Finally had a nice day to get out and do some field herping. It’s been a long cold winter, and it’s finally nice to get out and see some NE Ohio herps. I only hit one spot for about an hour as I had a full day of errands to run, but seen a few things, one of which was real special.

As I walked along the boardwalk I saw a garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis), however it quickly slithered under the boardwalk never to be seen again. I was a little disappointed as it was the first snake I would see this year, and I didn’t even get to hold it, let alone get musked or bit.

After watching the gartersnake slip out of site I decided to flip a few logs. Under the first one I flipped I found a few red-backed salamanders (Plethodon cinereus). I quickly snapped this pic of a normal red-back and a “lead phase” red-back that I found sharing the log.



I then continued on my way. As I approached an open water area I could hear spring peepers (Pseudacris crucifer) and wood frogs (Rana sylvatica)calling louder and louder. Most were either off in the distance, or quickly dove under water, however one did stand still long enough to grab a quick pic.



After photographing the wood frog I looked behind me as a little bit of movement caught my eye. There slowly crawling through the shallow water among the emergent vegetation was a beautiful spotted turtle (Clemmys guttata). I quickly resituated and snapped a few pics of her before she eventually crawled out of sight.



All in all it was a nice day. I didn’t see any smooth green snakes (Opheodrys vernalis syn. Lioclonorophis vernalis), which was one of the species I had hoped to photograph. But seeing a spotted turtle always makes it worth the time, besides I still have all year.

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