Amphibian Night (25-Feb-2017)

With the temperatures as high as they were and rains coming in, I knew there would be amphibians coming out somewhere in Eastern PA. I arranged an outing with friends Andrew Curtis, Paul Guris and Tyler Sacks to go out looking for the first amphibians of the year around their area. I live too far north and I knew in my area it would still be some time before amphibians were out. To my surprise when we turned onto the road nearing our destination there were signs with lights flashing stating that volunteers were moving amphibians across the roads. Then when we got to the parking lot there were about thirty or so students with teachers and other adults in crossing guard uniforms. It was the biggest crew I had ever seen to move the little critters across. During rain events in spring several species like the Wood Frog above make there way to temporary pools to breed. These pools fill with water in the winter and spring and generally dry up by the end of summer. This means they lack certain predators like fish, giving amphibians a safer alternative to lay their eggs in. On their annual journey to these ponds many amphibians have to cross roads and on some nights there can be high mortality rates. Volunteers moving them across help lower the number of mortality due to traffic and help to preserve these species into the future.   

Since there were so many volunteers we did not spend any time on the roads and instead went to check out the pools. By this point the rain had stopped and there was not much activity. A few Wood Frogs had made it to the pools, but were not in the numbers I had hoped. 

This photo was taken in an artificial pond before we headed out. It is a Green Frog and it seemed a bit early for them to be out. We did not find any at the pools that we visited. 

On the way to the pools we did see some Spring Peepers on the trail and on rocks on the trailside. They were just making there way to the pools and none were yet calling. 

We only found two Spotted Salamanders. On a good night they would be seen in the hundreds at this location. Both were males and the lack of amphibians in general told us that it was still a bit too early for them moving in large numbers. The volunteers must have found the same thing on the roads, all the cars were gone by the time we got back to the parking lot. 

I did remove some trash from the trail and from the pools themselves. Trash items like bottles and cans, can potentially trap and lead to the death of certain amphibians. If you see trash in a waterway, please help out and remove it.

See my most updated posts on Facebook: Taking Out the Trash in Eastern PA