Little League Herping

Last night, I ventured to St. Clair County in eastern Michigan for a Little League baseball game, for which I was not exactly exhilarated. My mood lightened, however, when the game participant (and avid birder) told me that the spot was in a rural section of the County surrounded by woodlands and ponds. Well, any salamanderer knows what woods plus ponds equals: sallies! At 5:15, I found myself hiking along the edge of a small lake before the game, and came across a stand of Oak-hickory in the otherwise sea of Aspen and Birch. A few tires near a log pile immediately yielded a beauty of an Eastern Garter, and two of the next three logs yielded Red-Backs. As if that wasn't enough, on a small hike behind the diamond, I literally almost stepped on a camouflaged American Woodcock. Between the Hot Dogs, the Red-backs before and after the game, the birds, and the snakes, I'm beginning to grow very fond of Little League baseball.