News, events, and commentary from Jim Andrews and other members of the Vermont Reptile and Amphibian Atlas. The most recent posts are shown below; you can find others in our archive. If you’d like to receive these e-mails in your inbox as they are published, please subscribe to our newsletter here.
- Herp Update: Annual Fundraiser, Recent Work, Herp Activity – December 12, 2024 December 12, 2024 Our Annual Fundraiser has Begun, Please Donate! Herpers, we have started receiving some end-of-the-tax-year donations. That and the fact that our HerpAtlas checking account now has only $15.82 in it, convinces me it is time to start our 2025 fundraiser.…
- Herp Update: Herp Activity, Saturated-soil Searches, Gray Treefrogs – November 21, 2024 November 21, 2024 Herp Activity Likely Tonight The forecast looks perfect for some fall amphibian migration tonight after dark. I hope some of you can get out and report what you find. I predict primarily Blue-spotted Salamanders, Eastern Red-backed Salamanders, Four-toed Salamanders, and…
- Herp Update: Amphibian Crossing, Updated Reports, Snake Migration, Herp Hat – October 30, 2024 October 30, 2024 Recent Herp Activity Morgan Road in Salisbury During last night’s rain, I spent 20 minutes at our Morgan Road Crossing here in Salisbury. A light rain started around 8 PM and intensified for the next few hours. The temperature was…
- Herp Update: Fall Amphibian Migration, Snakes on the Move, Urban Herping, Fiscal Sponsor – October 16, 2024 October 16, 2024 Recent Herp Activity Fall Amphibian Migration Although spring amphibian migrations get the most attention, fall uphill migrations on warm rainy nights can also be quite substantial. Some amphibians that move to wetlands in the spring, move back uphill to feed…
- Herp Update: Snapping Turtles emerging, Unusual Colorations, Snakes Migrating – September 11, 2024 September 11, 2024 Recent Herp Activity Snapping Turtles are hatching We have received a number of reports recently from landowners who have young Snapping Turtles emerging from underground nests in their lawns and gardens. The photo of the fourteen baby snappers below was…
- Herp Update: Recent Herp Activity – August 27, 2024 August 27, 2024 Recent Herp Activity Isolated Reports This week Ethan Bodin sent us the first ever report and photo of a Blue-spotted Salamander (or related hybrid) from Chittenden. Blue-spotteds are fairly common in the Lake Champlain Basin 1000 ft. lower and two…
- Herp Update: Current Herptile Activity, Pittsfield, Priority Towns, Fiscal Sponsor, Upcoming Events – July 25, 2024 July 25, 2024 Current Herptile Activity Only three amphibians are still calling from their breeding ponds. They are American Bullfrogs, Green Frogs, and Mink Frogs. Gray Treefrogs may call occasionally, but they are calling from trees, bushes, porches, decks, and house plants; not…
- Herp Update: Green Frog Eggs, Spotted Turtle, Website, Upcoming Presentation – July 14, 2024 July 14, 2024 Recent Herp Activity People are now reporting sightings of Green Frog eggs. Green Frogs deposit a film of eggs on the surface of the water (see photos below). Since they deposit their eggs so late in the season, the water…
- Herp Update: Metamorphs, First Racer since 2014, Spiny Softshells in Winooski River Delta, Turtles Nesting – June 18, 2024 June 18, 2024 Recent Herp Activity On a June 11 field trip to Sunderland; Kiley Briggs, Kate Kelly, and I found our first young-of-the-year Wood Frogs. Chris Slesar reported young-of-the-year American Toads in West Haven on June 9. These youngsters were fresh eggs…
- Herp Update: Toad Tadpoles, Female Turtles Nesting, Needed Reports – May 30, 2024 May 30, 2024 Recent Herp Activity We have received the first report of American Toad tadpoles hatched out and on the move. Kate Kelly reported them in Hinesburg. At the same time, there are still some American Toads calling and laying eggs.…
