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Apatite for Adventure
April 20, 2008
Nope, it's not misspelled, we hiked Mount Apatite Park this afternoon. Our first woods walk of the season. We saw some cool wildlife including a toad frog toad amphibian laying eggs in the middle of the path. Unfortunately I think I accidently stepped on her before we saw her. Thankfully the first butterfly of the season, pretty sure it was a Mourning Cloak like this, flew out of path before we tromped through. We heard a woodpecker, an unidentified largish bird taking flight in the woods and lots of mating frogs.
In addition to our naturalist discoveries we made other observations, also known as In the future we will remember the following:
- Spring is snowy and wet in the woods even if the day is 70F and the snow and mud are all gone from your yard. Choose footwear accordingly.
- A map or some idea of where you are going is generally a good idea. Otherwise be prepared to simply enjoy the adventure of trekking 3 hours through the woods on a warm spring day knowing you will eventually find your way back to the car.
- Even though there is snow on the ground and it's only April you can still get a sunburn.
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renee on April 23, 2008, 11:46 a.m.
Very cool Myke. Thanks for your help in identifying this amphibian. I love having naturalist/environmentalist/biologist friends.
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mrussell on April 23, 2008, 3:08 a.m.
Rana sylvatica by the looks of it. The picture is a bit far off, but your "amphibian" appears to be a wood frog (Rana sylvatica). They usually come out a bit later but i was actually hearing them in the woods before the peepers this year. . . very weird.