Amphibian Road Crossing: Mid-season update

You know the old adage: April showers bring -- amphibian migrations! (Well, May flowers too, but those come later). During the warm evening rains last week our Amphibian Road Crossing volunteers documented frogs and salamanders on the move from Cornwall and Colchester to Calais and Craftsbury. Braving chilly and wet conditions, volunteers donned boots, raincoats, and safety vests and ventured out to crossing sites near them to help amphibians safety traverse roads and to collect important data on their migration. We have over 50 volunteers this spring, and we (and the amphibians) owe them a big thank you!

What's the most unexpected species recorded so far this year? Check out the photo at the end of this post to find out!

Some of our earliest migrants this spring were Blue-spotted Salamanders, seen crossing in New Haven back on March 21st. Last week big numbers of Spotted Salamanders, Wood Frogs, and Spring Peepers were seen throughout the state. There are still a few weeks left of spring migration; sites in colder hollows and the Northeast Kingdom will likely have movement through the first couple weeks of May. As the numbers of early migrants wind down, Eastern Newts, American Toads, and Gray Treefrogs will start to pick up.