Weather is Right, But No Salamanders Yet

Northern dusky salamander along Little Jelloway Creek in Howard, Ohio, on August 1, 2013.  (Photo by Don Comis)

It's 54 degrees Fahrenheit here in Howard, Ohio, at 3:35 a.m., with rain on and off, but no salamanders.  At least not up to 1:30 this morning.

I went out to the vernal pool at Kenyon College with a lantern flashlight with a red film screwed in and sat in a camp chair from midnight to 1:30 a.m.  Nothing and no eggs in the pool, so the mass migration of salamanders hadn't taken place yet.

It could still happen until the temperature drops to the predicted 32 degrees, but I doubt it. 

Maybe the salamanders know it could snow today.

The only animals I saw were a rabbit and deer.  I heard a few scary dog barks and a scary animal scream, plus smelled a musky animal fear smell, and saw a small creature run away.

Well, I'll consider this a practice run that's getting me familiar again with Nature at dark.