Kick-off to the "Big Year" (Part 2/2)
You can say it was kind of like going home.
After a long winter Sterling and I were back in action and ready to go out into nature and find some herps. And this time we visited some of our herping sites we call home in Norfolk County.
Being early in the year still with temperatures still well below 10 deg C we did not expect to find a lot of herp diversity on our trip. But alas, we needed to go anyway to find some of the species needed for our quest to find every herp species. So we went.
Around 10:30 a.m. we found our first herps of the day, an Eastern Red-backed Salamander and two Blue-spotted Salamanders. Like the Spotted Salamanders from the previous day, the Blue-spotted's were found in the entrance to a burrow underneath cover. One of the salamanders dove back into the whole faster than I could notice that it was there. The other stayed up and allowed us to take a few pictures before putting him back at his burrow.
Safely back under the cover and in their burrows the salamanders were ready to get on with their day and so were we. Sterling and I took off towards Long Point in search of frogs and potential turtles emerging from hibernation. However, I believe due to the cold temps, we not only did not see turtles but we did not see any frogs either. Many dead Leopard Frogs were observed in some shallow water but nothing of note - this is a yearly sight for these frogs in the shallow areas of water.
Pressing on after our "defeat" in Long Point, we decided to visit one of our prized herping spots before heading home. And holding up to its namesake, this site produced multiple firsts of the year. We started off by hearing hundreds of Western Chorus Frogs calling and after looking for them for a few hours to no avail (these frogs only reach up to about 2.5cm in length at maximum and are very hard to spot in the vegetation) we started walking towards the forest from the field. IN one of the ponds along the forest edge we found a very cold Northern Leopard Frog, my first of the year.
Shortly after we heard Wood frogs calling from within the forest. A few steps in to the first vernal pool on the interior side of the forest we found several mating and calling chorus frogs, many frogs were in amplexus and many had already laid eggs.
The day was now getting late and it was time to start the drive back to Hamilton. We tried one more time to visual observe a Western Chorus Frog but they still all managed to escape our eyes.
Once in Hamilton, Sterling took off as he had other plans, but I made one last quick trip to a nearby pond where I was able to find one more herp species for the weekend. I found approximately 11 Eastern Newts swimming on the shore of McCormack Pond in the Dundas Valley area.
Also found was goldfish or koi fish that the conservation authority has been trying to eradicate from this pond as they are damaging the ecosystem by eating amphibian eggs and so forth. Once caught I did not return the fish too the pond in an attempt to help the process of eradication.
2 fish were caught and 4 in total were seen.
The next day, Sterling, myself, and our friend Jordan, all went back to Norfolk County only to come up short with Western Chorus Frogs again. Jordan and Sterling then proceeded to find several Eastern Garter Snakes upon return to Hamilton area. Unfortunately at this time I was already on the road back home to Deep River.
Next trip I hope to redeem my failed chorus frog locating attempts and I hope to find a few more firsts of the year.
My next trip is on Sunday April the 9 to visit my good friend Taylor and hopefully find some salamanders during their migration as well as Western Chorus Frogs, Spring Peepers, and Potentially a few other frog species.
Stay tuned to hear about my next herping adventure on my quest to find every Ontario herp.
- Ryan
After a long winter Sterling and I were back in action and ready to go out into nature and find some herps. And this time we visited some of our herping sites we call home in Norfolk County.
Being early in the year still with temperatures still well below 10 deg C we did not expect to find a lot of herp diversity on our trip. But alas, we needed to go anyway to find some of the species needed for our quest to find every herp species. So we went.
Around 10:30 a.m. we found our first herps of the day, an Eastern Red-backed Salamander and two Blue-spotted Salamanders. Like the Spotted Salamanders from the previous day, the Blue-spotted's were found in the entrance to a burrow underneath cover. One of the salamanders dove back into the whole faster than I could notice that it was there. The other stayed up and allowed us to take a few pictures before putting him back at his burrow.
 |
| Blue-spotted Salamander - Norfolk County |
Safely back under the cover and in their burrows the salamanders were ready to get on with their day and so were we. Sterling and I took off towards Long Point in search of frogs and potential turtles emerging from hibernation. However, I believe due to the cold temps, we not only did not see turtles but we did not see any frogs either. Many dead Leopard Frogs were observed in some shallow water but nothing of note - this is a yearly sight for these frogs in the shallow areas of water.
Pressing on after our "defeat" in Long Point, we decided to visit one of our prized herping spots before heading home. And holding up to its namesake, this site produced multiple firsts of the year. We started off by hearing hundreds of Western Chorus Frogs calling and after looking for them for a few hours to no avail (these frogs only reach up to about 2.5cm in length at maximum and are very hard to spot in the vegetation) we started walking towards the forest from the field. IN one of the ponds along the forest edge we found a very cold Northern Leopard Frog, my first of the year.
 |
| Northern Leopard Frog - Norfolk County |
 |
| Northern Leopard Frog - Norfolk County |
 |
| Northern Leopard Frog - Norfolk County |
Shortly after we heard Wood frogs calling from within the forest. A few steps in to the first vernal pool on the interior side of the forest we found several mating and calling chorus frogs, many frogs were in amplexus and many had already laid eggs.
 |
| Wood Frog - Norfolk County |
 |
| Wood Frog - Norfolk County |
 |
| Wood Frog - Norfolk County |
 |
| Wood Frog - Norfolk County |
 |
| Wood Frog - Norfolk County |
The day was now getting late and it was time to start the drive back to Hamilton. We tried one more time to visual observe a Western Chorus Frog but they still all managed to escape our eyes.
Once in Hamilton, Sterling took off as he had other plans, but I made one last quick trip to a nearby pond where I was able to find one more herp species for the weekend. I found approximately 11 Eastern Newts swimming on the shore of McCormack Pond in the Dundas Valley area.
 |
| Eastern Newt - Dundas Valley |
 |
| Eastern Newt - Dundas Valley |
 |
| Eastern Newt - Dundas Valley |
 |
| Eastern Newt - Dundas Valley |
 |
| Eastern Newt - Dundas Valley |
Also found was goldfish or koi fish that the conservation authority has been trying to eradicate from this pond as they are damaging the ecosystem by eating amphibian eggs and so forth. Once caught I did not return the fish too the pond in an attempt to help the process of eradication.
2 fish were caught and 4 in total were seen.
The next day, Sterling, myself, and our friend Jordan, all went back to Norfolk County only to come up short with Western Chorus Frogs again. Jordan and Sterling then proceeded to find several Eastern Garter Snakes upon return to Hamilton area. Unfortunately at this time I was already on the road back home to Deep River.
Next trip I hope to redeem my failed chorus frog locating attempts and I hope to find a few more firsts of the year.
My next trip is on Sunday April the 9 to visit my good friend Taylor and hopefully find some salamanders during their migration as well as Western Chorus Frogs, Spring Peepers, and Potentially a few other frog species.
Stay tuned to hear about my next herping adventure on my quest to find every Ontario herp.
- Ryan
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