Anticipating Amphibians!!

It’s hard to believe that cold-blooded creatures such as frogs, toads, and salamanders will become active during March, but this is when they emerge from their underground hideaways in the uplands (NOT the wetlands). The first to become active will be our wood frogs, spring peepers, and a few different salamander species who will be on the move from their upland habitat to the wetlands to reproduce. Crossing roads during wet, rainy nights is their greatest obstacle, so be vigilant as you drive to avoid hitting them. Their destination? Vernal (spring) pools of water that dry up in the summer are perfect nurseries for their eggs and young. Some of these pools are within forested wetlands and some are in fields, your backyard, and even along the edges of our roads in Rehoboth.

The young of these amphibians eat mosquito larvae and the adults consume all sorts of insects, including garden pests! Being rather low on the food chain, amphibians are consumed by other carnivores such as snakes, raccoons, fishers, and mink, all of whom feed on rodents and are valuable rodent controllers. Avoid using the new rodenticides that poison rodents. When an apex predator like foxes, owls, and hawks consume a rodent dying from the poison, they are then killed by the poison themselves.

Amphibian eggs develop quickly if the water temperatures aren’t terribly cold. Some frog and toad eggs hatch in as few as 3-7 days while salamanders take about a month to develop, hatch, and start eating mosquito larvae!

One very special amphibian that lives in Rehoboth is the threatened, Blue-spotted Salamander, which has small sky-blue flecks of color on a 3-5” long purple-black body and tail. They are quite elusive though! Perhaps you’ll be gardening, moving a log, or pick up a pot and find one underneath after their breeding event is over and they have left the wetlands.

Take a good look at this photo and if you spot one, take a photo of it in the wild, and mark the location with a pile of sticks or rocks you can find later. With damp hands, place it in a plastic container with a handful of wet leaves and a secure cover. Then, call or text me and I will arrange to document it before returning it to the wild! Only 7 have been documented since 2016! Maybe you will find the eighth one!! Carol Entin 508-415-6065 or president@rehobothlandtrust.org.