A rainy night in Haliburton Co., Ontario....

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crotalusman
Posts: 15
Joined: June 30th, 2010, 6:28 pm

A rainy night in Haliburton Co., Ontario....

Post by crotalusman »

Hi Everyone,

We have a herp atlas that is on-going in Ontario at the present time. The other night was cool (temps in the low 40's) but with some rain. The ponds have thawed in the past few weeks so most of the amphibians were active and calling. A friend and I hit up a square that had little data collected. Here's a few of the herps we found on the road while we cruised through the square:

First, we found a pile of these guys along the road, stuffing themselves with the many worms out there also.

American Toad (Anaxyrus americanus)
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Spring Peepers were deafening, and many were seen on the roads (often VERY cold and lethargic).

Spring Peeper (Hyla crucifer)
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The best find of the night for me was this Pickerel Frog (Lithobates palustris). This is the first one I have ever found in my home county, despite finding them elsewhere.
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We found this Green Frog (Lithobates clamitans) cold and slow-moving. I took a few pics and didn't notice till I looked at them later that it appears to be missing a front right foot. Tough winter?
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Several Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) were still crossing the roads to breeding pools. Most appeared to be females.
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Finally, the last find of the night was a lonely Blue-spotted/ Jefferson complex individual.
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That's all for now. Finally starting to warm up to 50's and 60's. Bring on the snakes and turtles!

Cheers,

CM
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pjfishpa
Posts: 123
Joined: June 2nd, 2013, 6:51 am
Location: NW Ohio / SE Michigan

Re: A rainy night in Haliburton Co., Ontario....

Post by pjfishpa »

Nice finds. Sure is good to hear frogs after that long winter! It won't be long for the reptiles. Going to start looking for racers and fox snakes on the other side of the lake here soon. Sure they were up and active last week when it was warmer. This 40-50 stuff needs to be gone until October if you ask me!
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tspuckler
Posts: 355
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 4:40 pm

Re: A rainy night in Haliburton Co., Ontario....

Post by tspuckler »

Great shots! The contrast on the Pickerel Frog is awesome.

Tim
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Mike VanValen
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Joined: June 7th, 2010, 4:41 pm
Location: Connecticut
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Re: A rainy night in Haliburton Co., Ontario....

Post by Mike VanValen »

The front right foot is there, it's just in a kind of awkward position.
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