Herp Update

Herpers,

as we move into August I have been receiving lots of reports of recently metamorphosed American Toads.  Young American Toads are tiny.  They could fit on top of a dime.  If you look closely at them, you can see tiny colored dots where their warts are going to be, but they are pretty smooth and plain looking.  Since they usually stay in groups as tadpoles and they transform at about the same time, where you find one tiny American Toad you usually can find dozens once you start looking closely.

I also have been seeing this year’s young of Northern Leopard Frogs, but in no where near the explosive numbers of last year.  Young Spring Peepers and Wood Frogs are usually harder to find and I have received only a handful of reports of young of those species.

By turning cover objects I have been finding recently transformed and newly-terrestrial Spotted and Blue-spotted Salamanders.

I got a kick out of these Painted Turtles in a backwater of Otter Creek in Ferrisburgh.  My wife Kris and I found them yesterday and Kris took the photos.  There were about 40 of them basking entirely covered with duck weed.  Duck weed is (as its name suggests) an important food for ducks but Painted Turtles also eat it.

Jim

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Painted turtles covered in duck weed. Photo © by Kris Andrews