I can’t believe it is already a quarter of the way through 2016! I’m going to break up my reviews into quarters rather than my usual thirds to make the posts a little bit smaller.
Due to a rather mild and wet winter, the herp activity really only slowed rather than stopping. My daughter and I played with some anoles on Dec 31. She was greatly entertained and almost caught a couple of them.
1PeekABoo by B Boone, on Flickr
2Skinny Mini by B Boone, on Flickr
3Get Em by B Boone, on Flickr
4Theres One by B Boone, on Flickr
On Jan 2, I met up with my friend Cary and we did some looking around in his neck of the woods. Our target for the day was eastern tigers, which I needed to officially check off my list. I’d been present when some metamorph tigers had been found crossing a sand road, but I wanted to see some adults and with my own eyes. Cary had just the spot, where he’s been having some great luck in the days and weeks previous.
5Pond by B Boone, on Flickr
We waded through the cold water and dipnetted around, not coming up with much aside from a few green frog tadpoles and scads of dragonfly naiads- many of which looked remarkably like newts! However, we weren’t finding any salamanders so we decided to change up methods and sloshed back to the edge to go and flip some logs.
With one flip we uncovered a pair of leopard frogs that exploded out of the way. But where the back corner of the old washer lid contacted the ground huddled two tigers! Mission accomplished.
6Ransph by B Boone, on Flickr
7Ambtig by B Boone, on Flickr
Both of them were incredibly skinny (perhaps having used all their energy and resources to go towards breeding), but they were tigers nonetheless!
8Ambtig by B Boone, on Flickr
9El Tigre by B Boone, on Flickr
We found an oldtumble-down house with lots of junk laying around the property. We began turning up marbled salamanders.
10Ambopa by B Boone, on Flickr
11Ambopa duo by B Boone, on Flickr
Then Cary found a juvenile ratsnake trying to decide if it wanted to expose itself for some basking or not. The first snake of the year! We pulled it out for a couple of photos, and then sent it on its way.
12Ela obs by B Boone, on Flickr
13Angry snake by B Boone, on Flickr
Our next spot took us into a drier more upland area, and we found a larger, darker rat snake.
14Elaobs bigger by B Boone, on Flickr
We stopped by the house of a friend of Cary’s and were able to get permission to get onto some pasture land down the road to go check out some other ponds. The wetlands were on the back of the pasture and to get there, we had to brave large, aggressive guard bovines.
15Mooooove by B Boone, on Flickr
16Pasture-ized by B Boone, on Flickr
We almost didn’t make it!
17Black Cow by B Boone, on Flickr
We traded our boots for our waders and waded through the flooded forest bottoms. We didn’t find any more tigers, but we found another dozen or so opacum, and a single anole.
19Reflection by B Boone, on Flickr
18anole by B Boone, on Flickr
20Ambopa trio by B Boone, on Flickr
21Tails by B Boone, on Flickr
Back home, I went for a walk in the woods at work during my lunch break and rolled some logs, just to see what was out. Wouldn’t you know it, more marbled salamanders! I was starting to get a little tired of them, to be honest. Until I found this one!
22Monster by B Boone, on Flickr
It was a beast! A solid five inches, plus! Looking back, I really should have taken measurements to check it for sure, but oh well.
23Ambopa by B Boone, on Flickr
24Ambopa by B Boone, on Flickr
25Ambopa by B Boone, on Flickr
My next surprise was in my front yard a week or so later. My daughter and I were planting some bulbs when I saw the leaves buck up where I was digging. I gently scraped them away and found this magnificent critter, an old red salamander.
26red by B Boone, on Flickr
I have lived in this house for 16 years and this is the first species of salamander I have found on the property. (We live on the top of a dry ridge, with very rocky, compact soil.) This also made my list of herps found in the yard hit #30! I was quite pleased.
27red1 by B Boone, on Flickr
Two weeks later, I found another red salamander while raking.
28red number2 by B Boone, on Flickr
One night we were getting home from right around dusk and as we got out of the car, we heard a single peeper calling from a low, grassy spot in the yard. We ran inside and grabbed a couple of headlamps and the camera and went back out. My daughter and I ended up catching four little spring peepers, and she just had a blast. It was the first thing she told my wife about the next morning at breakfast, and then her teacher at preschool too.
29Psecru by B Boone, on Flickr
30LittleHand by B Boone, on Flickr
31Calling by B Boone, on Flickr
32WhysThatBubble by B Boone, on Flickr
A walk in the woods gave this pretty sky one day…
33Sky by B Boone, on Flickr
…and then this fence lizard.
34Sceund by B Boone, on Flickr
Herping was a little slow, so I spent some time photographing some spring wildflowers.
Rue Anemone
35creekside by B Boone, on Flickr
36lilflowers by B Boone, on Flickr
37rue by B Boone, on Flickr
Violet
38violet by B Boone, on Flickr
The critter finding picked up a little bit, but nothing really to write home about. But I’ll take it! Finding reptiles and amphibians is always fun.
A green treefrog napping in the sunshine
39greentree by B Boone, on Flickr
40easybeinggreen by B Boone, on Flickr
Spotted dusky salamanders
41descon by B Boone, on Flickr
42descon by B Boone, on Flickr
There is a great rock wall at work that has groups of Five Lined Skinks living in its gaps.
43eumfas by B Boone, on Flickr
44eumfas by B Boone, on Flickr
45eumfas by B Boone, on Flickr
Walking into the office one day, I interrupted a Battle Royale. These two anoles were wrasslin’ about, but separated as I came up the steps and surprised them.
46dukin it out by B Boone, on Flickr
47bring it on by B Boone, on Flickr
48in this corner by B Boone, on Flickr
Another skink behind the building.
49eumeces by B Boone, on Flickr
The first Mayapple blossom I have seen this year
50Podpel by B Boone, on Flickr
More skinks on a wall (the riveting sequel to the infamous Samuel L. Jackson movie)
51ahhhhh by B Boone, on Flickr
52sunshine by B Boone, on Flickr
53eum duo by B Boone, on Flickr
That’s about it for the first quarter. I am looking forward to seeing what late spring and early summer bring!
--Berkeley
First Quarter 2016 Review
Moderator: Scott Waters
Re: First Quarter 2016 Review
Berkeley I always love the diverse moments that you bring here. The text/story as warm as the photography and all of it only matched by your humility.
- Berkeley Boone
- Posts: 878
- Joined: June 8th, 2010, 4:02 am
Re: First Quarter 2016 Review
Thanks very much, Kelly! I'm delighted to be able to share my adventures, and pleased to no end to know that others enjoy it!
--Berkeley
--Berkeley
Re: First Quarter 2016 Review
I was going to say something similar to what Kelly said, but she said it way more eloquently than I ever could have so: ditto what Kelly said.
To measure that marbled in retrospect, just hold your hand in the same position it was, and measure to the points on your hand it reached. For future reference if you have not seen this:
http://serpwidgets.com/main/measure
It is especially useful for more "squiggly" herps.
To measure that marbled in retrospect, just hold your hand in the same position it was, and measure to the points on your hand it reached. For future reference if you have not seen this:
http://serpwidgets.com/main/measure
It is especially useful for more "squiggly" herps.
- Berkeley Boone
- Posts: 878
- Joined: June 8th, 2010, 4:02 am
Re: First Quarter 2016 Review
Thanks Kfen! Yes, Kelly has a way with words, doesn't she?
Great tip on the serpwidgets link! I have heard about that tool, but it hadn't even crossed my mind. I'll have to go and check it out! I had done a very simple hand measuring like you mentioned- with a ruler at home- and that was how I came up with the 5 inch number. I'll go tinker with the link and see what that can do. Perhaps it will give something more exact.
Thanks again for the kind words,
--Berkeley
Great tip on the serpwidgets link! I have heard about that tool, but it hadn't even crossed my mind. I'll have to go and check it out! I had done a very simple hand measuring like you mentioned- with a ruler at home- and that was how I came up with the 5 inch number. I'll go tinker with the link and see what that can do. Perhaps it will give something more exact.
Thanks again for the kind words,
--Berkeley
Re: First Quarter 2016 Review
Berkeley
That is about how my first three months usually go - anoles (geckos), trip to ephemeral wetlands, salamanders, peepers, then skinks, first snake (usually a cottonmouth out and about or disgruntled rat snake exposed from its hibernaculum), increase in foliage, bugs, flowers, followed by the harbingers of heat (racers, rattlesnakes).
The tigers look like they haven't eaten since the 1900s.
"Mooooooove" (ha, the caption eluded me first time through).
30 species on a hard ridge! I just got #31 for my subdivision yard a few weeks back, but I cheat by having a small stream in back.
Jeff
That is about how my first three months usually go - anoles (geckos), trip to ephemeral wetlands, salamanders, peepers, then skinks, first snake (usually a cottonmouth out and about or disgruntled rat snake exposed from its hibernaculum), increase in foliage, bugs, flowers, followed by the harbingers of heat (racers, rattlesnakes).
The tigers look like they haven't eaten since the 1900s.
"Mooooooove" (ha, the caption eluded me first time through).
30 species on a hard ridge! I just got #31 for my subdivision yard a few weeks back, but I cheat by having a small stream in back.
Jeff
- Berkeley Boone
- Posts: 878
- Joined: June 8th, 2010, 4:02 am
Re: First Quarter 2016 Review
That timeline sounds about right for the southern spring, Jeff! I'm looking forward to those harbingers of the heat, as you mentioned!
Glad you enjoyed that caption. I try to mix it up periodically and have a little fun with my naming.
I could only wish to have a creek in the backyard! I'm impressed with the critters that have moved in because of my ponds and carnivorous plant tubs!
--Berkeley
Glad you enjoyed that caption. I try to mix it up periodically and have a little fun with my naming.
I could only wish to have a creek in the backyard! I'm impressed with the critters that have moved in because of my ponds and carnivorous plant tubs!
--Berkeley