Newtless Summer in Connecticut

rkingston · Jul 13, 2015

I've been trying to get my hands on a eastern (or red-spotted) newts (notophthalmus viridescens). I've made over a dozen visits to local ponds
and streams this summer with no luck whatsoever.

Usually you can easily see them climbing and foraging through the weeds and stuff. Is early July really just too late in the season? The habitats I'm visiting seem just right. Is it me? Or is there something going on out in the wild that I haven't heard about yet?

Look at these places -- these are the kinds of habitats I've always found them in the wild. What's going on here?

Otterwoman · Jul 14, 2015

Spring migration and Fall are good times. I would go in the early morning when it's damp still, or it it's lightly raining.

Teeglor · Jul 14, 2015

I've been trying to find some a. m. melanostictum/diaboli myself with no luck.

It's been abnormally dry and hot here this spring and summer. I'm hoping I'll get more luck in the autumn when it cools off and starts to rain more.

My friend who lives out in the countryside was able to find one in his man made pond. So I'll continue looking as well.

Good luck. I hope you find some. And if not, I hope next year is better. It'll be sad if something happened to make them less abundant.

jbherpin · Jul 14, 2015

If it has been very hot the newts will travel to deeper portions of the pond as well. Looks like good habitat to me, the population I keep tabs on are in a mountain top lake in PA and looks very similar. Some years I have found them to be relatively absent, other years they are simply everywhere. It may have something to do with prolonged red eft phases depending on conditions, etc. Breeding seasons take their toll on females, creating average lifespans of less than 2 years as a breeding adult. All these factors should be considered... Good luck to you!

JBear

FrogEyes · Jul 14, 2015

For blotched tigers, late August rains in Alberta produce many salamanders around wetlands, even on Highway 1. For eastern tigers in southern Minnesota, early August seems best. No luck yet on eastern newts, but I haven't tried long-handled nets at night.

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Newtless Summer in Connecticut

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