neared the water, we could see some Painted Turtles through the trees... already up and catching some rays.



The AC area (where my board line is laying) was snake and toad-free, unfortunately, but the boards were still there so I consider it a small victory. We made our way to the pond and we both saw a snake slither deep into the brush. We could still see it, though. It was a Ribbon Snake. Andrea started to figure out how she could get in there. I went around the front of it, the other side of a puddle that it was almost in. I figured I'd get a shot once it hit the water. But it never did. Andrea made an impressive grab.


Long, lean and beautiful.


We headed up the trail and both of us almost stepped on a large Garter Snake, who sped off. I got a shot of her head after she stopped...

... but she was big. The biggest of the year so far so we wanted to measure her. Andrea went around to her front and the snake immediately shot away from her... right into my hands. She measured 31 inches. Not bad at all.


Only about 10 more feet up the trail, this slim Garter was stretching out.

No need to catch this one, though Andrea did boop it's nose.

The next pond wasn't hopping with frogs but small Painteds dotted the logs that were poking out of the water.




We got to a spot in between two ponds that was flooded, like it often is. It has been a good place to see frogs, Water Snakes and tadpoles in the past. Off went the shoes. The mud felt nice squishing between our toes.



I went through and declared that nothing was out. Andrea begged to differ. She found a lone American Toad hanging out, waiting for the orgy to begin.

We heard other American Toads calling but saw no others. Oddly enough, this place is usually 85% Fowler's Toads... a species we still haven't seen this year. Very interesting.

When I started into the flooded path, I announced that the little black things that were in there were not tadpoles but rather pine needles or something. Andrea showed me another error of my ways. They are too tadpoles, dammit. Most likely Wood Frog tadpoles... brand new ones.

We scooped some from the muddy edges and put them into the deeper water and they revived right before our eyes.

It was time to do some hard-core turtlin'. We went to the spot where we have seen Painters, Musks, Snappers and Red-bellied Cooters. First stop was some Painters...


It was touch and go due to a guy fishing down there but we did spot our first-of-year Redbelly down among some more Painteds. I snapped a safety shot from high up on the trail.


A couple more shots of the chelonian life on that side of the pond, starting with another angle of that cluster.



We hiked out to another pond area but it was filled with wretched humanity. A downed tree in the distance had a half dozen Painted Turtles on it, though. That is until I got the camera focused. Then there was just this one...


We flipped 3/4 of a Redback.

Bob and Matt are always teasing us for cutting the tails off in our poorly cropped photos but this time it wasn't my fault!

Andrea was flipping stones looking for more salamanders when she flipped this wee Garter coil.

Titanic cuteness.


We started to head back but wanted to hit a small vernal pond on the way out. It had been good to us before. Sure enough, the bank of the pond was lined with Painteds.


This one was parked about 4 feet away, saying "I'm a loner, Dotty... a rebel."


Somebody else was looking for frogs... I made an awkward catch...

and we got photos of a lovely, orangey Garter.



Double-checking a pond we'd looked at earlier, a Bullfrog that had ducked out of the way before was up and posing nicely this time.


Heading up a path, we looked to our right and saw a massive vernal pool... that we had never noticed before.

I mean, sure... trees would fill in, but how did we miss a huge vernal? It certainly answered some questions about where things are breeding around there. There was a huge Bullfrog in there that we could see from about 50 yards above...


We walked along the flooded bogs before heading out. We saw nothing. Next stop, the abandoned drive-in.

We had looked last year but failed to find the remnants of the movie house. I studied Google Earth and noticed that the screen still stands, too. That would be our target. From there, finding the projection house/ concession would be easy. We poked through brambles and pricker bushes and mucked through puddles until we finally found... the screen.

Yeah, this shit was overgrown. The theater, that opened in 1957, closed 30 years later. So in the last 29 years, the swampland has taken over. We persevered and pushed through. Eventually, I thought I could see the top of a building. We worked our way through an BOOM... right in front of us stood a dilapidated building. We went in and started to flip, hoping for some snakes or salamanders.



I'm not going to lie, it was creepy as hell. If we're ever going to find a dead body, it was going to be here. This is a look at the screen from the concession stand, probably right below where the projection room was.


Herp-wise, we saw a pair of squished, mummified Garters between a pair or boards. This place has obviously been a hang-out for bored suburban kids. Spray-paint and even a (*yeech*) mattress proved that. This used to be one of the bathrooms.


We decided that it would be better for snakes come the hot weather, and we left. It was decided that a return in the summer would warrant machetes to do the bushwhacking. On the way out, we scored a Leadback under a board.

We also realized that the pile of rubble that we flipped along the main (partially concrete) path was the fallen ticket booth. Sadly, we found no sealed bag of mint condition movie posters.

Our last stop was the old ruined mill site not far away. We drove over and found a full parking lot and tons of putrid humanity. This section of the river is a Herring run and the herring were indeed running. People we reaching in, trying to catch the fish. One douche had a net and was netting them, despite the sign saying to not bother them. There was, in fact, a volunteer guy there allowing them to do it. ("As long as they have a proper ID." ???)

It was sickening to see the human greed and their lust to kill but then again, I'm often saddened by my own species. One good point was a kid with a long stick trying to help a fish who was stranded on a clump of grass back into the water. He got it and earned a round of applause.

The entitled humans weren't the only ones looking for a free meal...

I can forgive the avians. They didn't use nets.

So, that was a busy day. It was filled with animals, adventure, exploring and my usual distaste towards my fellow humans. Overall, a pretty good trip. But we were exhausted. Would we be able to make it out on Monday, our 4th herping day in a row?

Stay tuned.