That is one good thing about this world…There are always sure to be more springs.

-Lucy Maud Montgomery

For weeks I’ve been going back and forth about the most appropriate blog post to write during these crazy times. Between the global pandemic, the alleged “resurgence” of animals while people are quarantined, Netflix’s documentary ‘Tiger King’, and spring migrations, there’s a lot to write about right now. Although I may make future posts about Tiger King or what’s going on in the wildlife world now that there’s less people out and about, I felt it was most important to write about something fun to do outside. I know in my last post I talked about re-doing my yard to attract wildlife but that’s been put on hold while so many stores are closed, and it seems irresponsible to go out just for some flowers right now. So let’s get into herping!

Herpetology: The study of reptiles and amphibians

Herp: A reptile or amphibian

Herping: The act of looking for a reptile or amphibian (see: birding)

All of the species I’m going to talk about in this post will be native to my area in New Hampshire. If you’re not already familiar with the reptiles and amphibians in your area, check out your state wildlife agency’s website where they’ll likely have a list of species in your state (for example, here is New Hampshire’s list of species). That being said, the only reptiles New Hampshire has are 18 species of snakes and turtles which can be a bit tricky to find. If you’re reading this from a warmer state, you’ll definitely have an easier time finding reptiles. So, keep in mind that the tips and tricks I list below may not always apply to where you live, especially if you live around lizards (which I do not).

If you have particularly cold winters like New England, the first few weeks of spring are incredible for herping. Animals are coming out of hibernation, they’re migrating and mating which means they’re easy to see and hear. For example, the sound of Spring Peepers (Pseudacris crucifer) are synonymous with spring because they’re so numerous and so loud.

If you’ve heard spring peepers before, it’s likely that you heard them in the early morning or at night. That’s because in spring, the majority of migrations take place at night. If you want to find a lot of herps in one spot, here’s how to do it: go out at night (past 10pm would be best), find a road that touches a wetland or pond, and search the road with a flashlight. It’s even better if it’s raining, because amphibians need to be wet in order to absorb oxygen through their skin. That being said, it’s good practice to bring water with you when herping, that way you can keep your hands wet so you don’t dry out your new amphibian friends.

If you go out on rainy, warm spring nights you’d be amazed at how many herps you find, and what you’ll find: Last spring a friend and I found a Wood Frog (Lithobates sylvaticus) mistaking a Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) for a mate. The technical term is that they were in amplexus, which just refers to the mating position of frogs where the male is on top and wraps around the back of the female.

 

When emerging from hibernation, the first thought in most animals minds is “I need to mate RIGHT NOW“, and amphibians are no exception! If you find some egg masses at the edge of a pond, they could be either frog or salamander eggs. The difference is that salamander egg masses hold their shape and are more globular than frog eggs because salamanders put an extra coat of jelly around all the eggs. With frogs, you can see the individuals eggs in the mass, and frogs lay many more eggs in one mass than salamanders do. There are egg mass differences  between species as well.

That migration period in the beginning of spring can be relatively short and hard to time, especially if you’ve been having weird weather patterns of warm then very cold days. So if you miss that migration period, don’t fret! The herps don’t disappear for the rest of the year; To find herps in late spring or the summer, you just need to know a bit more about the species you’d like to find. Knowing their preferred habitats and behaviors can be very beneficial. If you’re in New England, a great general resource is the Vermont Herp Atlas – if you’re in Vermont, they even have maps of what counties you can find what herps in.

When I go herping, I love looking for salamanders. Turning over rocks, logs, peeling back bark from an old tree or checking under damp leaf litter are great ways to turn up salamanders. A widespread species I love and that’s fairly common is the Eastern Newt (Notopthalmus viridescens). Newts prefer beaver ponds, but they can also be found in small lakes, ponds or marshes. This past weekend I went to one of my local state parks that has a fairly large beaver pond and found a bunch of individuals just hanging out by the shore in fairly shallow water, in and around some debris in the pond.

What’s so cool about newts is that their juvenile and adult forms look so different. Their juvenile form is called a Red Eft, which can live on land for up to 8 years. They’re a stunning bright orange with little orange spots lined in black. When they’re ready to breed, juveniles will find a permanent body of water to breed in. They transform into their adult form that’s better suited for an aquatic lifestyle, with wider, flatter tails for swimming. That being said, adults can return to land if they need to.

If you’re looking for Newts, you’ll probably be in a good spot to find turtles and frogs as well. Turtles can be tricky to find underwater unless you have specific traps for them, but going out on a sunny day gives you a good chance of seeing turtles basking on logs. Because turtles are reptiles, they are ‘cold-blooded’, meaning their body temperatures are determined by how warm or cold their surrounding environment is. Turtles line up on logs to bask in the sun to warm up, but drying their shells also prevents the accumulation of parasites. Of course because we’re talking about biology, there are always exceptions to the rules, like the Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina) that is entirely terrestrial.

Now, not all salamanders live in/right next to water. For example, the Eastern Red-backed Salamander (Plethodon cinereus) is a completely terrestrial salamander that just needs to live somewhere damp. When I went herping last weekend I found a Red-backed (pictured below) under a fallen log. It was the typical color of a Red-backed: A reddish-brown back with darker sides. However, Red-backed salamanders can also be entirely that reddish-brown color, or can be missing that reddish-brown color entirely. And, there are two other salamanders in New England that are a very similar size and shape to the Red-backed Salamander. So how do we tell tiny salamanders apart?

Evolution most certainly helped us identify tiny salamanders by giving each salamander a different belly. The Red-backed salamander has what’s called a “salt and pepper” belly, that’s white with a lot of tiny black specks. Compare this to the belly of the Four-toed Salamander (Hemidactylium scutatum), which may look similar on top but has a bright white belly with larger black spots.

 

 

Another handy tip for herping: bring a container. Having a container is a very handy way to scoop up salamanders and keep them wet if need be. Containers are especially helpful for stream salamanders that are already wet and extremely slippery, and because they typically hang out under debris or rocks in streams, you can use a container to scoop them up if they start getting swept downstream.

One of my favorite stream salamanders is the Spring salamander, which tend to be larger than the salamanders I previously mentioned. Juveniles can be easily distinguished by their external gills (pictured below). Because of their external gills, juvenile Spring sallies are often confused with Mudpuppies (Necturus maculosus) which have external gills their entire lives and are entirely aquatic.

 

Alright, now let’s to get to one of the most controversial herps but one of my favorites: Snakes. Besides the Common Gartersnake (Thamnophis sirtalis), snakes in New Hampshire are not easy to come by. But if you would like to find Gartersnakes, they’re easily identifiable by their three yellow stripes on the top and sides of their body, yellowish upper lip, and olive green head (take a peak at the one below).

If you’re ever lucky enough to find one, Gartersnakes can be confused with the Eastern Ribbonsnake (Thamnophis saurita). The Eastern Ribbonsnake can be found in more open areas, especially rocky areas near water. Although very visually similar to the Gartersnake, the Ribbonsnake has a mahogany colored stripe along the lower sides of the body and tend to be more slender than the Gartersnake.

So if you’re looking for snakes other than your regular ‘ole Garter, open, rocky areas are the best. Old barns or old farming fields are great for finding snakes too, because where there are mice and rats, there are snakes. Like turtles, snakes are reptiles and need sunlight to warm up, and prefer cover that warms up easily as well. If you can’t get out much right now but want to attract snakes, put out some cover in an open area that snakes can hide under (like light, flat rocks, a tarp, or a sheet of metal).

On a field trip with my Herpetology class last spring, we found 4 species of snakes in a slate quarry. One species was the Ring-necked Snake (Diadophis punctatus), which is a smooth-scaled snake. In New England, a good rule of thumb is that snakes with keeled scales (aka, not smooth scales) give birth to live young and snakes with smooth scales lay eggs. This may get confusing but is worth mentioning: snakes can be ovoviviparous, which means they incubate eggs in their lower abdomen then give birth to live young after a few months (Gartersnakes do this).

 

It’s important for you to know what you’re looking for, or know what you’re looking at when out in the woods.

In New Hampshire, we have one venomous snake, the Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus). And please, if you take anything from this blog: snakes are venomous, not poisonous. The difference is that venom is injected, while poison is through touch or ingestion. That being said, the Gartersnake can be poisonous if you eat it because they absorb toxins from newts and salamanders when they prey upon them…I’ll leave it at that because otherwise this post will never end. My point is, the difference between picking up a Gartersnake and Rattlesnake could be your life.

At my job, I get so many calls about people seeing a Timber rattlesnake or having one in their basement. The odds of seeing one in New England is so slim. Timber rattlers are very endangered here, and state wildlife officials know exactly where they are (some have GPS-locators in them called PIT tags). Not only are they not aggressive, but Timber rattlers are able to bite without injecting venom into what they’re biting. Think about it: Timber rattlers specialize in eating small mammals like chipmunks, and only have so much venom in their bodies. If you were to pick one up (accidentally I hope), a snake is smart enough to know you’re too big to eat. If it wants to be put down or get you to stop stepping on it, the snake is able to give you a non-venomous bite to get away from you. But I want to make it clear: don’t go picking up venomous snakes. …Please.

Although you’d think the rattle on a rattlesnakes’ tail would be the key to identifying them, so many people mistake other snakes for rattlers. The snake that’s probably mistaken for a rattlesnake the most is the Eastern Milksnake (Lampropeltis triangulum); When threatened, Milksnakes can vibrate their tails to make a rattling sound (even though they don’t have rattlers).

Common Watersnakes (Nerodia sipedon) are another species mistaken for a venomous species; Because they live in and around water, Watersnakes are thought to be cottonmouths/water moccasins, even though cottonmouths do not live in the northeast. If you live in an area with both Watersnakes and Cottonmouths, just remember that Common Watersnakes (the non-venomous snake) have blotches, whereas Cottonmouths (the venomous snake) have a band pattern. Be careful picking up Watersnakes though; They’re curious (they’ve swam out of a pond straight at me on multiple occasions to inspect me) and will bite you if they feel threatened.

 

Hopefully this post taught you something useful about finding more herp friends. Being stuck inside is fun for no one, especially if you love the outdoors and dedicate your career to the outdoors. Be mindful of others if you go out herping, and stay safe out there. As always, thanks for reading!