Yellow Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) Heading to Congress
A bitter, seemingly interminable winter has lingered in the Great White North. Most ponds, creeks and bog channels remain largely iced. Yet, after midnight, a spring rain descended on Massachusetts’ SouthCoast with gradually warming temperatures that reached into the low to mid 40s. So, in the wee hour darkness, Sue Wieber Nourse of the Turtle Journal team ventured out to a nearby wetlands to see if these conditions would spark a salamander congress.
Yellow Spotted Salamander on First Day of Spring (March 20)
Crossing a dirt roadway separating swampy woodlands from bog channels where we have documented an annual congress in previous years, a handsome yellow spotted salamander slithered through the soaking darkness. Sue saw this moving “twig” in the glare of her headlights and managed to snag him before he disappeared into the bog.
Ventral Side of Yellow Spotted Salamander
These are lovely creatures who, for us, create the surest mark of emerging Spring. We returned to the bog later in the morning, but did not find any signs of spermataphores or egg masses. Also, we found no wood frogs. which we normally observe in these same bog channels. Still too early and too cold, I fear.
First Crocus at Turtle Journal Central Blooms on First Day of Spring
There was another Spring surprise for us this morning. At Turtle Journal Central, our first crocus of the year bloomed on this first day of Spring.Â