Herp Update: June 5 – Gray Treefrogs, New Finds

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 occasional Gray Treefrog calling from up in the trees, but at this time of year they are moving to their breeding ponds and you can hear large, continuous choruses near ponds.

I suspect they moved to the ponds during the last few rainy nights. Of course in many colder, higher elevation, and more northerly parts of the state, they may not yet have made their move. At this time of year you can head out with a flashlight and get some good looks and photos of Gray Treefrogs calling. We need photos of Gray Treefrogs from dozens of towns. I will attach the list of towns from which we need photos of this species. Here is the link to some video, info, and calls.

https://www.vtherpatlas.org/herp-species-in-vermont/hyla-versicolor/

New Finds:

Ryan W photographed the first Ring-necked Snake ever reported from Franklin and Cole C photographed the first Ring-necked Snake ever reported from the town of Orange. Here is the link to our video information on Ring-necked Snakes.

https://www.vtherpatlas.org/herp-species-in-vermont/diadophis-punctatus/

We received needed photo reports of Gray Treefrog from Randolph from Daniel L and both Common Gartersnake and American Toad in Roxbury from Bill C. Although both Common Gartersnake and American Toad are very common species, it has been almost 25 years since we received reports of them from Roxbury, so both species reports needed to be updated.

On the other extreme was a report and photo of a Spotted Turtle (town and contributor kept secret). Spotted Turtles are an endangered species in Vermont and we almost never receive reports of them. We know of only three populations in the entire state. This turtle was near one of those known populations. Since Spotted Turtles are sometimes illegally collected and sold, we don’t share names and locations for that species. Here is our video info on Spotted Turtles.

https://www.vtherpatlas.org/herp-species-in-vermont/clemmys-guttata/

If you live in one of the towns listed below, if would be really helpful if you could track down and photograph a Gray Treefrog for us.

Good luck,

Jim Andrews