It was a nice hike through the Lackawanna State Forest this afternoon. The main goal of the hike was not to collect trash, but just to get out and see what kind of herps we could find.
This is Kelly, a new graduate student. She came along today to see herps and insects, but by the end of the hike she was not only pointing out trash, but picking it up too! Only less than half a bag on a four hour hike and only common herp species, but it was still a nice day to be out.
Discovered this sign at the site. I think Manny Gordon would be happy that we helped to clean up the forest lands he once maintained.
Found some old cans and some new ones. I don't think I have picked up either before.
When I find glass bottles, generally they are new ones. This was a thick old Coca-Cola with a Wilkes-Barre Label on the bottom.
American Toad. Yes, I have posted these before, same with the rest of the amphibians today. They can be found all over eastern PA.
These two photos shows the variation that can be found in amphibians. Both are Spring Peepers and both are just color variants. This species is not sexually dimorphic, so the color differences in no way mean one is a male and one is a female, both can show these same variants. The photo on the left is the most common variant and is what you will see in a field guide.
Wood Frog.
Thought this fungus was pretty cool, even with the stick in the center.
One of the nicest surprises came at the end of the hike. Three Red Squirrels were scurrying around this tree. I could only get two in one shot, but I assure you there were three. They didn't stick around for any closer shots.
I do not think I will be able to post again until Sunday. I will be out on the Lower Lehigh again tomorrow and may take out some small amounts of trash on Saturday and Sunday. All posts at the latest will be up on Monday.
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