We set the Rattlesnake aside and flipped the couch back the other way to look for the Racer. It was still there, and he quickly slid back under the bottom of the couch that was now on the ground. But there was also an unexpected Eumeces inexpectatus, i.e., Southeastern Five-lined Skink, a male in breeding plumage with a nice orange-brown head. I grabbed it for photos, and at the same time Ron picked up a Southern Toad that hopped out from beneath the other end of the couch.
So now we had seen four
species under this one piece of furniture. No, make that five. Well,
actually, it was six. We once more flipped the couch in
the other direction to catch the Racer, who once again dodged by heading
under the back of the couch that was now flat on the ground. But then
something else slithered, and instead of a snake, it was an Eastern Glass
We were really surprised to find a Hyla hunkered down beneath cover, but there it was. And there we were, on a sure-to-be-skunked day, having found nine different species (six under one piece of cover!) in our first 15 minutes. We stayed a few more moments to worship this amazing piece of furniture, which we dubbed the "Couch of the Covenant", and thought about taking it with us. We were sure it possessed biblical properties, like Moses' staff, capable of transforming ordinary inanimate objects beneath it into living, breathing herps. But it was too heavy, and really dirty, so we left it behind. We planned to stay two more days, and were afraid the rest of the trip would be disappointing in comparison, but fortunately, there were more herps to come.
Oh, yeah. On the fourth back-and-forth with the couch we finally got that Racer.
Northern Black Racer Coluber c. constrictor
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