Da Count-All Creatures Great and Small

We had all sorts of fun at the lake but our friends' kids also had fun in our backyard finding all sorts of critters. The first discovery was woodpeckers. We sighted a big Pileated Woodpecker but missed a shot at it with the camera. He's a wily thing I've only spied 3 times in the 5 and a half years I've lived here. Later we saw a Downy Woodpecker which is much smaller. Our guests enjoyed seeing deer and tree rats squirrels too. We saw evidence of a raccoon getting into the screened in porch when we discovered his footprints in the pollen on the chair rail. Over the years we have often had black bears go through the neighborhood and occasionally they get into the garbage shed.

We found an Eastern American Toad. Generally the routine at House of Lime is catch a critter, take a picture, admire it a bit, then return it where it was found. I tend to think wild things should not be long removed from their natural habitat. The toad spend a few hours in a box and was fed a number of earthworms before being deposited back by the woodpile.

We also found this Ringneck Snake near the woodpile. Looks big doesn't he?

Not so much though. Here he is on the back of my hand. I'm not sure whose skin is scalier...

Here you can see how tiny the snake really is. I have to admit to be tempted to hang on to him a while. I have lobbied for a pet snake for some time. They are non-allergenic, low maintenance, and can still be cuddled. What? Don't give me that weird look. They are.

Here is a Red Spotted Newt. I can remember catching scads of these things in the woods when I was a kid.

I'm not sure which species this one is but it's cute, maybe a Northern Two-lined Salamander.

A lovely lady bullfrog. At least I think it's a girl because her tympanum (the round ear drum near her eye) is smaller than her eye. In males the tympanum is larger than the eye.

I have no idea what species of dragonfly this is. It intrigued me because I never saw a golden one. There were several other varieties flying around but this one was the only one willing to pose.

Isaac has been a critter catcher since he was 2 years old and gently snagging crickets by their hind legs. We've seen all sorts of interesting creatures over the years. Some finds have been rather rarely seen animals and it impressed the naturalists at the local environmental center that Isaac had found them. It was a bit of a bonus to have seen so many different things all in a couple of days.