It's now a week into April and while I'm sure some amphibians will trickle away from their breeding grounds, my herping for them is probably over. ...at least until the second wave of later breeders start to move. I figured this would be a good time to recap the herps I found during two nights of cruising/walking wet streets.
I'll summarize a list of herps from one night on the Delmarva Peninsula and one night in Lebanon,Lancaster, and Chester Counties in Southeast Pennsylvania. Each area offered a few different herps with a lot of overlap. I'll include some locations with the photos. As you'll see, I tried a darker, posed style on most of these frogs and salamanders. For whatever reason, that was just the direction I took this Spring. :)
It should also be noted that not all of these amphibians are traveling to a vernal pool or wetland. Some are just out and about because its wet. Anything found while I was out on those nights is fair game for this blog post.
In no particular order...
Southern Leopard Frog - New Castle, DE
New Jersey Chorus Frog - New Castle, DE
Spotted Salamander - Kent, MD
Cope's Treefrog (could be a Gray) - Kent, MD
Pickerel Frog - New Castle, DE
Marbled Salamander - Kent, MD
Spring Peeper - Kent, DE
Wood Frog - New Castle, DE
Eastern Tiger Salamander - Kent, MD
Four-toed Salamander - Chester County, PA
Northern Red Salamander - Lancaster, PA
Northern Two-lined Salamander - Lebanon, PA
Northern Dusky Salamander - Lancaster, PA
Eastern Red-backed Salamander (lead phase) - Lebanon, PA
Red-spotted Newt - Lebanon, PA
Jefferson Salamander - Lebanon County, PA
American Toad - Lebanon, PA
I missed some species, but saw some I didn't expect. Together with a friend, and my children, we helped cross at least a few hundred herps. Most of them were on their way to vernal pools. Hopefully most of them made it back safely. Despite efforts, we saw TONS of roadkill. I'm numb to it nowadays. I look at the silver lining. At least we help. It's tons of fun. And its bonding time with my kids outside of the house. It's an activity I look forward to every Spring, and its a reason to love the rainy nights.