2020 | Vermont Reptile and Amphibian Atlas

Year: 2020

Conservation and Natural History of Vermont’s Bumble Bees

Posted on July 30, 2020 by

Jim Andrews Posted in education, event, updates

For those who missed Kent McFarland’s excellent Zoom presentation on the conservation of Vermont’s Bumble Bees, you can watch the recorded version at your leisure through this link: https://val.vtecostudies.org/events/recorded-events/ This presentation was brought to you by the Salisbury Conservation Commission. …

Tagged with: bees, community, education

Tuesday Spring Amphibian Migration Zoom Q&A

Posted on July 20, 2020 by

Kate Kelly Posted in updates

Hello Herpers and Friends/Family, I’ll be hosting a brief Zoom presentation and Q&A this Tuesday at noon, about amphibian migration here in Vermont. I’ll be briefly covering (15-20 minutes) methods for safely viewing amphibian migration near you, some species you…

Vermont Bumble Bees: webinar offered by Salisbury Conservation Commission

Posted on July 10, 2020 by

Jim Andrews Posted in conservation, education, event

Did you know that Vermont once had 17 species of Bumble Bee and that 4 are now feared extinct? Learn about these important pollinators and how we can help conserve them, at our upcoming free Zoom webinar. The Salisbury Conservation…

Tagged with: bees, bumblebee, conservation, insects, Kent McFarland, pollinators

Erosion control and herps: please use fiber or blanket, not plastic

Posted on June 26, 2020 by

Jim Andrews Posted in conservation, education, snakes

Erosion-control matting that contains welded plastic netting is bad news for snakes, which is why we are very thankful that the Vermont Department of Transportation (VTrans) has severely limited use of this product, as have state land managers. That said, the…

Tagged with: erosion, erosion control, products, safety

In the News: May 2020

Posted on June 5, 2020 by

Kir Talmage Posted in conservation, news, turtles, updates

A brief round up of this month’s news and mentions of the Atlas: May 18: “F&W: Turtles on the Roadway Need Your Help” from Saint Albans Messenger at https://www.samessenger.com/news/f-w-turtles-on-the-roadway-need-your-help/article_6f8ba722-9906-11ea-a519-13455e108690.html “When you spot a turtle in the road, you may be…

Tagged with: crossings, migration, news, publicity, road crossing, roadkill, safety, turtles

Current Herp Activity & Videos

Posted on May 28, 2020 by

Jim Andrews Posted in frogs, herping, updates

a note from Jim Herpers, with this warm weather American Toads, American Bullfrogs, and Gray Treefrogs are all starting to chorus. This Friday night’s rains should generate movement of all three of these frogs. It may also generate some movement…

Tagged with: data gaps, frog, Lake Champlain Basin, spring

Vernal Pool Video by K. Briggs

Posted on May 11, 2020 by

Jim Andrews Posted in amphibians, conservation, education, frogs, salamander

Kiley Briggs of the Orianne Society put together an excellent video on vernal pools. It is roughly 30 minutes long and covers vernal pools, amphibians that use them, egg-mass ID, and a few invertebrates that use vernal pools. It is…

Tagged with: amphibian eggs, amphibians, frog, salamanders, spring, vernal pool

Need some good questions

Posted on May 10, 2020 by

Jim Andrews Posted in amphibians, education, news, salamander, updates

Note from Jim: Herpers, I will be joining Jane Lindholm on VPR’s Vermont Edition this Tuesday May 12 from 1 to 2 PM for a Vermont herp discussion. We usually do this about once a year and it is a…

Tagged with: amphibian eggs, amphibians, Jim Andrews, podcast, radio, salamanders, spring

Amphibian Crossings: Chris Slesar interview

Posted on May 8, 2020 by

Jim Andrews Posted in amphibians, conservation, education, frogs, herping, salamander

Chris K. Slesar, Environmental Resources Coordinator for the Vermont Agency of Transportation, and frequent contributor to the Vermont Reptile and Amphibian Atlas, did a Facebook Live interview about on habitat connectivity and herps. It’s watchable at https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=682259185675742. [Facebook videos apparently…

Tagged with: amphibians, conservation, crossings, herping

to the Herpers: Spring Amphibian Update

Posted on May 4, 2020 by

Jim Andrews Posted in amphibians, frogs, herping, salamander

a note from Jim Herpers, the warm weather of last weekend generated scores of reptile and amphibian reports. At our monitoring site in Lincoln (1,400 ft. in elevation in central Vermont), Wood Frog egg masses are mostly old and many…

Tagged with: amphibian eggs, amphibians, atlas, data gaps, frog, salamanders, spring