Amphibian Activity in SE Wisconsin/NE Illinois

[aaron]

Has anyone seen any amphibians out and moving around yet? I have a few ponds in mind, but there is still a lot of ice on them, and I haven't heard any frogs calling, not to mention that we really haven't gotten much rain yet.

Do you normally see the salamanders breeding when the frogs begin calling?

 

[josh]

hey aaron. when i lived in washington, i noticed every year, male pacific tree frogs would come down to the ponds very early like feb/march. they would call for a month or so before the females would even show up at the ponds. the ponds wernt frozen over when the activity started, but they had frozen over many time after activity started and the frogs remained. no activity while frozen, but they were there. i have no clue why the males come down so early. ive seen that behavior here in az with canyon tree frogs and in california with california tree frogs in san diego. speaking of....i have a great photo! well...a couple

 

[edward]

The peepers just started calling last week down this way and I just got a report that the spotteds were moving into thier breeding pools locally.

Ed

 

[josh]

more like march i saw pacifics calling in washington. of course there is more activity in the later months, but its interresting to see them come down so early when there arnt females for another month

 

[aaron]

thanks guys, I'll keep stopping the car and listening every time I drive past.

 

[nicholas]

Not I. I'm in Michigan, and it is 43 degrees out. I'm about to take a trip into a patch of woods, to turn over some logs. I know there aren't any frogs out yet, not in my area at least, because I haven't heard any calling. I live in St. Clair County, on the shore of Lake St. Clair, by the way.

(Message edited by xamphibiax on March 27, 2005)

 

[nicholas]

I just came back, and while out, I saw some bullfrog tadpoles. I couldn't take pictures, because sand jammed my digital camera lense shut. I wish I would have had a net on hand, because there may have been other tadpoles swimming around too. The water was kinda deep and, I was having a hard time trying to get ahold of the tadpoles to get a closer look.

 

[mark]

We had an exceptionally cold March, and that may have delayed things a bit in Michigan. Ambystoma laterale will probably be out today or tomorrow since it is warming up. I usually see A. Maculatum out in early April, and I usually see them breeding along with wood frogs. They will probably be out within a few days, with this warm weather this week. I wouldn't be surprised if I hear spring peepers by tomorrow (60 degrees!)

 

[nicholas]

I was out today and noticed things are stirring up...

-Western Chorus Frog (Pseudacris triseriata triseriata)
-Wood Frog (Rana sylvatica)
-Butler's Garter Snake (Thamnophis butleri)
-And, a young black snake, seemed solid black, but couldn't get a close enough look. Maybe it was a Blue Racer (Coluber constrictor foxi), but I read the young were grayish, with dark blotches and spots.

...I'd love to go out and find salamanders with you Mark, if you don't mind, because I've yet to find salamanders on my own, and don't know where to look. I live in St. Clair County, Michigan, but I don't mind traveling a fair distance. Maybe you could recommend some locations via e-mail, or direct response. My problem is, every time I head out in the woods, I wind up in a marsh or swamp.

I'll be headed out again Wednesday night, after all the rain, but unfortunately, I can't think of a good area to look for salamanders. Missing out on the opportunity to find some, during these first few warm rains, would suck.