Salamander Search Yields Only Calls from Great Horned Owl and Sheriff's Office

Northern dusky salamander found under shale rock in shale seepage area near Little Jelloway Creek, near Apple Valley, on August 1, 2013.  (Photo by Don Comis)

April is here, the buds are turning green on my neighbor's shrub, the daytime temperatures are pretty warm--but still it feels like March going out like a lion.  As the winds picked up and the temperatures fell around 6 tonight, it felt really cold.


This gives me an excuse to skip a night search for the salamander migration tonight.


I spent about two and a half hours last night listening for woodcocks the first half hour and then sitting on a bench by the Kokosing River looking for migrating salamanders for an hour.  Nothing, but I did get to hear a call I think came from a Great Horned owl.


My other surprise was getting a call from the sheriff's office after a deputy saw my car late at night in an isolated parking lot.  He used my license plate to call my wife and check to see I was ok.  She gave him my cell phone number and I returned his call and explained what I was doing, or tried to.  My wife and I both thanked the sheriff's office for checking on me.


It's another example of what can happen to zealous naturalists.  I have an even better story about that I'll tell someday!


That call and the dense fog on the way home late last night also makes me glad that conditions don't seem right for salamanders tonight. 

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.