Philly Herping

Philly Herping is written by Bernard Brown who lives in West Philadelphia. He is an amateur herper with no special training in biology, but he has a passion for reptiles and amphibians and he loves being outdoors. A herper is a person who studies reptiles and amphibians. One usually thinks snakes and frogs. They are part of it, but there is much more and Bernard enlightens us.


One fine, but hot day, Bernard decided to look for turtles. Of course he was successful. He found so many different types of turtles. I had no idea there were so many. Different sizes too. And at the end of the day, he found a special little family of another sort dozing in the shade.

Another time while looking for copperheads, Bernard found almost everything but. He found a lovely box turtle, a garter snake, ring-necked snakes, and a toad. Even when he can't find the creature he's looking for, he manages to find little treasures of all kinds.

Brown snakes are a particular favorite for Bernard. He mentions them often. In the post linked here he found so many of them. There are some wonderful pictures too.

He likes going to Pine Barrens to look for snakes. This day he found and managed to capture a lizard. At the end of the day he had encounters with lizards, snakes, frogs, and turtles.

Salamanders can be just as exciting a find. There are once again several varieties here. There is also a pickerel frog to enjoy.

I have enjoyed my foray into Bernard's world of herps. I had no idea this was such an interesting topic. Bernard supplies pictures and commentary to keep me informed as well as interested. He has been doing his blog since 2005 so there is a lot for us to see. Take a look. For squeamish people... trust me. It's more than worthwhile and not icky at all. After you have looked around leave Bernard a comment and tell him Emma sent you.

Philly Herping

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