Spring 2007

Jason and I tried some February ice herping. We weren't able to turn up anything here. About a month later, I did find some Marbled Salamander larvae at this spot. So I guess you can conclude we gave up too easily.

Early March roadcruising in the rain yielded many amphibians, including this Pickerel Frog.

Dipnetting this pool proved productive for Marbled Salamander larvae.

Marbled Salamander larvae.

A closer look at one of them.

Amplectant Wood Frogs.

I did a lot of dipnetting this spring. This Bullfrog was one of the finds.

In mid March, we took a spring break trip to Florida, mostly to visit family. We did do a little hiking. This was interesting:

A young White Ibis eating a Southern Watersnake.

I took several photos...

Poor snake.

Bottoms up...

Peninsula Cooter (Pseudemys peninsularia).

Ringneck.

Another shot. The flowers are over exposed, but the photo shows the belly spotting that is characteristic of the southern subspecies.

Coastal Dunes Crowned Snake (Tantilla relicta pamlica).

That's it for Florida. Back to southeast Ohio.

Mountain Chorus Frog (Pseudacris brachyphona). After years of frustration, I finally managed to photograph one. I'd heard them calling many times previously, but never managed to track one down.

A Green Frog found by dipnetting.

Daffodils are often all that remains of old homesteads around here. It's interesting to speculate about the history of these places.

A Twolined Salamander larva.

A very large Spring Salamander larva.

A closer look.

Fourtoed Salamander.

Another look.

Slimy Salamander.

There was a particular spot that I worked real hard with the dipnet. This was the only salamander I found, a hatchling Pseudotriton. At the time I was not sure what species it was, but now (2011) I am certain that it is a montanus.

A closer look.

A nice Red Salamander.

Tripod shot gone bad. Same animal as above. I think it's making the jump into hyperspace...

A recently-hatched Ambystoma.

Mountain Chorus Frog (found by Joe).

Another shot.

Large Mud Salamander larva.

Another look.

An adult Mud Salamander. This animal was rather darkly colored. It is presumably an old adult.

Same animal as above.

Mud Salamander.

Another shot of the same animal.

Creek Chub.

Northern Dusky Salamander larva.

Southern Redbelly Dace (Chrosomus erythrogaster).

Some nice aquatic habitat.

Fourtoed Salamander, found in the above habitat.

This pool looked good for Pseudotriton. However, extensive dipnetting yielded nothing. The moss-covered banks of the pool were filled with Fourtoed Salamander eggs (see below).

Fourtoed Salamander eggs found above.

Box Turtle.

Fourtoed Salamander nesting habitat.

Fourtoed Salamander found in the above habitat.

Bullfrog dipnetted from the above habitat.

More Fourtoed Salamander nesting habitat.

Some very productive habitat. The pool to the right of the creek is spring fed.

Fourtoed salamander found nesting under moss at the edge of the above pool.

Pseudotritons dipnetted from the above pool.

A closer look at one of them.

A closer look at the other. A the time, I was not sure of their species identity, but now (2011) I am sure these are both ruber larvae. Interestingly, in subsequent years, I have found montanus larvae in this pool as well.

A nice adult Red Salamander found with Jason Folt.

Another look.

Two Ambystoma larvae we dipnetted. I'm pretty sure that they are jeffersonianum.

Another look at one of them.

One more look.

Milk snake.

Mud Salamander larva.

Same animal as above.

Another look.

Interesting habitat. Note the seepage to the right of the main creek. Generally, situations like this are good for Pseudotriton.

A large Spring Salamander larva dipnetted from the above habitat. It seemed to have more well developed gills than most I've seen. Perhaps due to the habitat? I was surprised to see this species here and not any Pseudotriton.

A young Spring Salamander larva found in the same habitat above.

Habitat farther upstream. There is a large spring-fed pool under the overhang.

Spring Salamander larvae found in the above habitat. One was in the pool. The other was in the creek flowing out of it.

Box Turtle, as found.

This is an interesting situation I came across one rainy day:

A small spring-fed pool.

Looking more closely.

And more closely. A pair of Box Turtles. I also found a nesting Fourtoed Salamander under moss at the edge of the pool.

Nearby, I found these critters. Red Salamander larvae.

Two of them.

The larger one. It is starting to morph.

A closer look at the larger one.

A spring-fed pool.

Mud Salamander larvae dipnetted from the above pool.

Worm Snake.

A closer look.

A spring-fed seepage. The muck was only a couple of inches thick.

A Longtailed Salamander larvae found in the above habitat. I also found a Mud Salamander larva here.

A small seepage, with my dipnet shown for scale.

A Mud Salamander larva dipnetted from the above seepage.

A closer look at the above animal.

Another Pseudotriton from the above pool. I am still (in 2011) a little unsure about the species identity of this one. I think it's Mud Salamander, but the pattern is unique. It is too large to have hatched the previous winter. I really wonder what it looked like as an adult...

Another shot.

The two together.

A seepage with very little surface water.

A nice adult Mud Salamander found in the above habitat. It was under leaf litter.

A young Hognosed Snake.

A closer look.

Ventral shot.

A Milksnake, as found on a dirt road.

A springhead. As one can see from the rippled surface of the water, it has a decent flow. I found nesting Fourtoed Salamanders here. I believe this is the only time I've ever found them nesting adjacent to water with an appreciable flow.

A nice pool. Fourtoed Salamander eggs were found under moss here.

A metamorph Marbled Salamander found under leaf litter near the edge of the above pool. There were also Marbled Salamander larvae in the pool.

Pretty habitat.

Marbled Salamander larvae.

A closer look at one of them.

Fourtoed Salamander eggs, almost ready to hatch.

A Milksnake, as found on a road.

Another Milksnake.

That's it for this installment.