wood frogs   wad-@comcast.net
  Apr 13, 2005 18:28 PDT 
ENTS

Anyone into vernal pools and amphibians? Our wood frogs hatched this week, there were over 20 egg masses. The biologist from the college and I placed several egg masses of spotted salamander in the pools. There is only one known site in our county that they lay their eggs. We moved some of the eggs to our location. I hope they stick!

Scott
RE: wood frogs   Dale J. Luthringer
  Apr 13, 2005 20:09 PDT 
Scott,

I am, but I've been too busy to monitor them so far this year. I've got
a contact in Pittsburgh that usually makes it a point to beat me at
first sitings. Doesn't matter how much I try, it just gets warmer
faster down there. When did you first notice spotted and wood frog
masses this year?

Dale
RE: wood frogs   wad-@comcast.net
  Apr 14, 2005 03:27 PDT 
Dale

It was about two weeks ago. The biologist says we have about two more weeks for the salamanders to hatch. I visit the site every three days. They are two small pools that also contain green frogs and some other salamanders. I found a red eft in this area last year also. I am going to dig a few more depressions in this area in summer to provide more habitat for them.

Scott
RE: wood frogs   Darian Copiz
  Apr 14, 2005 05:59 PDT 
Scott,
Don't know a whole lot about them, but I'm always happy to see
amphibians. I was pretty excited a while back to come home on a cool
rainy night and see a salamander on the door mat. I think it was
possible because it was in an older development which used older
development practices - basically not nuking the entire site. Good luck
with the spotted salamanders.

Darian
frogs and birds   GSRT-@aol.com
  Apr 14, 2005 06:36 PDT 
Just came across this website that ya'll may find of interest. Pictures and
songs of frogs... then go to homepage for birds and their songs.
http://www.naturesound.com/frogs/frogs.html

Sandy Rose
RE: wood frogs   Dale J. Luthringer
  Apr 14, 2005 16:42 PDT 
Scott,

Have you transplanted eggs before from pond to pond? I'd be curious to
know how well they went. There were some folks at Penn State Behrend
who transplanted spotted masses before the county built a bridge on
their pond site just downstream from campus (Wintergreen Gorge). I
hadn't heard how the results came out though.

Dale
RE: wood frogs   wad-@comcast.net
  Apr 14, 2005 16:57 PDT 
Dale

This is a first for me, I am not sure about the biologist. He seems very knowledgeable though. They were moved in the same day. He did say it would take several egg mass moves in consecutive years to get a colony established. He didn't think that the hatch rate was very good on the immature females compared to the older ones. I am really just learning.

Scott
RE: wood frogs   Dale J. Luthringer
  Apr 14, 2005 17:03 PDT 
Scott,

Neat stuff. We're all learning when it comes to spotted masses and
their life history. I believe a lot of herpetology is learned in the
field.

Dale