The weather this weekend was the best herping we’ve had all year. It seems particularly productive (for reptiles, at least) to get out in the first dry and sunny day following a cool, rainy period, and that’s exactly what we’ve got outside right now. Also, this being the spring, we’ve got critters moving from their hibernation spots towards wherever they spend most of the year, those same newly awoken herps hunting to put on weight after the winter fast, and to top it off, they’re really horny and cruising for love.

Before I write up a post about this weekend’s finds, though, I wanted to mention some good news. I checked with the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation, and my favorite parcels in the West Parkside Industrial Park have not been sold (contrary to what my half-blind interviewee reported last weekend). I also learned that they acquired the land in the 1980s, and that it used to be a railroad yard – something I feel dumb for not having figured out. Where else would all those railroad ties have come from?

Anyhow, the good news reduces my sense of urgency for some kind of relocation effort, but I do think it’ll be worth poking around the construction site in the near future to see if there isn’t anyone I can ferry over to the safe side of the site.