Spring? The salamanders are trying!

With a few days in the mid 40s and 50s the last couple of weeks, we are finally almost defrosted here in SE Michigan. I spent some time scouting vernal pools for my goal of a Macomb Co tiger salamander. All week, despite the warm temperatures, I was hiking on inches of ice, and a few of the vernal pools were over half frozen and still covered with snow. Unfortunately, it hasn't rained much at night, and when it has, it has still been really cold. Well it rained most of the day on April 4th during the day, with temps in the mid40s. Despite knowing the pools were still frozen, I decided to try them at night anyway.

I met up with another local (hardcore baby, hardcore) herper Chris B. He was thankfully up for being a good sport and trying something new with me. We headed out to the place I had scouted shortly after dark. It was a cold and very windy walk to the woods. I asked him how warm it was - the phone confirmed it was below 40 here. Still hopeful and desperate, we continued on. It had been a very long and cold winter after all.

Some phone pics of the area from scouting this week.

We walked up to the first of four vernals and were greeted with silence. Well the frogs are smarter than we are. I took a few steps out, and looked down in the beam of my flashlight to see my specific target. An eastern tiger salamander from Macomb Co. Well, that was easy.

We made a few jokes about how easy that was. Chris even joked that if he didn't photograph it we wouldn't see any more. I'll save you all the suspense, it was our only tiger of the night. We searched that pool and 3 others extremely hard, fueled by early success. Within a few minutes it started to "precipitate", by which I mean a freezing cold sleet that later turned to snow. Awesome. We searched the four ponds, two of which were more wooded and, oddly were completely clear of snow and ice. The other two were still very frozen. The water temperature couldn't have been much above freezing. We hiked icy trails, and trudged through ice in the ponds, leaving trails like Antarctic sea vessels. We finished with six salamanders. One tiger, four bluespots, and a small newt. All but the last bluespot were found in the icy/frozen ponds. The last bluespot was actually moving through the leaf litter a ways from any water. All that we checked were males, we didn't disturb a couple of them (Edit: I was reminded by Chris that the salamander pictured below was in fact a female, which makes sense, as it looks like a unisexual from the laterale complex, which are typically all females)

I had flipped a spotted salamander at this location last year, so they are likely still smart enough to remain below ground. We saw no spermatophores or egg masses. I bet this place is just awesome under good conditions.

It will remain a night for the memories though. Can't say I enjoyed the cold, it took me a few hours to defrost at home. May the warmer rains come soon. Thanks to Chris for joining me and being a good sport.

These actually were not my first Michigan herps of the spring. More on that when I can get through pictures.

Spring Spotteds!

I mentioned in an earlier post how I have such bad luck finding Spotted Salamanders, Ambystoma maculatum, since moving to Michigan.  In a turn of that luck, Spotted Turtles, Clemmys guttata, have been a little easier to turn up. They are never an easy animal to find (Well, in other parts of the state you practically trip over them) but I managed to spot a few of these throughout the spring in different areas of the state.  The turtles are fairly skittish, but I have had luck spotting them basking with binoculars and then getting distant voucher photographs.  Sometimes, I even manage to sneak up on them!

 I started off my spotted bonanza late in March when we had a week of temps in the 80s.  I headed to a county and area I had never hunted before with spotted turtles on the brain.  After driving around for a while checking out possible wetlands, I noticed this turtle basking.

Upon trying to get a little closer, the turtle slipped away.  I was checking out the edge of the wetlands, and noticed another turtle basking in the shallow water.

The turtle didn't move during the photosession and was left exactly how it was found.

I struck out on a few different outings during April, but finally hit gold and found a turtle on a tip from a friend.  He had recommended checking out a nice wetland, although he hasn't seen anything there.  I had actually hunted the area and the wetland back in the fall of 2008, but it had fallen off my radar.  After being unsuccessful most of the morning, I noticed an interesting looking turtle basking on a tussock through my binoculars.

I had my suspicions right away, but it had been a cloudy day and I couldn't quite make out any spots or flashes of color initially.  I stealthily crept closer to finally confirm the ID of the turtle, which is no small feat considering my large stature.  This has been my best find of the year so far, and made my spring because of the location the turtle was found.  I noticed plenty of painted turtles, a bunch of blandings and a snapping turtle but no other spotted turtles were found.

I returned a few days later to try and find more turtles.  The same turtle was basking in the duckweed close to it's location a few days prior.  I was able to identify it by comparing the markings on the head with the previous pictures.

I was still unable to find any other turtles in the area, despite it being extensive.  I returned again about a week or two later with the guy who recommended I check out the area.  He was pretty excited his tip worked out, and we were excited to try and find some more turtles.  Initially only the resident blandings and painteds were noticed, but on the hike out we noticed a flash of orange!

A second turtle!

 So at least there are two!  Hopefully, this small population will continue to persist.  There is extensive wetlands in the area, and although it isn't traditional spotted turtle habitat, it is on state owned land.

In May I had a conference in Chicago, so I decided to check out a few areas in the western side of the state on my drive over.  I basically just chose a few preserves off the map and decided to scout them out.  The first spot is a city park, and has extensive wetlands and bogs, although they are separated by a few roads.  Hiking in was unsuccessful, but I finally noted a turtle with some yellow through my bins.

Painted turtle obscuring a more interesting turtle...

I crept closer, and the painted turtle bailed.

I checked out the bog, which looked amazing, but got skunked.  I moved locations to another county farther west.  It led to a friendly run in with law enforcement, but they were mostly just checking to see that I wasn't poaching or dumping trash.  It's good to see some local wildlife officers keeping tabs on some of the more vulnerable species.  We chatted about herps for a bit and I moved on to a third site.  This site was also basically a bust.  It turned out to have known massasaugas, box turtles and spotted turtles, but I just found tons of painteds and snapping turtle.  Again on the hike out, I came to a pond where I checked out the many turtle heads sticking up and only noticed painteds.  Just before leaving, I spotted a turtle with a yellow chin, and assumed it was a young blandings turtle.  It was climbing out onto a small log, so I snapped a few photos for ID purposes and moved on.  Upon reviewing the photos a few days later I noticed the turtle's head was not typical of a blandings, and that there was color on the back of the head as well.  It wasn't a young blandings, it was another spotted turtle!

Super zoomed craptastic but identifiable picture!

 I herped a bit around Chicago-land, but that story can wait for another day.  On the way home, I checked out another location I chose off the map that I thought might look good.  The place looked perfect!  I can't wait to return, but when I was there it was dark and overcast, with intermittent rain and temps in the low 50s.  No turtles were found, but I am excited to return next spring.  The place had a nice population of pitcher plants, and I also spotted a young watersnake basking in the marl.

As the summer is now blistering hot and dry, most of the turtles are smartly aestivating.  I already can't wait for another spotted spring!

Happy herping!

BH

Spring Cruising

In mid March we had a few large storms blow through with temperatures holding in the 40s and 50s.  I had been watching the approaching storm on the radar all day, and planned my route.  I started driving about 1.5 hours prior to dusk, as it wasn't raining yet and the rains were slowly moving west to east torward me.  I figured I would meet the rains west of here, just as dark was falling.  I knew the salamanders would be out, and I wanted to maximize my time on the road.

I loaded up the car with snacks, camera gear, rain gear and my dogs as company.  It was going to be a long night, so they each had some comfortable beds, water and plenty of toys.  We were off.

I drove about 1.5 hours and just as dusk hit, the rain started to come.  I had planned well.  Immediately frogs were noticed to be moving across the road.  Within about 15 minutes, I had my first salamander of the night, an eastern tiger salamander.  Unfortunately, he wasn't the most cooperative for pictures, but I saw many more.

Wood Frogs Rana sylvatica were abundant.

Unfortunately, DORs (dead on road, as opposed to AORs, active on road) were also abundant.  I usually photograph these as well, no matter how gruesome.  They can still serve a purpose and get recorded in online databases.

Tiger DOR

Blue Spotted Salamanders Ambystoma laterale (or their polyploid brethren) were also extremely abundant, and would be the most common salamander observed.  They were mostly found on the forested back roads, or remote paved roads, and usually only during the rain.  I would end up seeing 25+ of these throughout the night.

The tiger salamanders, Ambystoma tigrinum, were typically found crossing the busier paved roads running through farm land and other slightly developed areas.  I found none of these crossing the dirt roads or roads running through the woods.

Oddly enough, the nice vernal pool I checked out with Nick Scobel et al. that was in the forest, was full of tigers.  We saw none of them on the roads leading in or away, despite multiple passes, but the pool had to many to count tiger salamanders swimming around.

Tiger Salamander Ambystoma tigrinum

No blue spots were observed in the pool, but we spotted one lonely individual crossing the road while we were shooting the tiger.

A couple other nice vernal pools were checked without finding any salamanders.  I split away from the others again and hit the roads.  The rain had mostly stopped, as it had passed us by now, but I new the salamanders would still be moving a little.

In the end, I saw 25+ blue spots, and 5 or 6 AOR tigers.  There were countless tigers in the vernal pool.  Many more of each species were observed DOR.  I crossed through 3-4 counties, and was in the car for 11 hours.  I pulled into my driveway at 530 am feeling pleased with my efforts.  One continued frustration was my lack of Spotted Salamanders, Ambystoma maculatum.  I have yet to see one of these common salamanders in Michigan, and despite all the miles covered and all the hours cruising, none were viewed crossing the road.  They were typically the most numerous salamander viewed when I when cruising in Ohio.  Another mystery for another day...

Spring has sprung!

BH

Spring Silliness

I haven't been able to post much lately due to a variety of reasons.  On of the biggest reasons has been our unseasonably warm weather and the need to spend time in the field.  Today is actually more indicative of "spring", as it is cool in the low 60s and cloudy.  Really not bad for March.  I am going to try and get some stuff up soon, but here is a quick teaser...

Spring?

Posting from the road.

Early spring. Check
Temps in the 60 s.  Check
Full tank of gas, full cooler of caffeine, two awesome dogs. Check, check check
Rain?  Promising forecast...

Willing to drive all over the state chasing rain and the calls of breeding frogs?

Wouldn't have it any other way.

2nd Ohio Amphibian Research and Conservation Conference

If you have any interest in herps, biology or just enjoy the outdoors, I suggest you check out the 2nd Ohio Amphibian Research and Conservation Conference.  Ohio DNR has been putting on reptile and amphibian conferences every two years now for almost a decade.  They alternate the focus of each conference between reptiles and amphibians, so each topic is approached every four years.  This years event is March 20, 2012 at the ODOT Hilltop Conference Center in Columbus, Ohio. The keynote speaker is Dr. Tyrone Hayes, an amphibian ecologist from UC Berkeley, who will be speaking about amphibian declines.

Western Chorus Frog found breeding on March 11, 2006

I have made almost all of these conferences now and they are always full of top notch speakers, fascinating information relevant to Ohio reptiles and amphibians and provide a great opportunity to get together with a group of like minded individuals.  The past few conferences have probably attracted 100+ people in attendance from all walks of life and level of interest.  These conferences are pretty laid back, and provide a wonderful venue to celebrate herps and bring in the new field season.

Tiger Salamander roadcruised on March 15, 2008

The conferences are centrally located in Columbus Ohio.  You can obtain more information about registration (late now), location and scheduled speakers here.  Another selling point is that the past 2 or even 3 conferences I have attended were blessed with rain.  I have been able to get some early spring amphibian migrations in on almost every occasion!

Smallmouth Salamander roadcruised on March 13, 2010

New Turtle Craft!

My holiday wishes came true and I found myself the lucky owner of a new "turtling" (fishing) kayak this year.  I had spoken about my dream boat before, the Jackson Kayak Coosa, and I can't wait to really get this thing out on the water...

It's a decent sized craft, coming in at 11'3" and weighs a bit under 70 lbs.

Getting her unwrapped was a breeze, and I quickly had her outfitted for a trip!

Notice the fishing pole and snake hook fitting nicely.

But now the question became how to store it??  I am not the handiest of fellows, but I recruited my buddy Rob to help figure something out.  Rob recently got a hard top Jeep Wrangler and had rigged a pully system for the hard top in his garage.  Turns out it broke and fell, but he assured me he wouldn't make the same mistake twice.  I figured he had more experience than I, and maybe he learned a thing or two from his earlier transgressions...

A couple stops at Home Depot, Lowes, the neighborhood ACE hardware, (and then Home Depot and Lowes again) and we were in business.  The boat doesn't weigh a ton, but Molly wasn't thrilled about the idea of it hanging over the front of her car, especially with twiddle dee and twiddle dum suspending it.  We opted for the fairly high load bearing pulleys, rope, etc.  We made sure to try and and eliminate any "weak" points in the system.  After buying everything, I am sure it won't fall due to equipment failure.  Now, knot failure is a whole other issue.

Most of our supplies, just after getting started.  

We rocked out to some Black Keys as we fashioned the webbing around craft.  We used heavy duty caribiners to connect the webbing to the rope, with a section of rope to keep the straps tight in the middle.

Here we are getting ready for the first test pull.  We quickly fashion rope loops around the rafters just for the test run, and ended up with heavy duty chains, as eventually trading up for climping rope too.

Good thing we checked first too.  The initial pulleys didn't have a swivel feature, and the "track" for the rope was too shallow.  The rope kept coming off and getting wedged.  New pulleys, new rope, and our chains now in place...

To keep the chains from sliding, we bolted them in place in the beam.

Another test run later, the craft pulled up and down fairly easily, with everything staying smooth.

I read you should hand your kayaks upside down to prevent warping.  We lowered it down, figured out how to tie it off on the wall, and we were in business!

It isn't the prettiest, or easiest tie, but it is redundant and it works.   We used a heavy duty loop and hook initially.  The loop is bolted into the beam, and when you pull the hook and knot down it easily hooks in.  Makes it pretty simple for one person to do.  We could only find a small cleat, and probably should have gotten a bigger dock cleat from a boating supply store. Since this was kinda the backup, we opted to just loop a knot around the cleat we had.  What little excess rope there is is looped above.

And there she is, all hoisted up!

Many thanks to Rob for all of his help!  Now I just need to come up with a creative herping name, and get her in the water!  Spring and the rivers are just around the corner...

Any name suggestions for a river worthy turtle craft??

BH

By the way, we hung her Jan 9th, and if any of you were wondering she hasn't crashed down on Molly's car yet!

Michigan and our Love/Hate relationship

After having a few days off in which the clouds decided to dump rain all day with very cold temps, or even just flat out snow, I managed to drag myself out of bed and hit the field with a dismal weather forecast for the day.


Sun poked out though, the day grew bright, and fun was had by all.

Joy deciding whether a racer tastes like her usual fare of birds and squirrels.

More to come.  I need to wrap up a ton of Hawaii stuff too.  It's a great thing to have to much content to post.

Roadcruising Riffs: 10

Dirty Sweet - Baby Come Home



Get out and catch some amphibians...

BH