Another Amphibian Night (7-Mar-2017)

With rain most of the day that continued into night, there was definitely going to be amphibians crossing the roads. I contacted Stephen Kloiber and Jon Mularczyk to see if they were going out to help cross amphibians. Both Stephen and Jon are bird enthusiasts, that at this time of year, hang up their binoculars to help amphibians get to their breeding pools safely. Both were going out and I arranged to meet them. Amphibians can be slow to cross roads and on nights when there are many crossing there can be high mortality rates. Often in areas where many amphibians cross you will find that there are volunteers that help move them across, lowering the mortality rates and helping to ensure we have these species around for years to come. For this and other reptile and amphibian posts, I am not giving a location as to where we were. It is illegal in the state to buy or sell native reptiles and amphibians, but just because there is a law doesn't mean that people don't do it. Not giving locations helps to protect these species from collection. Above is a female Spotted Salamander, one of the first finds of the night. At this time of year it is easy to distinguish male Spotteds from females. Males are slender with a large bulge at the base of the tail. Females are full of eggs and are quite large around the midsection. 

Spring Peepers are one of the smallest spring time amphibians. Only about the size of a nickel, they can be hard to spot in the road if they are not moving. Once they get to the breeding pools they create the loudest vocals, which at times can be deafening. Most of the time Spring Peepers can be identified by an X marking on their back. Not all individuals have this, but most do.

A male Spotted Salamander that made it to the yellow line on its own. If you come across amphibians crossing the road and want to help them along, first wet your hands, then move them in the direction they are heading and place them a couple feet off the road. The spring breeders like Spotted Salamanders, Wood Frogs and Spring Peepers know where their breeding pools are and will continue in that direction once moved. 

Spotted Salamanders are in the genus Ambytoma, the mole salamanders. They are called this because the majority of the year they are underground. Spring is really the only time they venture topside. Other mole salamanders in Eastern PA include the Jefferson and Marbled, the Marbled is a fall breeder and is not often seen other than the larval stage at this time of year.  

It is common to find salamanders crossing the road with this pose. I have no idea why they do it. 

A rarer sight crossing the roads are Jefferson Salamanders. Uncommon in the state this is a protected species. Generally Jeffersons breed earlier than Spotteds, but it really all depends on the conditions of the year. 

We only came across one Red-Spotted Newt on the roads. Generally they are a much more common sight. As juveniles Red-Spotted Newts are called Red Efts and are terrestrial. They spend over four years on land before returning to water and going through a metamorphosis into the adult stage. Both in color and structure the Red Efts differ from the adults. Above is a Red Eft. Adults are generally an olive color and the biggest physical difference the adults have is a large keeled tail.

Red-Spotted Newts are also trying to breed at this time of year. Either Steve or Jon spotted this adult Newt grabbing onto an unsuspecting Spotted Salamander that was passing by. It took some time, but the Spotted was able to break away from the Newts loving embrace.

In the ponds Spotted Salamanders congregate in certain areas. Males will deposit a spermataphore that will later be picked up by a female and used to fertilize her eggs. There is no contact necessary for this salamanders reproduction. 

Every once in awhile you will also find stream salamanders like this Two-lined crossing roads in rain events. They are not traveling to specific breeding sites, they are just crossing the road. 

Redback Salamanders can also be found crossing the roads on rainy nights. This species is fully terrestrial. Eggs are laid on land and when they hatch fully formed salamanders emerge. They have no aquatic life stage. 

A salamander that is often confused with a Redback is a Four-toed. Another protected species in PA, Four-toeds commonly cross roads during rain events. 

On this night I picked up at least one piece of trash at just about every stop we made to move salamanders across. Steve and Jon helped as well. Since we were just throwing it in the back of my car I didn't take a photo of everything at the end of the night. I hope you enjoy this post and watch out for amphibians while you are driving in the spring and summer! Thank you both, Steve and Jon, for your continued efforts in helping amphibians get to their breeding destinations!

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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.

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Amphibians on the Move (24-Feb-2016)

Wood Frog (Lithobates sylvaticus)

Last night I was sure the heavy rains and warmer temperatures would have some of our native amphibians on the move. There were not many, but I did find a couple species. So, where are they going and why are they out? The two frog species you will see in this post are spring breeders. Both emerge from their overwintering spots and make their way to vernal pools or other wetland areas. Vernal pools are depressions that fill with snow in the winter, rain in the spring and only retain water for a limited time. Since the pools do dry up they offer a safer alternative for egg laying and larval survival for amphibians. The reason being the lack of predators such as fish, which could quickly consume both adult and larval stage amphibians. 

Spring Peeper (Pseudacris crucifer)

If the warm temperatures return, soon the sounds of both Wood Frogs and Spring Peepers will echo from their wetland breeding areas. With both of these species it is generally the males who make it to the pools first and they will be the ones making the vocalizations you may hear. 

Wood Frog (Lithobates sylvaticus)

Keep these little critters in mind at this time of year. Especially when it rains. They can be traveling a good distance to get to their breeding sites and many times there are roads in the way. Amphibians don't fair too well against a car and there are many casualties as they try to cross. Help them out by trying to avoid them, because they do not have a chance at getting out of your way in time.

Of course there was trash when I was slogging through the woods. I picked up a handful of items, the areas I went to were fairly clean.

There are very strict laws regarding amphibians in Pennsylvania. Before you go out on a slogging adventure yourself, you should make sure to know the rules and regulations. If you are over 16 you should have a fishing license on you, even if you are just going out to observe them.

You too can help with taking out the trash! If you get out hiking take a grocery bag with you, give it a second use and fill it with trash while you are out! Every bit helps. You can also help contributing to this project here: Help Fund Taking Out the Trash

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Schuylkill River (20-Oct-2015)

The temperatures warmed up letting me get back out on the Schuylkill today. My goal was to finish up the section I had previously been working on. With the five and a half bags I removed today, I did just that. 

What a difference, yesterday there was ice in some of the items I picked up, today it felt like late spring.

Happy this was the last section. This whole bank has seemed endless and at this point I was glad to near an end at least with recyclables. 

The removal of plastic bottles and aluminum cans is just the first step at this site. I really hope that next year I can work out a way to remove everything else.

What an awesome surprise this late in the year. This Spring Peeper was hopping through the garbage. This species is normally not associated with rivers and is generally found near vernal pools and other wetland areas.

I know there is still garbage left behind, but it really is a lot better. 

For this section it was difficult to get back in the branches with a bag so I crawled in and threw the bottles out. For the section you can see in the background I was able to access that by walking around. 

This duck blind was at the end of the point and marked the completion of this site at least for this year. 

Some of the views are nice, but I won't mind not seeing this place for several months. 

I thought this was the coolest find of the day and it still somewhat worked.

Is the item on the left a Sylvester bottle stopper? The item on the right is a blueray copy of The Dirty Dozen. Still in the plastic wrap, it was never opened and I would be interested in the story of how this item came to be in the river.

At this point I asked myself, "So how am I supposed to get back in the boat?". On the way back I dipped my hands in the water and it was freezing. I am so, so happy I am not going back out on the Schuylkill this year.

You too can help with taking out the trash! If you get out hiking take a grocery bag with you, give it a second use and fill it with trash while you are out! Every bit helps. You can also help contributing to this project at: gofundme.com/takingoutthetrash