Amphibians moving

Wood frog (note black mask on its face)

What: Sophie, Sam and I headed down to New Haven last night after the Crow's Path potluck to check for amphibians. Amphibians start moving from their upland overwinter sites down to breeding grounds during the spring thaw. This usually happens late-March, early-April when temps are 37 or above and we get rain that soaks the ground. I can't find my records, but last year was super early and I think they started moving sometime around March 10th or so. I spend most of my time at Shelburne Pond, but that site doesn't see movement until after the New Haven site (the amphibians cross at the south end of SP, which is north facing and usually thaws around April 1).

We were out from about 9:30-10:15pm and here's our list

• Jefferson's salamander: 15
• blue-spotted salamander: 8
• Jefferson x blue-spotted hybrid?
• spotted salamander: 6
• Wood frog: 4
• Spring peeper: 2
• 4-toed salamander: 1
• eastern newt: 5 (all dead)

Ecological notes: The temp had dropped down to about 37 when we got out of the car. All the newts were dead (abbreviated DOR by herpetologists) and we wondered if they had started moving earlier when it was warmer out - maybe coinciding with when folks were driving home. In order of activity level in the 37 degree weather it seemed like Jefferson's were the quickest followed by blue-spotted salamanders and then spotted salamanders. Each had their own jiggly little dance. I'll try and post videos later this month.

Where: North St in New Haven, about a mile north of Plank Rd. Super hot spot, usually one of the first spots in the Champlain Valley to see movement.

Wood frogs, green frogs, and toads!!

What: Both toads and wood frogs "singing" today in Centennial Woods. The wood frog eggs that I've been watching for the past few weeks hatched about 10 days ago and I was able to grab a few photos of the tadpoles today. They seemed to be congregating at a log near the surface of the water possibly for warmth.

Ecological notes: I first noticed the eggs on March 25th, so it took about 23 days for the eggs to hatch.

Where: I noted in my last post on the eggs that the beavers had flooded the area, raising the water table, and creating this little standing pool. The beavers had moved upstream few weeks ago and haven't worked on their lower dam. If they do decide to work on the dam and raise it about 4" it will raise the water enough to connect this pool to the brook and the fish will probably wipe out the tadpoles.

Wood frog eggs (revisited)

What: Wood frog (Lithobates sylvaticus) eggs in a small side pond along Wool Pullery Brook. 

Ecological notes: Our cold weather the other night left a thin sheet of ice. The eggs above the water line froze and collapsed the next day when the weather warmed up. You can see this on the photo on the right. The other eggs seem to still be fine, though haven't shown much sign of development since I first spotted them (March 23rd).

Where: This little pond exists because the beavers dammed up the brook downstream raising the water table and flooding this little depression. If the beavers raise their dam just a couple of inches the pond will be connected to the brook and the fish might make quick work of the tadpoles.

Other notes: Wood frog eggs usually hatch between 10 and 30 days after deposition so we're still on schedule. The eggs are white below and black above. No algae has developed on the eggs yet (again probably because it's been so cold).

Wood Frog eggs

What: Wood frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus) have been singing in Centennial Woods for about a week now (sounds like a bunch of ducks quacking). Yesterday I was out and found several egg masses in various stages of development.

Ecological notes: Along with spring peepers, wood frogs are one of our first amphibians to emerge in the spring. Spending their time literally frozen for the winter, they revive with warming temperatures and head from their upland overwintering sites down to their breeding ponds. With the upcoming cold weather, this should slow down the development of the eggs considerably, and the tadpoles won't emerge for another 10 days or so.

Where: Wood frogs breed in shallow seeps, cattail marshes, and vernal ponds (particularly fond of the latter) and just about anywhere else there aren't fish to eat their tadpoles.

Other notes: There was a couple of inches of water on top of a thick sheet of ice at the bottom - must have frozen all the way through this winter. The little "pool" of water is at the bottom of a seep and slowly filters into Centennial Brook. The water on top is probably from increased flow of water as frozen ground water has been melting.