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…
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…
Calls & a Challenge Herpers, the birds and amphibians have almost entirely finished calling and mating for the year and the insects have taken over the singing responsibilities until frost arrives. One amphibian call that is just starting is the…
Spring Salamanders We have recently spent two days in Sharon trying to find Spring Salamanders in that town. Although we updated records for a variety of other species, we were unable to find any Spring Salamanders. Spring Salamanders are one…
Herpers, with more and more of us being fully vaccinated, Herp Atlas field trips have begun again in earnest. We have provided three in the past week. We document all the herptiles found on these trips and add them to…
Herpers, I occasionally receive communications from people nervous about swimming in a pond, lake, or river that has Snapping Turtles in it. I try to reassure them that swimming with snappers is both safe and common. My standard line is…
Late Calling Frogs Herpers, although Wood Frogs and Northern Leopard Frogs finished calling weeks ago, some relatively common species such as Gray Treefrogs, American Bullfrogs, and Green Frogs are still calling. However, in addition to the more common species, I…
Gray Treefrogs on the move: Herpers, at my home here in Salisbury, I noticed that the Gray Treefrogs had moved to their breeding ponds and were calling last night. During warm humid days spring through fall, you can hear the…
The warm weather last week brought Common Watersnakes out of their dens at at least two locations. Both dens were located near open seeps and apparently were shallow and heated by the ground water (cold but above freezing). For some…
Herpers, a few of you have asked not to receive fundraising messages, but receiving this annual fundraising message is the price you pay for being on my Herp Update e-mail list. If you would like to be removed from this list,…
