Just a few days into January, I took my sister down to the creek to see if we couldn't turn anything up. We ended up finding all three salamander species we have back there, plus Green Frog tadpoles. These tadpoles are overwintering from a late-season breeding session, and they reside at the bottom of a deep pool of water where an underground concrete ditch dumps out.
Green Frog tadpole with Northern Two-lined Salamander larvae
iphone dipnetting 1 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr
iphone Green Frog 2 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on FlickrHere are some other random finds from the creek and nearby woods over the last two months:
Northern Two-lined Salamander larvae
DSCN0116 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN0132 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN0135 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on FlickrNorthern Dusky Salamander. We have a couple of whoppers in the creek, but they are hard to find and equally hard to catch without a net.
DSCN0127 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on FlickrA decomposing Wood Frog
DSCN0133 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on FlickrEastern Red-backed Salamander
DSCN0138 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on FlickrHere's one in the process of regrowing its tail. That's a funky looking stub!
DSCN0144 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN0147 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on FlickrThis one hatched last fall, based on its size
DSCN0157 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on FlickrNorthern Two-lined Salamander
DSCN0154 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on FlickrI found this Box Turtle shell as pictured. No idea who or what put it there, but the turtle was long dead. However, the shell was in great condition and I have since cleaned and preserved it for my collection. Did you know that the patterning on a Box Turtle's shell is nothing more than a thin layer of organic material much like that of a fingernail? You can break and peel it right off, and the shell underneath is almost bleach white.
iphone Eastern Box Turtle by Matthew Ratcliffe, on FlickrOn the 18th and 19th, we had unbelievably warm weather, with temps reaching about 70F each day. I set out to a local wetlands that has Spotted Turtles in hopes of finding one, but I struck out. From talking to a local birder, it sounds like I missed seeing one by about an hour. At this site, there were several choruses of Leopard Frogs going on mid-afternoon, with a stray Spring Peeper calling here and there.
Eastern Painted Turtles and a Red-Eared Slider
DSCN3010 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on FlickrMy kiddo had fun but did not make picture taking easy since my wife wasn't there to help wrangle him
DSCN3035 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on FlickrFinally saw a Northern Shoveler (male)
DSCN3036 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on FlickrHere's a female
DSCN3042 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on FlickrThere was also a Muskrat swimming about
DSCN3047 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on FlickrSliders
DSCN3057 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on FlickrThis tree stump always have a few Bullfrogs in it
DSCN3062 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on FlickrOn Sunday, all three of us went to a park in Arlington, which is a heavily urbanized city. Despite that, this place was quite scenic and had a decent selection of herps, including a few surprises. There is a beautiful rock-lined creek that flows right through it, and the water was very clear. I ended up finding four species, all of which had yet to be documented in H.E.R.P. for Arlington.
Wood Frogs were breeding in a vernal pool on the drive in and were actively moving around a man-made pond further in. Mostly males were seen, but a few females were by the pond. The males are usually a drab green, and the females are orange. Here are a few from the pond area:
DSCN0164 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN0167 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN3066 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN3069 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN3077 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN3092 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on FlickrThere were a few dozen males in the vernal pool located elsewhere in the park. They were calling earlier but ceased when I arrived for pictures. No females in the pond yet.
DSCN3094 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN3096 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN3100 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on FlickrI also observed this little guy acting like a a frog!
DSCN3107 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on FlickrI believe I saw a larvae of one of these, but I flipped this Two-lined Salamander under a log above the creek.
DSCN0177 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on FlickrAnd one log over was this beauty, which caught me by surprise. I knew that this place had Spotted Salamanders, but I did not expect to find one at this specific spot. I thought that they would be closer to the vernal pool, but I suppose they also breed in the pond as well.
DSCN0181 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on Flickr
DSCN0183 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on FlickrNothing exciting here, but I found this Eastern Red-backed Salamander in Falls Church, which had zero H.E.R.P. entries prior to this. That city is very poor for herping, but I managed to turn this guy up in a small patch of woods adjacent to a creek. I had flipped close to ten logs prior to finding this salamander, and I was honestly surprised when I did see it as the habitat was not all that great.
DSCN0184 by Matthew Ratcliffe, on FlickrI hope you enjoyed my post! Here's a tally of what I've seen or heard so far this year. It's been a great winter and I can't wait for spring to officially arrive!
Northern Two-lined Salamander
Eastern Red-backed Salamander
Northern Dusky Salamander
Spotted Salamander
Green Frog
Bullfrog
Wood Frog
Spring Peeper (heard)
Southern Leopard Frog (heard)
Eastern Box Turtle (deceased)
Red-Eared Slider
Eastern Painted Turtle
