Forest Park Wildlife Report

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jonathan
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Forest Park Wildlife Report

Post by jonathan »

My friend alerted me to the publication of the Forest Park Wildlife report. Here are the herps they verified in Forest Park (the gigantic urban park in Portland, Oregon):

Oregon Ensatina
Western Red-backed Salamander
Dunn's Salamander
Coastal Giant Salamander
Rough-skinned Newt
Pacific Chorus Frog
Northern Red-legged frog
Northern Alligator Lizard
Northwestern Garter Snake
Red-spotted Garter Snake

Long-toed Salamanders and Northwestern Salamanders are fairly close, but were not found in the park. Neither, thankfully, were bullfrogs. Other interesting unrecorded herps are Clouded Salis, Rubber Boas, and Southern Alligator Llizards. In a reach you might think about Oregon Slender Salis or Western Terrestrial Garter Snakes. Perhaps some other stuff I'm not thinking about.

So my question - would this be a chance to offer them some http://www.naherp.com data? We have about 150 entries for Multnomah County in the database - I know that a lot of those are from the Gorge or a couple of other Portland parks, but I alone have 26 entries from Forest Park. If anyone who has herped the park was able to add more data first, especially on Clouded Salamanders or Rubber Boas, that could be especially helpful.

What do you think?

Here is the full report:

http://www.portlandoregon.gov/parks/article/427357
Nightsnakeman
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Re: Forest Park Wildlife Report

Post by Nightsnakeman »

I'm not sure, but I do know where someone has confirmed that Clouded Salamanders exist within the park. The link is http://www.caudata.org/forum/f1173-adva ... nders.html. You have to go down the page a bit. Just trying to help!

Nightsnakeman
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jonathan
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Re: Forest Park Wildlife Report

Post by jonathan »

Thanks - I have heard of at least one sighting too, not sure if it was the same person or not. It looks like someone on that forum already asked to get the info to confirm it for the rangers, but apparently the park itself isn't counting them as confirmed yet.
hellihooks
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Re: Forest Park Wildlife Report

Post by hellihooks »

I think the chapter needs to elect some officers for this year, SO that could be considered? And technically... needs 10 members as well, to stay off probation... :roll: jim
Zach_Lim
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Re: Forest Park Wildlife Report

Post by Zach_Lim »

I was lucky enough to hike/herp this park a few years ago during the winter when I was on tour with my band in the PDX area.

Amazing place- such varied habitat. I really wish I was there in Spring/Summer, a Red Spotted and Northwestern would have made my day!

Funny enough, here is a sign posted in the park itself:
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sonora
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Re: Forest Park Wildlife Report

Post by sonora »

The "Aneides" pictured on the caudata forum link looks like P. dunni.
Nightsnakeman
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Re: Forest Park Wildlife Report

Post by Nightsnakeman »

sonora wrote:The "Aneides" pictured on the caudata forum link looks like P. dunni.
Me too. I thought about it for a while, but I can vaguely see webbed toes, is this my imagination? The stripe also looks to patchy to be Plethodon dunni. You definitely have a good point though.

Nightsnakeman
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jonathan
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Re: Forest Park Wildlife Report

Post by jonathan »

The back stripe isn't the best ID characteristic - I've seen Dunn's with no stripe at all, or with just pieces of a stripe. It definitely confuses you at first when you see one like that.

I for one am not an expert on Clouded's and can't tell what that sali is one way or the other.
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Joshua Wallace
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Re: Forest Park Wildlife Report

Post by Joshua Wallace »

I can vouch for Aneides being found in Forest Park through Sean Lundy. As for dunni and ferreus they can be very difficult to tell apart especially when you have a highly mottled ferreus and a broken striped dunni.
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jonathan
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Re: Forest Park Wildlife Report

Post by jonathan »

Get on Sean's case to get his stuff in the database. ;)
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Joshua Wallace
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Re: Forest Park Wildlife Report

Post by Joshua Wallace »

Will do Jonathan. I don't think that giant can even read though.
FrogO_Oeyes
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Re: Forest Park Wildlife Report

Post by FrogO_Oeyes »

Nightsnakeman wrote:
sonora wrote:The "Aneides" pictured on the caudata forum link looks like P. dunni.
Me too. I thought about it for a while, but I can vaguely see webbed toes, is this my imagination? The stripe also looks to patchy to be Plethodon dunni. You definitely have a good point though.

Nightsnakeman
I have reviewed my photos and only remain perplexed. I have found hundreds of P.dunni, always in wet locations streamside or in seepages, and always reasonably identifiable by pattern. I found this salamander while searching for Ensatina, and the habitat was classic Aneides and certainly not what I'd expect of P.dunni: a deep pile of fir bark well up the hillside from a stream, in July when some streams nearby bordered on dry. On the other hand, the fifth toe is short and typical of Plethodon, atypical for Aneides. Right habitat and coloration for Aneides, wrong digits for Aneides, extreme coloration for Plethodon, correct digits for Plethodon, wrong habitat for Plethodon. I can't say any more that I'm confidant it's A.ferreus, but it would be nice to find some more like it. While it could just be an oddball P.dunni, it would not be unprecedented if it were something new.
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Joshua Wallace
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Re: Forest Park Wildlife Report

Post by Joshua Wallace »

I have found the head shape is a very good feature when comparing Aneides to Plethodon. I also think the salamander over on caudata is a dunni. I have had the opposite situation to Frog Eyes where I found a dunni in a seep that made me do a triple take because something about it was making me think it could be an Aneides.
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jonathan
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Re: Forest Park Wildlife Report

Post by jonathan »

FrogO_Oeyes wrote:I found this salamander while searching for Ensatina, and the habitat was classic Aneides and certainly not what I'd expect of P.dunni: a deep pile of fir bark well up the hillside from a stream, in July when some streams nearby bordered on dry.
I have found a number of P. dunni in similar habitat before, especially in the Gorge.
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jonathan
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Re: Forest Park Wildlife Report

Post by jonathan »

Matt, who originally told me about this report back when I posted it, found a Clouded Salamander in Forest Park now:

http://www.naherp.com/viewrecord.php?r_id=205594

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sonora
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Re: Forest Park Wildlife Report

Post by sonora »

Like the salamander pictured in the caudata.org forum, this is Plethodon dunni.
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jonathan
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Re: Forest Park Wildlife Report

Post by jonathan »

Dang it!

Now we're back down to the one that Sean Lundy may have found...
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mdagz
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Re: Forest Park Wildlife Report

Post by mdagz »

gotta get back at it :lol:
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