amphibians | Vermont Reptile and Amphibian Atlas

Category: amphibians

Groundwater, Ice, and Herp Survival – January 28, 2022

Posted on January 28, 2022 by

Jim Andrews Posted in amphibians, herping, updates

Great Blue Heron preying on Green Frog tadpole at an icy pond. Photo © copyright Rich Armitage and used with permission.

Groundwater helps keep herps alive in the winter Herpers, I could not wait until next week to show you this great photo sent to me by wildlife photographer Rick Armitage. Rick lives in Whitehall, NY, but has sent quite a…

Tagged with: heron, overwintering, predation, tadpole, winter

Herp Update: Saturday Night? – December 10, 2021

Posted on December 10, 2021 by

Jim Andrews Posted in conservation, education, herping, road search, salamander, support, updates

Continuing Amphibian Activity Herpers, looking to replace Christmas movies with herping this weekend? The current weather forecast is for wet and warm (near 50°F) tomorrow evening (Saturday) either before or after dinner. I may not be able to make it…

Herp Update: Continuing Migration and Fundraiser– December 7, 2021

Posted on December 7, 2021 by

Jim Andrews Posted in amphibians, education, frogs, road search, salamander, support, updates

Man in blue raincoat, facing the camera, holds an adult snapping turtle head downward. The turtle is almost the size of the man's torso.

Continuing Amphibian Activity Herpers, with the temperatures at 50°F and the rains becoming heavy around 5 PM, I had to run over to the Morgan Road amphibian crossing here in Salisbury again last night. Given that this was both warmer…

Herp Update: recent herp activity, fundraising, and our new course – December 3, 2021

Posted on December 3, 2021 by

Jim Andrews Posted in education, herping, road search, salamander, support, updates

Recent Amphibian Activity (last night) Herpers, aside from the occasional reports of snakes and salamanders spending the winter in people’s cellars, current herptile reports have stopped coming in. That said, I did head out to the Morgan Road amphibian crossing…

Herp Update: Migration likely, Fundraiser, Reports – November 12, 2021

Posted on November 12, 2021 by

Jim Andrews Posted in amphibians, herping, news, snakes, updates

Amphibian Migration Tomorrow (Saturday Night) Herpers, looking at the weather forecast for much of Vermont, it looks like tomorrow evening may generate some late-season amphibian migration. Since it is a Saturday and it is getting dark early, you could even…

Tagged with: amphibians, donate, fall, fundraiser, gofundme

Herp Update: Bobbie Summers, Road Search, more – October 31, 2021

Posted on October 31, 2021 by

Jim Andrews Posted in amphibians, news, road search, snakes, turtles, updates

Wildlife Hero I am very sad to report that Roberta (Bobbie) Summers passed away last Saturday, October 23rd. Bobbie has been a friend and contributor to the Vermont Reptile and Amphibian Atlas since 2005. She has contributed 451 records of…

Tagged with: amphibians, autumn, community, contributors, data, fall, migration, road search, salamanders, turtles

Herp Update: amphibian and snake activity – October 21, 2021

Posted on October 21, 2021 by

Jim Andrews Posted in frogs, salamander, snakes, turtles, updates

Amphibian Activity Reports continue to come in reporting fall uphill migration of amphibians. Although I focused on the fall migrations of Eastern Red-backed Salamanders, Blue-spotted Salamanders, and Four-toed Salamanders in one of my previous Herp Updates, the reports include uphill…

Tagged with: amphibians, fall, frog, graduate research, migration, salamanders, snakes, turtle

Fall Frog Calls

Posted on October 4, 2021 by

Jim Andrews Posted in frogs, herping

Regarding late summer and early fall amphibian calls: Gray Treefrogs will call from trees on warm humid afternoons in late summer and sometimes early fall. Their fall call is the same as their spring call, but once again, it is…

Herp Update: Fall Migration of Amphibians – September 29, 2021

Posted on September 29, 2021 by

Jim Andrews Posted in amphibians, updates

Red-backed sRed-backed salamander viewed from front: a brownish salamander with a broad red-brown stripe from the back of its head to its tail on wet, yellowish wood. Photo by Kiley Briggs and used by permission.alamander viewed from front: a bownish salamander with a broad red-brown strip from the back of its head to its tail on wet, yellowish wood. Photo by Kiley Briggs and used by permission.

Fall Migration of Amphibians Very few people are aware of the fall migration of amphibians. The uphill migrations consist of amphibians moving from moist lowlands (near breeding ponds) to better drained upland forests where they will follow small-mammal tunnels and…

Tagged with: amphibians, autumn, crossings, herping, migration

Stream Salamander in Norwich, and Video

Posted on September 2, 2021 by

Jim Andrews Posted in salamander, updates

Much of the field work we have done this summer has been focused on filling in distribution gaps for Vermont’s three stream or “saturated soil” salamanders. Part of the reason for this is that these species are only rarely reported…

Tagged with: amphibians, data gaps, salamander, stream salamanders, video