Northern VA Herpin'

[Mike Schultz]

I went camping this weekend with the lady and we decided to go on a little expedition into the forest after waking up and cooking hotdogs on our fire It was a nice 70 degrees or so and I had high hopes for our trek into the forest as I had already found a midsized female Eastern / Black rat snake earlier in the week right near my house.

Here's what we found this weekend!





We found at least 5 or 6 of these little guys under rocks and logs. I believe they are Slimy Salamanders or Plethodon glutinosis




Only 20 minutes or so into the hike we found this little garter snake digging into a decayed stump, probably searching for grubs and earthworms.



We also found a few Redback Salamanders or Plethodon cinerius




Our last herp find was this Spring Peeper hanging out on the underside of a leaning log.


And last, the skull of some small mammal. I think it's a raccoon's.

Other finds not photographed:

A large hornet inside a log, possibly hibernating?
Lots of earthworms
A few mealworms / wood beetle larvae
A few turkey vultures
Some kind of hawk although I didn't get a very good look at it to determine the species

Thanks for looking and good luck on your own adventures!

[dr del]

Hi,

Nice finds - it looks like you had fun.


dr del

[Mike Schultz]

A knowledgeable individual on the redtailboa.net boards informed me that the salamander I called a slimy salamander is actually just another variation of the Redback Salamander. Thanks to John White for the info

A quick google search also confirmed that my skull find was indeed the remains of a Raccoon.

And yes, we both had lots of fun! I had almost forgotten over the winter months how exciting it is to flip a log and find even a tiny little salamander, let alone a snake or a frog. Thanks Derek