After a long month of cold weather in March it was finally time to step back outside in search for amphibians on March 27th. With heavy rains and higher temperatures in the forecast it was inevitable that the salamanders would finally be starting their migrations.
Amphibian migrations take place every spring with different species moving at different times. Each species will travel from their overwintering habitat to the vernal pools that fill up with water in the spring from snow melt and rainfall. Usually the earliest arrivals are Jefferson Salamanders who will often enter these pools as soon as there is a large enough gap between the ice and the edge of the water for them to slip under.
In the last few days of March I have managed to witness the Jefferson Salamanders migrating through the forest floor, across ice, and swimming and breeding within the vernal pools they occupy.
Ambystoma jeffersonianum
Ambystoma jeffersonianum
Along with these Jefferson Salamanders came the unisexual complex salamanders that contain mixtures of Jefferson and Blue-spotted Salamander DNA. They are all females (although there have been very few unisexuals found to be males) that will steal the sperm from male mole salamanders and use it for their own reproduction.
Unisexual female complex Salamander
The Blue-spotted Salamanders were also in motion on these rainy nights although they were much less abundant as this area does not contain a high number of Blue-spotted individuals.
Ambystoma laterale
And, as if seeing all of these salamanders wasn't enough, one of the most beautiful (in my personal opinion) salamander species, the Spotted Salamander, was also seen when the vernal pools became a little more thawed out. With such warm rain the ponds melted quickly and the Spotted Salamanders started showing up. They were even the most abundant species seen over the week, having personally observed over 200 individuals at a single site.
The males are first to arrive to the pools. Here they will await the arrival of females which they will then cluster around in these balls in an attempt to mate with her.
Ambystoma maculatum
A few particularly striking individuals seen on my outings were this male with orange spots on his head (compared to the normal yellow).
Ambystoma maculatum
And this large female, who had an extreme abundance of spots, especially on her head.
Ambystoma maculatum
During this time I also started seeing frog species make their way to vernal pools as well to start their breeding cycles.
The next post will hopefully include many of these frog species.
2018 started off with some intense weather fluctuations. By mid February we were seeing nights where the temperature would remain positive 5 degrees Celsius or more in the Hamilton-Wentworth Region. And some of these nights had large amounts of rainfall. Although it was only February, I knew that this weather would bring out some early rising amphibians. Particularly the Ambystomid species (mole salamanders). So on February 19th, when the weather was just right, myself and my friend Billy Olds grabbed our flashlights and went out into the night to look for amphibians. When we first arrived on location I was pretty confident that we would find at least 1 or 2 salamanders. But as we walked through the forest across an abundance of ice and snow and past vernal pools that were still completely frozen, that confidence started to diminish. We had even checked the pool where I often see Ambystoma maculatum (Spotted Salamanders) and Ambystma jeffersonianum x laterale (Jefferson x Blue-spot...
During the middle of our stay we herped Central Florida for a day and then went down to the Everglades to look for reptiles and amphibians there. Unfortunately we had some very cold weather and didn't find as many species as expected in the glades. Here's what we found: Blue Tail Mole Skink Blue Tail Mole Skink Eastern Narrow-mouthed Toad Florida Sand Skink Southern Black Racer Florida Cottonmouth Everglades Racer Peninsula Cooter Add caption We also had some neat bird observations - here are a few I was able to capture on camera Gallinule Add caption And then back to herps... American Alligator American Crocodile Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake - juvenile recently hit but still alive on the road American Alligator - juvenile American Alligator - juvenile Chicken Turtle Eastern Gartersnake R. Wolfe
When the sun comes out and the daily high is 14 or 15C for two days in a row, animals start to come up to enjoy the warmth, despite what month it is. And that's just what happened on February 27th and 28th. I had some free time and the weather was perfect, so I went out to a new location I had heard great things about to go for a hike, enjoy the warm sun, and hopefully see some reptiles and amphibians. I was not disappointed. Unfortunately, the first animal I came across was a deceased Thamnophis sirtalis (Eastern Gartersnake) that appeared to have frozen to death at the base of a tree. Thamophis sirtalis - Eastern Gartersnake. February 27th. But all of the animals to follow were very much alive, even though they were cold and lethargic. I managed to find my first Plethodon cinereus (Eastern Red-backed Salamanders) of the year. And at the same time found my first Hemidactylium scutatum (Four-toed Salamander) of the year, which also marks my first Four-toed Salamander I...
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