 |
| Longtail salamander on his way to freedom after release from my container, along the Kokosing River in Millwood, Ohio, on August 7, 2013. (Photo by Don Comis) |
I wrote to him on his blog last night and this morning, here was his thorough answer:
"Above 50 degrees is best, although the animals will move in smaller numbers in the 40's. It doesn't matter if it is actually raining, just that it has recently and the ground is wet. This often means being out in the rain, though. Usually amphibians are moving by 9 pm if conditions are right, and may continue all night if conditions remain warm and wet enough."
This means that I was wrong that it had to be raining during the migration. It also means that the migration goes on from about 9 p.m. to just before daybreak. So I can arrive anytime during that six hour window. All I have to do is keep an eye out on a day with rain in the forecast and a temperature of 40 to 50 degrees or more, the more the better, during the night.
So, for example, this Friday is promising as far as rain during the day probably leaving the ground wet that night and a high of 54 degrees Fahrenheit. But, the night low will be below 40 degrees F. That night, around 8 p.m., I'll have to go outside and see if the ground is wet from the day's rains and check the temperature. If it stays 54 degrees F, say, at 8 p.m., it would be worth a try. But it doesn't sound like a night that a mass migration will continue for six hours.
That might mean I have to try a two hour watch on two or three nights to see the biggest migration, but that's doable, compared to staying out all night and doing that more than few times!
No comments:
Post a Comment