Owl Creek Reservoir (1-Jan-2017)

Years ago I started a tradition on the first day of the year. I was out on a hike with snow covering the ground and when I got to the base of a dam, I found that the stream was packed full of Red-Spotted Newts. Every year since then, on the first, I set out to see the first amphibian of the year. It is always a Red-Spotted Newt, but that is the only amphibian in PA that can be found year round if you know where to look. This year I tried my luck at Owl Creek Reservoir. Adult Red-Spotted Newts are aquatic, so I had to find a place where there wasn't ice. The reservoir above clearly wasn't the place to look.  

Between the top and bottom reservoir is a small man-made channel and much of it wasn't frozen over. I want first to a spot with a good flow to it where I was sure I would see these newts congregating. I had no luck so I started following the channel down. It didn't take long until I spotted one. So the above is my traditional first amphibian sighting of the year. After seeing it I did walk some of the trails around the reservoir and got to see about half a dozen more newts. 

The trails were partially covered in snow and I only found a few items of trash. On top of the balloon there is a lens cap that may be hard to see. Not much, but this was the start of another trash collecting year!

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