This evening Emily and I went on a night hike in Wildcat Conservation Area, down the road from our house. The first warmish (47 degrees) rain was last night and today we had light rain and in the 50s. So we thought our chances were good to catch the salamander migration to the local vernal pools. We were rewarded by seeing about 20 salamanders, with more expected this week. The Spotted salamander above was about 6-7" long, pretty good size. Emily got real excited when we also found a mass of Wood frog eggs near these salamanders.
Here is a close up shot of the same guy. The males come out first and lay down multiple spermatophores in the water. These are the white clumps you see in the photo below. The females will arrive at the vernal pool later tonight and over the next couple of evenings, pick up the spermatophores and hold them internally for several hours to a day, and then lay masses of eggs over the next few nights. So, Emily has her vernal pool staked out to collect some eggs and start her observations. Yes...this is quite geeky, but I can't think of a better way to share nature with your kid and teach them about our endangered environment.
I like the top shot...you can really see the texutre in its skin and even the little pupils in its eyes! I bet it was pretty annoyed at you for blinding it with the flash!
ReplyDeleteAwesome photos, love the close up. Did you see any natural predators out since this was the natural migration time?
ReplyDeleteThey move to the pools at night, under dark. So no predators, except a possible raccoon. Didn't see any though. And herons don't hang out in the forest pools, they are more at ponds with open marshes. Also, since it is a vernal pool and dries up mid-summer, no fish. I think the biggest predator concern is for the hatched salamander larvae that get eaten by dragonfly nymphs, snakes (in warmer months), and diving beetles. Of course, there is always the destruction of vernal pools by man and pesticides.
ReplyDeleteWent back for another look at this dude and thought the water effect (warping0 of the pebbles is pretty cool.
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