On Saturday (August 9th) I did try a map turtle (Graptemys geographica) and soft-shell turtle (Apalone spinifera) trip into Upper Bucks County.

I didn’t see any turtles at all, neither swimming nor in my trap, but I did have a nice time flipping rocks on the banks of a creek up there.




This is frequently a productive way to herp, albeit for relatively common species. I usually find frogs and toads, and often some salamanders, particularly two-lines (Eurycea bislineata) and long-tails (Eurycea longicaudata). I sometimes find northern watersnakes (Nerodia sipedon), and once, many years ago in Ohio I found a queen snake (Regina septemvittata).

This time the frogs were pickerel frogs (Rana palustris)...


...and the toads were Fowlers (Bufo fowleri).


The white belly is one way to tell them apart from the American toad (Bufo americanus).
The recently transformed toadlets were everywhere:





I saw no salamanders, but I did turn up this small watersnake.