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Field herping in NH!

Michael823

New member
Hey everyone,

I've slacked a little bit in posting these photos on here, but what better time than now.

This year has already started off as a big success, as far as herping goes. I myself have already found a Garter Snake. Whoo hoo, I know, but for this time of year, I'm quite happy. We've had some beautiful weather, and the snakes, frogs and turtles have been finally come out of their winter slumber.

First is a photo of a very large adult Blanding's Turtle. My grandfather caught him a little over a week ago, and this was just about a find of a lifetime for him. He rarely finds Blanding's Turtles as is, let alone such a large male. He has never found such a large Blanding's, and the condition and health of this animal is remarkable, especially when you consider his age, which my grandfather estimated to be at least 60yrs (maybe older, but the rings on his shell were very worn).

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Here's some comparison photos to a much smaller/younger Blanding's turtle that he found last summer (which he was thrilled about at the time as well).

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And although the Garter Snake that I found wasn't quite as much of a "lifer", he/she was still a great find. The Garter's tail must have been chewed by a predator, as it's missing a lot of it, and the rest is quite deformed. Luckily the snake appears to have healed nicely, and the damage was located not a cm away from the vent, so no real internal damage (though there were a couple of slight scars and kinks).

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I hope you all enjoyed, and thank you for looking :D!!!
 
That turtle is really cool, Michael! And what a cute face on that garter, I wish I could find more snakes in my area (we have many species, but you RARELY ever see snakes :().
 
That turtle is really cool, Michael! And what a cute face on that garter, I wish I could find more snakes in my area (we have many species, but you RARELY ever see snakes :().
Thanks, Hallie :)! The Garter was really a sweet snake. I'm not a fan of them when they musk, but it's always so cool when they settle down and you can handle them, even though they're wild.

That's too bad that you rarely ever see snakes. I wonder why? Around here we don't have too many species, and of them, I rarely find anything outside of Garter Snakes. I used to find the occasional Red-Bellied Snake, but it's been so long since I've seen any of those. I've been very fortunate to find an Eastern Milk Snake, as well as seeing one that my grandfather brought over for a quick viewing (before he let it go).

Maybe you'll find some snakes this year, though. My dream snake to find this year would be a Ringneck. I have never found one, and I desperately want to. Supposedly they're around, and my grandfather says that our house looks like a great spot to find one (with all of the stone walls and flat rocks). We'll see...
 
Thanks, Hallie :)! The Garter was really a sweet snake. I'm not a fan of them when they musk, but it's always so cool when they settle down and you can handle them, even though they're wild.

That's too bad that you rarely ever see snakes. I wonder why? Around here we don't have too many species, and of them, I rarely find anything outside of Garter Snakes. I used to find the occasional Red-Bellied Snake, but it's been so long since I've seen any of those. I've been very fortunate to find an Eastern Milk Snake, as well as seeing one that my grandfather brought over for a quick viewing (before he let it go).

Maybe you'll find some snakes this year, though. My dream snake to find this year would be a Ringneck. I have never found one, and I desperately want to. Supposedly they're around, and my grandfather says that our house looks like a great spot to find one (with all of the stone walls and flat rocks). We'll see...

We have 14 species of snake in my county, and the only ones I've ever seen are one species of garter (we have 2 different garter species) and some Northern water snakes. I don't know why we don't see many. At our farm for example...great habitat for snakes, we've owned the place for almost 10 years, and I've seen 1 snake out there in all those years...and that includes trips into the woods to go herping (I just went last week, found 3 salamanders, I thought of you...weren't you talking about salamanders last week sometime?).

I found a ringneck at my cousin's camp last year, in the county to the east of us. It was SO tiny and cute! They love the rocky areas, that's where I found mine, in a stony driveway under a large, flat rock.
 
We have 14 species of snake in my county, and the only ones I've ever seen are one species of garter (we have 2 different garter species) and some Northern water snakes. I don't know why we don't see many. At our farm for example...great habitat for snakes, we've owned the place for almost 10 years, and I've seen 1 snake out there in all those years...and that includes trips into the woods to go herping
14, wow, that's a really good number. I'm surprised that you haven't found more snakes, especially living on a farm.

(I just went last week, found 3 salamanders, I thought of you...weren't you talking about salamanders last week sometime?).
Oh, yes, that was me :)! I was, and am, definitely looking forward to going out on a Salamander cruise one night when it's rainy. I want to go behind my house where the vernal pool is. I really should go soon.

I found a ringneck at my cousin's camp last year, in the county to the east of us. It was SO tiny and cute! They love the rocky areas, that's where I found mine, in a stony driveway under a large, flat rock.
That's SO cool! Yeah, that's exactly what my grandfather said they loved, large, flat rocks. He said that they really can hide in the most flat of areas, and I have so many stone walls and rock formations, that I need to make an official herping day of it to try and find one. I would be ecstatic.

I remember finding baby Red Bellies before, and those things are tiny. It's hard to describe just how tiny they are. They were maybe 2-3" long, and as thin as could be. I tried catching one in the grass, but it slithered under some leaves, and I didn't want to crush it by looking for it.
 
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