Early Valentine's gift

[apples]

So instead of defending my thesis like last Valentine's, or getting arrested for trespassing on endangered bird territory the Valentine's before that....

This Valentine weekend seemed to have much better results.

It started off tame...lots of salamander-food in the area

As usual, the lovely ensatina makes an entrance

A top view:

The little ones are so adorable and sparkly (and fast):

Ooo la la, what is this? (Notice the Ensatina in the background...under the same log!)

Why yes! It is a Dicamptodon!

A rather patient Dicamptodon at that, allowing us to thoroughly photograph its mottling.

Of course, how can it be a California salamander herping experience without the magestic Taricha

There were a lot of them. These were temporarily collected within a 5 foot area (and released after photographing).

And why not, there were quite a lot of mushrooms in the area (hi Jen!)

A final belly shot before they were released. (One of the foot looks as if it was severed, but it's actually just scrunched up.

 

[dane]

cool shots pin, my cousin told me about those bannana slugs after she went out west, I love all the tarichas!

 

[annmarie]

I am loving the banana slug! Reminds me of when I grossed out my grandma once pointing out all the gigantic banana slugs in the forrest we were in!

You made some great finds and took great pictures. Congrats.

 

[stefanie]

Wow. Those are really great pics. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Jan]

Wait - there's something wrong with the mushroom pix..there are no salamanders foraging on it

 

[cameron]

Awesome Bananna Slug. The foot really does look severed but I guess isn't. Your pictures are astonishing. Thanks for the show.

 

[mike]

Very nice! What county was this in?

 

[joseph]

Great shots Pin-pin! I'm jealous of your incredible luck.

 

[apples]

Mike, it was the first park I mentioned to you in my email.

I suppose it is in the San Mateo County.

I enjoy looking at other salamander photos in this forum but I don't get to share as often.

Joseph, it was incredible luck, we went right after the rains. A few of the bridges were washed out, so we were a muddy mess by the end of the hike.

This is an amusing video when I released the unfortunate photographed newts, but it shows the habitat where we found them in. It's actually quite a realistic experience of spotting migrating Tarichas. You notice a moving leaf...and then several moving leaves...then you realize you are surrounded by newts moving steadily and cautiously away from you.

 

[cameron]

That was a funny video. I laughed when one of the newts fell over.

 

[fred]

i hate the city. there aren't that many salamanders within 50 miles of chicago!

 

[russ]

Now that's how to celebrate a holiday! I hope to be in the Bay area next month, keep those rains coming.

 

[apples]

More celebrations.

Trying to pack in all the herping before beginning that new job.

The one thing which is bad about Taricha is that they are terrible photo subjects. I've only included this shot to illustrate the "smooth skin" of the males in breeding dress. The black toe tips were quite distinct as well, but attempts to photograph it were in vain.

Newt love was in full force, although a bit later this season.

A view of the pond. It was shallow and fishless, but we did spot Tarichas in the streams as well.

Finally, these guys were all over the place and cute as a button. About the same size as one as well.

 

[daniel]

Very nice! I love getting muddy!

 

[cameron]

Awesome picks Pin-pin!

 

[richard]

Beautiful Pictures Pin-pin. When spring rolls around i plan to buy a working camera and go on a local herping expedition. What were all of the possible species that you could have seen in your area(were you looking for anything in particular)?

 

[kara]

GREAT photos! Taricha are my fav, and it is neat to see them from the wild! I would love to hear more about your trip PinPin!

 

[michelle]

Wonderful pictures Pin-pin! You captured some beautiful wild Taricha pictures. It is nice to see them in their own habitat. Your so lucky!