Hi,
I've never gone herping during salamander migrating season, but I decided to try that this year to have more chance of finding burrowing salamanders (blue spotted and yellow spotted).
I was wondering if people with experience have noticed a difference in the start dates for different species. For instance, is it possible that yellow spotted salamanders generally start their migration a few days later than blue spotted salamanders.
I went out last night (which was probably the first night that was warm enough) to a place where I'd found a blue spotted salamander before, in the summer. There, I found a blue spotted salamander and two huge ones that were most likely blue spotted/Jefferson hybrids, but no sign of yellow spotteds (or any other species for that matter).
Given that the season isn't very long, I was wondering if that's a sign I should concentrate my efforts to find yellow spotted salamanders somewhere else. I know a place where there are some and where there's plenty of vernal pools for them to migrate to, but I'd rather not go there.
By the way, I was also wondering what's the lowest temperature these species will come out at. There's some rain in the forecast for this week, but the temperatures will also dive to highs of 51.8F and lows of 33.8F on those days.
I've never gone herping during salamander migrating season, but I decided to try that this year to have more chance of finding burrowing salamanders (blue spotted and yellow spotted).
I was wondering if people with experience have noticed a difference in the start dates for different species. For instance, is it possible that yellow spotted salamanders generally start their migration a few days later than blue spotted salamanders.
I went out last night (which was probably the first night that was warm enough) to a place where I'd found a blue spotted salamander before, in the summer. There, I found a blue spotted salamander and two huge ones that were most likely blue spotted/Jefferson hybrids, but no sign of yellow spotteds (or any other species for that matter).
Given that the season isn't very long, I was wondering if that's a sign I should concentrate my efforts to find yellow spotted salamanders somewhere else. I know a place where there are some and where there's plenty of vernal pools for them to migrate to, but I'd rather not go there.
By the way, I was also wondering what's the lowest temperature these species will come out at. There's some rain in the forecast for this week, but the temperatures will also dive to highs of 51.8F and lows of 33.8F on those days.
