Wood Frogs

 

  I don't know why but I need to see Wood Frogs every year. Maybe it is because they are one of the first sure signs of spring. I guess seeing the frogs is the first thing of the new year that is spring and not winter related.. When Laurie and I went down the Cape we checked out multiple vernal pools. Most of them had brush and briars between the pool and the trail. We heard some Wood Frogs but I didn't see any. We have also been to the Attleboro Springs Wildlife Sanctuary a couple of times looking for them. There is a nice vernal pool right along the path but both times this year. Neither time had a frog.

   It was bothering me that I hadn't seen a Wood Frog and I knew that time was running out. I went to Moose Hill in Sharon on Wednesday. There is a very reliable vernal pool about a ten minute walk from the car. I had some time before work so I went hoping to see some frogs. The vernal pool that I always see frogs in was empty. However, a pool in a gully had some frogs calling. It was a clear path down the hill so I went down to see them. There were only a couple frogs in the small body of water. I snapped a few photos and admired them in the warm sunlight. Though I could only spend a couple minutes before I had to go to work, I felt a much better now that I saw a couple Wood Frogs this spring.

More dumb stories from work

    Once the calendar turned to March, people have been out in droves buying fishing gear. This is the month that Bass Pro has their three week long biggest sale of the year. Especially on weekends we are really busy spooling reels for people, cashing them out, and answering questions. Because of the rod and reel trade in, we have sold hundreds of rods and reels in the last two weeks. 

   Knowing that we were bound to get an uptick in stupid questions I started a log where we wrote down dumb interactions. Over the course of a weekend we filled up the front side of a piece of notebook paper. Unfortunately, one of the assistant managers thought it was not a good idea so we couldn't keep it behind the counter. Too bad because it had stories I'd love to share.

Disclaimer

   Before I start, I have to post this disclaimer...I am not making fun of people without experience fishing. One of the best parts of my job is sharing knowledge with people. I've shown many beginners how to string a pole. I've taught kids and adults how to tie a palomar knot. I've spent a lot of time talking with recently retired guys about the cheapest spinning reel under $100. Five times a week I give a lesson to people that are buying their first baitcaster. I explain the drag, brake, and thumb position so often it sounds like a recording.

   It is not those people I am writing about. It is the people that think they know what they are talking about but don't. It's the people so full of shit that the whites of their eyes are brown, yet they keep talking to try to make it look as though they know what they are talking about. We have rich people that buy a boat , know nothing about fishing, and ask us to outfit them with all of the rods, reels, and lures that they need. No research, no questions, just more money than brains. It is these people that made our list...

   -As I write this, I received a story from my friend  Corey at work. He waited on a guy that bought a twelve foot Ugly Stick (extremely heavy and very strong) so he could catch small snappers in Florida. Corey tried to explain that you do not need this rod for two pound fish. The guy was not deterred because he "watched a video". So the guy took down the huge rod and knocked over several jigging rods in the next aisle. When Corey went to ring him out he explained there was a question to round up for conservation on the touch screen. Instead of hitting "no thanks" the guy just said no. Then because of our sale, the reel was cheaper than the guy expected and argued with Corey about why it was cheaper.

 -One that I remember vividly because it was the first one I wrote down on the notebook paper was a guy came in looking to buy a heavier rod because (direct quote) " like all guys I tend to use lures that are too heavy and ten or fifteen cast later the line snaps and they end up in the trees".    Like all guys was my favorite part of that quote

   -We have people all of the time trying to match rods and reels that don't match in size. I may have wrote about if t before but my buddy Adam had to spool a large 5000 size reel that was attached to a six foot ultra light rod. The rod was going to be for squiding

   -One thing that actually annoys me is when a customer gets a large reel that can easily hold over 300 yards of braid and they want me to spool it with 150 yards. We use either tape or backing below the braid anyway, but I had someone give me a conventional reel that I had to spool about eighty percent of it with backing and the rest with one hundred and fifty yards of braid. I get it that braid is expensive and you are trying to save fifteen bucks but don't ask me to spool your reel if you don't want me to do it right. 

   -Corey seems to be a magnet for stupid questions. There are a lot of stuffed animals (taxidermy of once living animals) and fish in the store. Someone asked him how they got the grizzly to pose like that before they shot it. The worst part... he has been asked that question twice.

   - A woman asked him where the worms are. When Corey said they were in the refrigerator the woman said "so like I have to touch them".

   Poor Corey has been asked where the fishing rods are at. Trust me folks, you can't miss them if you are in the fishing section. There are rods above every aisle. 

   - Not a stupid question but one thing I despise is when men ask me where the gloves are because they don't want to touch a fish. Seriously? You are going to go fishing and you don't want slime on your hands. Wuss. If I can sneak it into the conversation, like if they ask me what gloves I use or recommend I tell them I don't use gloves and after my son had coordination to not stick himself with a hook, I made him take his own fish off the hook without gloves. If you need to wear a fishing glove or use a rag because you don't want to touch a fish then the sport isn't for you. Also don't teach your kid that touching fish is gross.

   - My buddy Tony was asked if we had any left handed Van Staal reels while the customer was reeling the left handed  Van Staal upside down. An example of more money than brains.

   - A customer came up to Tony and I with a spool of braid where the top of it had been opened ( probably by someone that wanted to see how thick it was. It happens all the time). We have two aisles of braided line. He told us all of our braid was used. This would be a place I would insert a palm to my face emoji. 

   - Someone asked Tony where the remote control boats are that drop the bait. 

   I have only hung out with one co-worker outside of work. Adam. We've gotten food and gone shooting. As I've wrote before, Adam know gear. He knows more of the specs on rods and reels than the rest of us. He is also outspoken about it and can be rude. If he knows he is right about a spec or how a reel works, he won't back down. Sometimes we just watch as he says things the rest of us would never say.

   For example... we don't sell mystery tackle boxes. Yet we get the question all of the time mostly from kids. When Adam tells them that we don't have them in store he also says " the mystery is it is all of the crap that doesn't sell". 

    There is this baitcasting reel that has a computer chip in it made by Shimano. The chip is a DC or digital chip. It is in a couple of models including Curado and SLX. The models that have the chip are between $80-100 more than the regular Curado or SLX. The chip is there to make the reel brake so you don't get backlashes. It also make a sound that all the kids are into. It is all over Tik Tok. Those of us that know how to throw a baitcaster think the DC is stupid. If you want to own a baitcaster you should actually learn to use one instead of having a computer do it for you. Yes you will get backlashes and have to cut your line. Eventually you will learn to use one. So when people come in wanting a DC we all kind of roll our eyes when the customer isn't looking.  The size 300 Curado is made for casting big heavy swimbaits. You can buy the 300 model with the DC. When anyone asks Adam to look at the 300 DC Adam not so politely tells them " if you buy a 300DC you don't deserve a swimbait reel". 

   James had a lady tell him "my son mostly catches ten pound bass. Do you think this line is strong enough?" Sure lady, sure. 

   Another person wanted him to put thirty pound Dacron on a baitcaster. 

   Lastly, it happens all of the time when a person is looking for help they will ask us " do you know anything about fishing?" or before they ask their question they will say "do you fish?" 

   I had thought the last paragraph would be the end of the post, but last night I had another winner. A guy came in with two inshore rods. One was a medium and the other a medium heavy. Both rods were extremely light. Despite saying it was a medium inshore rod it really felt like a medium freshwater rod (the lure rating was 1/4-5/8 oz). He bought not one but two Shimano Stradics. He bought a 4000 and a 5000. Stradics are my favorite reel in the store, but it was clear this guy had more money than fishing knowledge. He had us put the handle of both reels on the side he reels with. I spooled the reels for him. He had thirty pound braid on one and forty on the other. When I was done, he asked me to set both combos up for him (this annoys me when grown ass men ask me to string their pole). So I had to put the two reels on the pole. Then I strung the line through the guides. THEN I had to attach a snap swivel to his line. He didn't have mono or fluoro leader. I tied the snap directly to the braid as he requested. So it wasn't exactly a shock that he said he really hasn't caught anything big. The biggest fish he has caught in saltwater (mind you, he has a boat) is a big blue he caught during a blitz. You don't say!

   Thanks to the guys I work with. I had forgotten many of these stories. So I sent texts out to Corey, Adam, James, and Tony. Within seconds they were answering the call. 

   

   

A spring weekend down the Cape

   

   Laurie and I spent Saturday night in Yarmouth. I had a weekend off and we did not want to waste it. Both Saturday and Sunday were sunny, but Saturday was the better day. The high temp on Saturday was sixty degrees while Sunday struggle to reach forty five with a blustery wind. I really hadn't done anything fun other than one trout fishing trip and going shooting with my friend Adam since January 25, so you can imagine, I was looking forward to this spring trip.

   One of my goals for the weekend was to see Wood Frogs (I didn't see any but heard some). When we got to the Cape we looked for certified vernal pools on a map I found. We checked out a couple places and heard but did not see any Wood Frogs. Along with the vernal pools we checked out a herring run at Satuit Pond which a nice mile walk. No herring but a pretty view. I also stopped at Lovell's Pond to see if I could fish but I forgot my waders and didn't have room at the ramp. 

 

Red Backed Salamnder

  In the afternoon we took a nice walk around at Skunknett River Wildlife Sanctuary. There I found four Red Backed Salamnders my first herps of the year. The forest was full of American Holly trees  and Gallberry Bushes. There was a small White Cedar stand. I was happy to be outside and the scenery was  nice.

   For supper our plan was to go to Longfellow's Pub. Eight years ago Laurie and I went after she researched prime ribs on the Cape. The prime rib and all of the food was delicious. We never went back so when we made plans for this trip, Longfellow's was on the itinerary. Unfortunately, when we walked in it was packed. A server came up to us and asked if we were there for the bereavement. Someone died and after the funeral the mourners all met there. There wasn't any room left and the waitress said it was going to be couple hours before we got a seat. After a disappointing search, we landed at the Ninety Nine. I got prime rib which I have to admit was pretty f-ing good. Laurie got a steak that was so-so. 

   After dinner we went into the indoor pool. It wasn't very big but we stayed in the water for half an hour. 

 

The underwhelming West Dennis
 Lighthouse

    Knowing Sunday was going to be much colder, we did not rush to get out the door. The temp was thirty three degrees when we got up. We had some breakfast then left at 10:30. We stopped at the Herring Run in Middleboro and looked at the herring going up stream. I had polarized glasses so I could see them well. Yes, I let Laurie use them too. The wind was howling so we lasted about fifteen minutes. 

   Not wanting to go home, we went to Attleboro Springs Wildlife Sanctuary and La Salette Shrine. We went to Attleboro Springs hoping to see Wood Frogs but the vernal pools didn't have any. We did see the wild goldfish at La Salette along with a school of bullheads. Weird to see them school up like that.  

  All in all, it was a good trip. I heard Wood Frogs and Spring Peepers. I saw river herring and held salamanders. So, I did see and hear many of the first sure signs of spring. A couple more photos below

The mouth of the Bass River. 

Gallberry 

American Holy

The roots of a White
Cedar are a lot like Mangroves

A meme I found.

Old Man's Beard on tree limbs

The Tundra Bean Goose

 

  The Saturday before MLK day I was on my way to the Cape to see if we could find the rare hawk around Monomoy. As we were nearing the exit for I-195 0ff of I-495 Joe Koger a great birder (and great former school teacher) reported seeing a Bean Goose. I'm not going to lie, I'd never heard of a Bean Goose. So I knew it was rare. We jumped on 195 and then Route 24 and were at Portsmouth High School within twenty minutes. 

   The only other birders there were Joe and Louise Ruggeri. It wasn't hard to see the goose at all. They pointed me in the direction of where it was in the flock. The bright orange legs gave it away. 

   It turned out that there are three species in the Bean Goose family. One is the Pink Footed Goose which is a pretty rare visitor to Rhode Island. I've seen three of them in my years birding. The other two are Tundra Bean Goose and Taiga Bean Goose. As I was looking at this goose there was a big debate on whether it was a Tundra or a Taiga. Honestly, it blew me away that people were talking about the differences in the two species instead of driving to see this very rare bird. 

   It turns out that it is a Tundra Bean Goose and it was the first one ever reported in New England. Way to go Joe! The Saturday Joe reported it, ninety birders did see it. We left before the circus arrived. We watched it for twenty minutes. When we left about ten people were there and it was going to get crowded.

    It is still around and people are driving from as far away as New Jersey and I know one couple flew in from Florida. It has a pattern. It sleeps at Lawton Reservoir at night so people can view it there in the wee hours of the morning. Then it flies to fields to feed. It usually ends up at Portsmouth High School in the afternoon. Birders are not allowed on school grounds during school hours. So they can check the goose flock on weekends or after school gets out. 

  There is a Northern Lapwing around which is a great bird. I saw it the day after it was reported at Scarborough Beach. From there it was seen in Jamestown. Then it moved to New Bedford and has been wintering there for the last couple weeks. Between the Lapwing and the Bean Goose, there are two really great birds in the area!

   

Learning from Gear Junkies

    My interview at Bass Pro Shops went well. I had tailored my resume specifically for fishing. I highlighted links to this blog and also fishing magazine articles that can be found online (Fishing Jamestown). I answered all of the questions easily and was hired on the spot.

   However, my knowledge of fishing really did me little good when it came to the gear. Much of my gear was in very good shape and old. Since fishing companies are always trying to get you to buy the "latest and greatest" pretty much everything I own had been discontinued. Even rods and reels that still have the same name are three or four generations newer than my stuff.

    So I spent a lot of time trying to learn about new products. Whenever I had to close, I'd spend my last hour just trying to get a feel for rod brands and where they were in the store. I'd go home and try to read reviews about one specific rod or reel. a night. Quite often, I'd send my buddy Adam a text message and we would discuss his opinion on a particular brand of rod/reel.

   Adam is a twenty one year old kid but he is one of the biggest gear junkies I know. He is also probably my best friend at work. For sure I have text conversations with him more than everyone else combined. Adam has a photographic memory so he is a wealth of knowledge. We discuss the value of one brand versus another. all of the time. I do this with other people while at work too. I'm always asking questions "polling" people for their opinion.  

   Adam has really strong opinions and there is no changing them. When I wrote the long post about different models of reels, many of the things I wrote were based on conversations we had. Sometimes I agree with Adam and sometimes I don't. For example, I think he is spot on about how great the Bass Pro Panfish Elite rod is for $80. But I do not think St Croix rods are "overpriced junk".  So I wade through our conversations and pick out info and form my own theories and opinions. 

  When I got there, everything at the reel counter looked the same to me and I thought I'd never learn one baitcaster or spinning reel from another. I had to break them down and learn what each brand/model looked like one at a time. Even now, I still don't know what all of the codes are on some of the reel boxes (all the Daiwa Tatula models for example). My conversations with Adam and others in the store proved very useful An example of an opinion I formed over these conversations- 

   I have owned a few Shimano Sedonas so going into the job, it was my favorite reel under $100. However, they have gone up in price and the newer models are much different than the ones I have. Adam is always saying the Daiwa Regal is the best reel for under a hundred. At the very least, it is "the cheapest good reel". It costs seventy dollars. The Sedona is about ninety dollars. The truth is they are both decent reels but the Daiwa is a better value. So I suggest the Daiwa Regal when kids (and adults) are stepping up to a decent inexpensive reel instead of the Sedona. I kind of owe it to my conversations with Adam about value and cost comparison conversations that I've saved many customers money

  I've also polled all of my fellow employees in the fishing dept about which brand of mono (regular fishing line) they use. I've always used Trilene XL for bass and Big Game for carp, but I figured with my discount, I'd be willing to try and use other lines. It turned out that there really isn't one opinion that one line is better than another. I had two employees including my boss tell me they use the Bass Pro Excel fishing line (the cheapest) Adam uses Suffix Advance (the most expensive). In between were other Suffix models, Trilene, and P line. So I learned that basically mono is a personal choice. Some stretch more than others and some people may or may not want that, but the reality is there are many quality lines. 

   All in all, a year into this job, I know an exponential amount of info about fishing gear than I did when I got hired. It took a ton of reading descriptions and reviews. It also took a ton, and I mean a ton, of questions. I appreciate all of the patience that was awarded me.

Lapwings and other things

 

A friendly Palm Warbler walked up to me at 
the Black Throated Grey stakeout. I didn't 
get Palm Warbler (a common species until 
December last year)

   The biggest news in the Rhode Island birding world at the end of December was a Northern Lapwing that showed up at Scarborough Beach. I had spent the morning birding in southern New Hampshire. Just as I was pulling into the yard to drop Laurie off so I could go to work at 3 pm, the report came in. As you can imagine, I was pretty frustrated that I couldn't chase a great bird because I had to make money.

   I did have the next day off and I luckily got to see it. Northern Lapwings are native to Asia and Europe and as I just read, very rarely come to North America. When they do "cross the pond" they usually end up in the Canadian Maritime Provinces. So yeah, it was a big deal bird. We call them "megas" as in mega-rare. 

   I didn't have my camera with me that day but luckily my friend Claudia Cooper let me borrow hers so I could take a photo that I could call mine to add to my photo album. I am grateful for her kindness.

    The bird was only seen for those two days then it disappeared presumably forever. I had to work on January 1 so I couldn't go out and do a traditional big day like most of my birding friends. I did have the weekend off though and didn't plan on wasting it. 

    A couple days ago Dick and Marge Bradley found the Northern Lapwing in Jamestown. They found it

Northern Lapwing with Claudia's camera

 on Weedon Lane. So obviously I, along with everyone I know, went to see it so they would have it for their 2025 year list. It was out in an open field and this time I had my camera. It was far out in the grass so my pics aren't any better than with Claudia's photos. 

   Since I had two days to bird I had a choice to make. Did I want to see how many species I could see or did I want to chase rarities. I could rack up big numbers just by going for all of the common winter residents. But I decided to go for rare birds. I got some and I missed some.

   Saturday morning my first bird I tried for was a Greater White Fronted Goose at Jamestown Reservoir. It wasn't there. Then I went right up the street and also dipped on Clay Colored Sparrow at Goodna Farm with other birders. From there I got the Lapwing. 

   

Northern Lapwing, my camera, cropped

I then drove to Scarborough to see the Black Headed Gulls that winter there. However, the highlight was watching crazies do a Polar Plunge. It was freezing. The air temp was about 25 but the wind was howling making the wind chill near single digits. They jumped into thirty five degree water and got out in those conditions.

    We then left to go to Trustom. We saw most of the good ducks and I found unreported Canvasbacks. I was happy to contribute to the good bird list since I spent most of the day chasing reports.  I picked up another five species including Eurasian Widgeon at Perry Mill Pond.

Female Canvasback. 
Probably better than any bird I found in RI 
all last year

   I also tried to find Long Dilled Dowitcher, White Crowned Sparrows, and Meadowlarks without success. All in all, I found Saturday to be a struggle. I saw forty five species, but missed more than half of my targets.

   Sunday I changed strategies and went to the Groton area of Connecticut looking for two rarities. I first tried and failed at the Black Throated Grey stakeout. I spent about ninety minutes there. While I was there, I talked to a Connecticut birder and she said the Spotted Towhee which was my next stop was a two mile walk one way. I couldn't leave Laurie in the car for what would have been over two hours. So I abandoned my next idea and Sunday was frustratingly feeling like Saturday. 

   I drove back into Rhode Island where I got Lapland Longspur, Horned Larks, and a large flock of Snow Buntings at Misquamicut Beach. Then I went back to Jamestown and got the Greater White Fronted Goose which was my fourth attempt. 

 

Lapland Longspur

 I had a decision to make and decide if I wanted to go to Ft Adams for a Lark Sparrow, Providence for a Tufted Duck, Dartmouth for a lifer Says Phoebe, or back to Matunuck for the three birds I dipped on yesterday. 

   Long story short, I went back to get the three from yesterday. I got two of the three. With Tim Metcalf we had the Long Billed Dowitcher and he refound the White Crowned Sparrow. We didn't see the Meadowlarks but  all in all, Sunday was more fun than Saturday. Maybe it was because it ended on a good note with friends.

Post script-

   I haven't decided if I want to keep a list this year or not. I also don't know if I want to do a Rhode Island year list. I chased as many of the rarities as I could over the last two days. I got frustrated with multiple strikeouts. But these were birds I wanted to see. Thinking about many of the rarer birds that show up every year, honestly I don't have the mental energy to chase them. The thought of jumping in the car to see Vesper Sparrow, Cape May Warbler, American Golden Plover , Royal Tern, and twenty five other rare year birds already feels exhausting and not fun. So if I know that I'm not going to go after them, then is there any point in keeping a list? Probably not. I just want to have fun.

A few photos from below including the Polar Bear Plunge-

Ameriasn Pipit
My 300th bird for 2024. 
Drove to Rye, NH to see them

Wilson's Snipe in New Bedford.
One of those rarer birds that show up every year. Usually I get them in April
This is one of those species I wouldn't go out of my way to chase but since it was near a
Snow Goose I was looking at, I was glad to see it.

Sue Palmer's 312 Birds

 

  My friend Sue Palmer came extremely close to breaking Tim Metcalf's Rhode Island single year record for birds. Tim saw 314 birds in 2022. Sue saw 312 birds this year. Before this year, Tim had the 314 and the previous high was 309 set by Carlos Pedro. 

   Sue worked tirelessly all year to find birds. She found an Atlantic Puffin on a pelagic and Jaegers from shore. She found plenty of other good birds that she reported so that others could also see them.

 She was also relentless in refinding birds that others previously reported. She spent hours looking for a Sedge Wren that was found in Lincoln. But she did see it. She did this with other birds throughout the year. Sue worked her ass off to get these birds.

   Sue's 312 birds is the second highest total all time in Rhode Island. As I wrote above, Carlos had the record of 309 until Tim smashed it. Sue beat Carlos by three species. This may not sound like a lot, but three species when you have seen everything else is really (I mean really, really) hard. 

Congrats my friend!