Back at it!

I didn't post at all in 2010. I don't know why really. I maintain another blog and had even limited my posts on that last year. But that doesn't mean I didn't do any herping.

I recently purchased the DVD Herpers! and was excited to see some of the focus on field herping. That's what I do and love. I don't proclaim to be an expert. I am just someone that loves to go out in the field and look for reptiles.

I have been out a few times this Spring already. I have caught a few snakes. I went out with my family this evening and did a little road cruising at night. I am going to put the pics of the snakes (from a few days back) and the pics from tonight here for you. I intend to do quite a bit more posting this Spring. In June I am taking a Mission Trip to Show Low, AZ and I am very excited about doing some herping out there. Here's my latest:

Plains Leopard Frog

There are three types of leopard frog distributed throughout Iowa (the Southern Leopard Frog, the Northern Leopard Frog and the Plains Leopard Frog). There is another species very similar that often is labeled as a leopard frog, the Pickerel Frog.

Today I caught a little Plains Leopard Frog a good distance from the water, which is why I was able to catch him. Here are the best of the pictures I took (after I was able to get him to calm down).

Stroll off the trail at Banner

Went for a walk this morning at Banner. I got off the trail and went and did some "flipping." I was able to find some things I have never found before. I'll just give you the pictures and then descriptions.


For me, this is every snake-hunters dream. A big piece of thrown-out carpet in the woods. Snakes love this kind of stuff. By the way, there was nothing there today, but just last week, I caught a 3.5 foot Fox Snake under this very piece of carpet. So you never know.

When I flipped this log, there were a couple of surprises waiting for me. This little Eastern Garter Snake was one of the things there. He was pretty funny. Because it is cool, he was really sluggish and slow. But he did open his mouth at me but he couldn't do much more than that.

Then under the same log was this little Small Mouth Salamander. This was very cool for me, because I have never caught a salamander in all my life...not once. So this was a special find for me. the crazy thing is I ended up finding five total this morning. Very cool.

Here's a shot of the other four Small Mouth Salamanders I found. They are the coolest creatures. The sleak black look of their bodies is just really nifty. I think salamanders are very cool creatures.

Now, this little guy is a Plains Leopard Frog. He was under another log I flipped and was only about maybe two inches in length. But he, like all the other finds of the morning wasn't really moving very fast at all.

This is a Neonate Northern Water Snake. He was curled up under a rock. He, too, was slow and sluggish on this cold morning. I really thought his coloration was beautiful.

All in all, this was a good little walk this morning. In my opinion, there's no better way to get exercise than to do a little herping while you're at it!