Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Herp Hunting with the Hardings


Virginia has quite a knack when it comes to finding natural treasures outdoors. The other day she saw two tiny spring peepers mating in the vernal pool at the edge of the field. She went back and took a picture of the eggs. I have tried several times, and failed, to even see one of these tiny frogs. I sure do hear them, but they fall silent before I quite find where they are hiding.


Then today, she begged to show me more eggs she had found in another pool further up the gully that cuts through the woods along the edge of our pasture. They certainly looked to be amphibious in nature, so we searched the web for more information. We are pretty sure they belong to the spotted salamander. 



Here is a video we took of our little expedition.


And here are two excellent videos about spotted salamanders and vernal pools.