spotting.. groundhogs, snakes, frogs..edible?

Are there any fresh water frogs in North America that are poisonous?

I've gigged and eaten plenty of Bullfrogs but never really thought about the smaller species that were in the same ponds.

PS, my favorite method was to sit in my boat with a bolt action .22 using .22 short HP's around dusk and pop them in the head, but this was done on my own pond, probably wouldn't be a good idea on public waters. :D
 
Animals are well camoflauged but they still give themselves away. Look for something wrong. A flash of contrasting color, sharp lines, etc. Think like you're looking for a man. I find animals everywhere because I'm just looking for things out of place. Grass that's been trampled, a rock with the moist side up, a branch that's obviously been moved, etc. All these things will help you at least get on the right path. That's my .02

P.S. A great book is the Science and the Art of Tracking by Tom Brown Jr. I learned a lot from it.
 
Im no tracker dude but one more observation that Ive had. Being a little over 6 feet tall, as most North American males are, I have noticed a very different perspective in the woods by getting on my hands and knees, or down on my haunches then scanning. The semi congested mass of tree branches that I see, often clears and gives me a much deeper and clearer look through the bush. I can see under and through the branches. This has helped me spot rabbits or a wounded bird. I also like the comment that one fellow made about stopping once in a while. That is very effective as Ive seen animals that I walked past or didnt initially see. They get nervous and figit, move a bit or run or fly. Ive had to slow myself down more than once because Ive walked right past a grouse in a tree and it exploded away as I passed it.
 
upnorth said:
...I have noticed a very different perspective in the woods by getting on my hands and knees, or down on my haunches then scanning...
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Not an optical illusion of any kind, but very true.

Your eyes are trained to basically look straight ahead (foveal vision). As you move away from straight ahead, your vision become progressively more peripheral. As a result, things on the ground or even at hip level tend to become less distinct to your brain. (If I showed you a simple diagram of the typical ranges of human foveal and peripheral vision, this weird statement would suddenly make a lot of sense.)

Lowering your weight brings those things into sharper focus. As a result, you see more. The sacrifice is that you obviously lose the ability to see at 6 feet off the ground!

This also works very well at night, by the way, and you can put more horizon light behind lower objects. Increases your relative field of view.
 
rebeltf said:
Kevshin it is early Feb , where in America do you live that you are seeing baby rattlers and groundhogs this time of year ?
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Well if you live really close to me (temple city) you go to eaton canyon and I saw a baby rattle, oh yea and i live in south cali.
 
I saw a 10" corn snake about a week ago! Couldn't believe it given the cold weather we've had here in the NorthWet. Of course, today it was too warm for a sweater while walking the pooch!

-- FLIX
 
In Singapore one of the hard to find but tastiest food is frog legs. the legs are fried till golden brown in oil then eaten alone or with other food. yummy
erm taste like chicken??
 
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