Salamander Weather

Originally Published March 3rd

Hello everyone,

I hope that this finds you all well and happy. We began our unit on amphibians last week. The conditions were very cold and rough, but that is part of the amazing thing about salamanders, toads and frogs. They are small, cold blooded creatures who somehow venture out as early as they can when the nights are above freezing. The forest species migrate from their secretive lives in leaf litter and forest floor detritus to freshwater sources like ponds and vernal pools in order to breed and lay eggs. This past week we talked about amphibian life cycles and metamorphosis. We moved our bodies like frogs and played leap frog. We got out nets and went to the pond in search of spring amphibians, and even though we had to break the ice to get to the water's edge, we found some salamanders!

Next week we will focus on salamanders, and on this Thursday the 7th we will be having a field trip to Equinox Pond at the Equinox Preserve. Like with our hiking trip a few weeks ago, we will have drop off and pickup at the red gate trailhead parking lot. If your child is in aftercare on that day, let's please communicate and make a plan for transportation. We will be scooping and netting in the water this day, and investigating in the woods for salamanders. We would appreciate any extra adults who could join and helpin these activities. It looks rainy, which will be great for amphibians!

A couple of suggested extra-curriculuar activities for this unit are listening for spring peepers, and keeping an eye out for migrating salamanders. If you can, please take some time to listen for spring peepers near any freshwater ponds that you may know and pass by. They begin peeping around dusk, and we should be able to start hearing them any time now. They are very tiny, about the size of a pencil eraser, but they make an incredibly loud noise, so you might even be able to hear them from a distance, like from the car with the windows rolled down. Also, cold rainy days and wet evenings are great times to see salamanders on the move at this time of year. I know that they have been spotted migrating here last week. Mud season and early spring can be a challenging time of the year. It is always helpful to find opportunities to look outside ourselves and enjoy the wonders of this world. They are all around us all the time, even in early April in VT, it's just up to us to take the opportunities that we can to appreciate them. Best of luck enjoying some amphibian magic in the next few weeks!