Amphibian Activity Reports continue to come in reporting fall uphill migration of amphibians. Although I focused on the fall migrations of Eastern Red-backed Salamanders, Blue-spotted Salamanders, and Four-toed Salamanders in one of my previous Herp Updates, the reports include uphill…
Artificial Cover for Snakes A common method to survey for snakes is to put out artificial cover in good snake habitat. I have a series of slate “sandwiches” on my property that I have put out to attract snakes and…
On sunny and warm fall days another really interesting and dangerous (for them) herp migration takes place. It is the movement of snakes back to their dens. The cool nights and shorter days cue snakes that it is time to…
One type of fall movement of reptiles is the emergence of baby Snapping Turtles (see Pat Perry’s photo below) from their underground nests. Our other common turtle, the Painted Turtle, lays eggs at about the same time in the spring…
Regarding late summer and early fall amphibian calls: Gray Treefrogs will call from trees on warm humid afternoons in late summer and sometimes early fall. Their fall call is the same as their spring call, but once again, it is…
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…
Fundraiser Herpers, we have reached our fundraising goal for the year! Thanks for your help. We will shut down the GoFundMe site early next week, but you are always able to make a donation directly by check or through PayPal…
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…
