Glassy pond water- no amphibs!
Another amphibian day! Yesterday we went out to monitor amphibians in a couple of ponds. We found around 90 Pacific chorus (tree) frog egg masses and I don't know how many long-toed salamander egg masses (maybe 15), including 3 adult salamanders darting around in the pond. Mind you, this is a small ephemeral pond and wetland with a road on two sides and houses all around. Being ephemeral keeps the bullfrogs from invading and eating them. This pond was amazingly prolific for its size and location. Of course, yesterday morning was amazingly sunny and unbelievably cold! When you're staniding around recording the findings or in the water (not me) for 1 1/2 hours your toes and fingers do go numb!
The tangle
The next pond we visited, we found nothing. This tangle of shrubs with large cottonwoods all around it felt so wild but not a sign of any amphibian use. While I waited for my coworkers findings I took a few photos. At least it was a tad bit warmer in the afternoon. All in all a sunny, cold, satisfying day outside enjoying the early bird song, beauty of the clear water, cottonwood buds, and fresh air.
Common witches hair lichen over the pond
“Hope and the future for me are not in lawns and cultivated fields,
not in towns and cities, but in the impervious and quaking swamps.”
Henry Davis Thoreau
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