Winter Has Cometh...

Winter has cometh, and has grasped us in it's icy grips.  Let the count down until the spring rains (March?) begin...

I haven't spoken much about our new digs on here, but Molly and I purchased our first home last July.  We are happily enjoying our little corner of suburbia.  The winter rains turned into flurries this evening and the neighborhood trees look very immaculate in the first real snow of the year.  From here on out it will be gray, dirty and depressing in SE Michigan for the next 4-5 months.

Can't wait for those spring rains!

Winter Tasks

Winter - the bane of all herpers. Some of us have it better than others, but for those that live in the northern regions, winter is a cruel mistress. As the herps bed down late fall, our spirits plummet and depression sets in.

Luckily (the glass IS half full...), this period of inactivity provides us with some nice opportunities to get some important functions done.

Here is what I try to do during the winter.

1. Spend much needed time with family and actually work on the "honey-do" list

2. Catch up on the data

3. Scout and prepare for next season

4. Travel to warmer places

5. Actually take some time off and focus on other interests (what other interest?)

BH

Winter Blues

Detroit is currently buried.  A deep blanket of snow has basically kept me locked away, dreaming of warmer times.  It has allowed me to finally work on getting caught up with last years field notes.  If you don't have some way of keeping notes and storing your data, you need a system.  I hope to discuss my system and other recommendations soon when I finish and get caught up. 

I leave for Hawaii for a month March 1st.  If anyone can recommend some nice wildlife viewing opportunities on Honolulu I am all ears.  I have never been before...

BH

Happy Holidays!

It is cold up here in the north.  I haven't been up to much lately, but at least it made for a white Christmas.   I am hoping it starts to warm up soon (very wishful thinking) and the salamanders start moving soon...


Happy Holidays and here is to hoping everyone has a great 2011.

BH

Winter Blues

Not much going on up here in the frozen tundra that is the midwest...

Luckily, in other parts of the country, some animals may still be found.

Crotalus atrox crossing an AZ wash

Hoping to turn up some snowmanders soon...

Snowed In

Had to bail on my Ohio trip due to large amounts of snow. It has allowed me to get a bunch of needed stuff done around the house, and get oh-so-close to finishing all my database entries for 2009. At least Florida is still calling my name in a couple days.

Winter's Icy Grip

Remains very tight. The 10 day forecast is a high of 31 and snow for the days I was planning on spending in southern Ohio. I wondering if it is worth going down still, and if Cid will be up for snowy hiking.

I find myself once again thinking back to warmer times and climates. I didn't have much luck on my trip to San Diego back in November, but anything is better than what we have here now.

I did manage to turn up a few Crotalus ruber at a densite. One was just pissed enough to give us a present.

Don't get to close...

BH

Winter is here

First real snow of the year was falling when I went to bed around midnight. Already a couple inches had accumulated. It could be a rough morning, luckily I don't need to get up for a while.

In Ohio, Carl and I have gone on a few "snowmandering" trips. Some of the stream species such as twolines, duskies, springs and pseudotritons can be turned up with effort. Sometimes it means busting through the ice to dipnet a pool, or prying that frozen rock out of the stream bank. The spoils are small, but at least you get to dust off the boots.

Winter also makes for a great time to scout. Although laying tin would be pretty cold on the hands, you can see through the (lack of) foliage better and catch good looks at rock faces and seepages from afar.

I just can't seem to dig up the energy to do much of either here in Michigan. We don't really have any of the stream salamander species, and there aren't really rock faces to scout. I guess I could get minnow traps out for mudpuppies, but the thought of "ice fishing" doesn't quite get me as excited.

So cheers to southern Ohio with the phenomenal salamander diversity and more temperate climate...

I unfortunately can't find any pictures of the animals found under snow, but to prove we did actually get out once or twice...

End of the Season Blues

Loaded the dog up into the car early morning last week after an overnight shift and headed west to meet up with a fellow herper, Curtis. We had a fateful day last fall, one of my best in Michigan, and hadn't been able to hook up since. Cid was still healing up after his little surgery but I wrapped his leg up best I and away we went.

The first spot we hiked was very wooded and despite following a bunch of good sections of trail we never really found any open areas. We found a few Ambystoma laterale, Rana sylvatica, Pseudacris crucifer, and a garter or two. We next headed to another spot, and the day improved drastically.

The weather was perfect, low 70s and partly cloudy. Within an hour or so we turned up four blue racers. All of them were found out and about in a couple different fields. We also managed to scare up some Rana pipiens, Thamnophis sauritus, and another Ambystoma laterale or two.

Cid was back in rare form, and he was even responsible for turning up one of the racers. I noticed him stepping over a blue stick stretched out and realized that it wasn't a stick... Luckily he didn't really notice and the snake just sat there as well.

The first racer, as found basking.

The middle two snakes unfortunately slipped away in the grass quickly without pictures.

Here is the fourth snake, also found in situ right after Cid stepped over it.

It quickly spooked up a tree, and hung around for some excellent photographic opportunities.



I finished the day by getting stung by an insect of some sort. I thought it was a yellow jacket, but the stinger was still visible on my finger, with muscles visibly pumping more venom into me. Correct if I am wrong, but I thought this was a feature more common in the less aggressive honey bees? I should have taken a moment to snap a picture due to professional interests (I waited long enough to show Curtis) but instead flicked it away as the discomfort was growing tiresome.


The frosts are just around the corner...