Decided to go herping for the first time this year on Easter morning in some woods near our house I've never explored. This was my fiance's first herping experience, and it didn't make for a very exciting first :P All we found was a single Southern Two-lined Salamander (Eurycea bislineata cirrigera). Well, to tell the truth I was very excited... All the years I've lived in Ohio and been herping I've never seen a single Salamander! So that was cool. Here he is:
We decided to check out the woods again on 04/18, it was much warmer. We found a lot more creatures this time, and he found his first snake, an Eastern Garter. Here is what we found:
2 Ravine Salamanders (Plethodon electromorphus)
1 Eastern Garter (Thamnophis sirtalis) covered in dirt
1 Eastern American Toad (Bufo americanus)
We also found some interesting millipedes. I don't know what kind they are exactly but I suspect they are from the polydesmida order. We found many but only photographed two:
and of course, some nature shots:
The woods go up a hill, and on the hill there is a natural spring. This pipe runs from the spring and used to end in a concrete reservoir, but it busted in the middle. I thought it was neat, and the water was refreshing:
Anyway, there is a lot of ground we didn't explore. Hoping that as it warms up, we can find more creatures. We also hoped to find some morels up there, but it must be too early in our area. Going to go looking this weekend. Enjoy!