I’ve been impressed with all the great content posted here recently.  I thought I’d chip in with some of my findings from the first quarter of this year.  My first herp of the year was a queen snake on an odd warm day in early January in the Bluegrass region of Kentucky:



Regina septemvittata

 

Later in the day I found this Northern Leopard frog, a species that is disappearing across large portions of its range:



Rana pipiens

 



Ambystoma barbouri

 



Harlan County stream

 



Rockcastle County cave

 



Desmognathus abditus

 



Desmognathus ochrophaeus

 

 



Rana sylvatica

 



Ambystoma tracks

 



Gyrinophilus porphyriticus

 

In February I visited some friends in the Hill Country of Texas.  We spent every day exploring the caves, springs and streams of the region.   I also ate more breakfast tacos during that weekend than in the past ten years of my life.   





 



Eurycea latitans

 



Bassariscus astutus

 



Eurycea neotenes

 



Thamnophis proximus rubrilineatus

 



Tantilla gracilis

 



Bufo valliceps

 



Hill Country cave

 



Syrrhophus marnockii

 



Plethodon albagula

 



Plethodon albagula

 

Back home this big girl was crawling down a country road in Eastern Kentucky like she owned the place:



Ambystoma maculatum

 

 

 





Ambystoma opacum

 





Siren intermedia

 





Rana areolata

 



Eastern Kentucky No Parking Zone

 



Plethodon kentuckii

 



Desmognathus ochrophaeus

 



Rana sylvatica

 



Southeastern Kentucky sandstone cliff

 



Plethodon wehrlei

 



Desmognathus monticola

 



Plethodon richmondi

 





Aneides aenus

 



Gyrinophilus porphyriticus

 



Pseudotriton ruber

 
I'm looking forward to the current quarter. Activity peaks for numerous species here in Kentucky that I hope to see.

-Jb

Good shots, Jason. I like the pic of the steamside sally near the snow. That crawfish frog is very cool. Great post!

Excellent report Jason. I'm especially impressed by the wehrlei and the crawfish frogs. Those are some solid finds! Haven't seen either in years and your post makes me want to change that.

Phil

Fantastic post! Thx!- Pops

Nice

Great pics, Jason! Love the Siren. Love the pic setups too.

David and Suzanne

Looks like a sausage.


That monticola shot is awesome. Keep up the good herpin'.

Amphibian overload...Wow!!

Geez Jason, you're making me look up to many of these. I'm old and can't remember Genus specie...throw in a common name or two.

DDD

Ian - Thank you. We only had a couple days of lingering snow this year so I tried to get out and do some photography on one of them.

Phil - Thanks. I should give credit where credit is due; Todd found that particular Wehrle's salamander. I spotted one in a crack that I couldn't photograph a few weeks prior. We went back at night and Todd noticed the one pictured on the crawl after I walked right past it. You may have missed your chance for Crawfish frogs this season. The unseasonably warm weather in mid-March apparently cut their breeding short.

Pops and Alec - Thank you!

David and Suzanne - Thanks. Sirens are especially difficult to photograph but they sure are cool critters. I'm fortunate to have a population living in the pond at my parent's place.

Josh - The Marbled salamander certainly was a little porker, nearly immobile. I'm still learning how to get the most out of my wide angle lens, but I was pleased with the seal salamander shot too.

Daniel - Having to look up the common names helps the kids learn the taxonomy! I almost included the common name for the Ringtail cat but figured we could all handle a little mammal taxonomy too.

-Jb

I looked up Crawfish frog.
This is really outstanding in all respects. I'm especially partial to the gorgeous animals with the gorgeous habitat in the background. Win/win all the way!

I've sometimes wondered what happened to the car I owned in high school. Does it still smell like brook trout, wet Hodgeman's and Pam Dauber?

Tim

Good stuff Jason! I've not been to the TX hill country, but it certainly is an area of interest.

Jason-
Incredible post, man! Very nice stuff in there. I realyl like your idea of a 'first quarter report' and may steal that idea and do something like that throughout the year so I don't end up with another of those year-in-review posts..... ha ha!

Very enoyable. I liked your queen snake shot, right off the bat! And the monticola and richmondi with the trout lily shots were very pleasing as well. What cool rock formations!
--Berkeley

Great looking finds man! All of those amphibians are great! And that wehrlei is a stunner! I have a few new sights I am hoping yields a couple of these. I just havent had time to check them. I smile every time I pass that car on the Parkway. Just wandering what the people that owned it thought when they walked out to go to town that morning lol.

What a great post! LOVE that crawfish frog!

Tim - Thank you. We have a lot of beautiful habitat here, especially when hunting amphibians. I had to look up Pam Dauber...

Barry - The Hill Country is a fascinating place. The microbreweries and inverts make it worth a visit, but the rivers, springs and caves are truly unique.

Berkeley - Thanks! I got the idea for the quarterly post from someone who used to post here pre-crash. I think it's a good way to share with the regional group, but I'll probably still post a year end post on the big forum. We have some gorgeous spring wildflowers in the southeast and I've made a conscious effort to work them into herp photos. There was a big patch of bloodroot just up the ravine from the trout lilies but it was too precarious to try and set up a shot.

Jayd - Thanks man. Good look with the Wehrle's. If I find myself over your way for an extended stay this summer I may offer to help search them out. That car under the boulder is amazing; the engine block must be completely smashed and driven into the ground several feet.

Tamara - I appreciate it. Crawfish frogs have a really cool call that carries for hundreds of meters across their habitat. I feel fortunate to have spent a successful night searching for them this spring.

-Jb

Ky stuff is super, but trip to Hill Country and west is icing on cake.
E. latitans is not something we see every day. Very cool.

Very awesome post Jason you are doing well so far this year.

love the sirens! I'd love to take a trip to kentucky one of these days and do a little salamandering

i had to look up the ring tail cat. What a cool animal. Are they common?

Steve - I think ringtails can be locally common in parts of their range. They are nocturnal and pretty sneaky so they're not frequently encountered. Seeing it was the highlight of my trip. It was a gorgeous animal.

Shoot me a message when you want to visit KY. I'd be happy to show you around.

You guys and your first quarter posts. I thought I was having a pretty good year so far until these recent posts. That wehrlei and the texas cave critters are awesome. Seeing your January queen snake on flickr got me out to our local queen spot on an unusually warm January day but I didn't see a thing.. Thought I'd be able be able to turn up a Nerodia minimally. Was the maculatum crossing the road during the day?

The Texas Hill country is pretty sweet; so much to see. I started planning my next trip out there on my flight home.

The spotted salamander was crawling down the road at 11 am. I guess she was looking for a good ditch to drop her eggs.