Welcome to our Salamander Page. Here we present information about a unique habitat that we are very fortunate to enjoy in East Brunswick. Just west of the Turnpike, at the intersection of Beekman Road and Church Lane, are several vernal ponds. While vernal ponds (or vernal pools) in general are not unique, these two, and possibly a small third one, just may be. The term 'vernal' refers to the fact that such ponds are generally not spring fed and have no typical outlet for the water. They exist only as long as rainwater and snow melt keeps them filled, usually beginning in the winter months and lasting through mid-summer, when they may dry up. As such, there will be no fish in this type of pond. This one fact allows salamanders to mate and mature in the pond, undisturbed, and then leave it for the forest before it dries up.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernal_poolhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernal_poolshapeimage_4_link_0shapeimage_4_link_1
While there is no way to know for certain, such regional vernal ponds may have existed since the last glacial epoch…over 10,000 years ago. Also, man-made disturbances in the ground from farming and such industrial activities as mining for sand and gravel, and distributing the residue, can also account for land formations that allow for vernal pools. The East Brunswick Environmental Commission and the Friends of the East Brunswick Environmental Commission have willingly accepted the responsibility of preserving this environment so that this ancient habitat and its inhabitants may survive for all time. This project was developed and instituted by Environmental Commission member Dave Moskowitz,in 2003. NOTE: The Salamander Page Extras now has the calls of all the frogs found throughout our region. ../Secondary_Pages/Salamander_Page_Extras.htmlshapeimage_5_link_0

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Unless noted otherwise, all photos are copyright by Richard Wolfert, 2004-2009.

 
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I have been to the end of the earth,

I have been to the end of the waters,

I have been to the end of the sky,

I have been to the end of the mountains,

I have found none that are not my friends.

- Navajo Proverb

The ‘season’ for our Spotted Salamanders varies somewhat with the weather, but typically runs from as early as mid-March, through the second week in April. The heaviest migrations often occur during the first several nights of movement.


The reason for our protecting salamanders in East Brunswick is very straight-forward. Our salamanders spend most of the year in forest leaf litter and underground, away from the vernal ponds. And, they spend only the breeding season in their vernal ponds. The problem here is that there isn’t that much forest floor available around these vernal pools. To the Southwest, West and North of the pond area are farm fields and a house…not the right habitat for living most of the year. The area across Beekman road is ideal habitat for Spotted Salamanders and lies about 50 yards to the East of the vernal ponds. Salamanders can range hundreds of yards from their natal vernal pools. In East Brunswick, that means that a great many of them must cross Beekman Road to breed, and then return across it to access the forest on the East side of the road, the side toward the Turnpike for the rest of the year.                          

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This makes the trip to the pools particularly dangerous as they tend to cross during a concentrated period of time (just a few weeks), becoming easy victims to cars and trucks. The return trip (after breeding) is much more drawn out and there isn’t a concentration of salamanders crossing back over Beekman Road, so it’s much less likely that they will encounter a car or truck.


Salamander migration is triggered by the first relatively warm and heavy rains in March, enough to thoroughly soak the forest floor and get down to where our Spotted Salamanders have wintered.


Keep looking at the SALAMANDER MIGRATION METER and this page for information about when we will close Beekman Road.

IMPORTANT SALAMANDER MIGRATION INFORMATION! READ THIS BEFORE GOING TO BEEKMAN ROAD FOR THE FIRST TIME! Here are some tips for when going to view the salamanders moving across Beekman Road. 1. If the police barriers are NOT in place, the road is not officially closed for salamanders and you should not be walking there. 2. Park in a designated area and be careful walking to and on Beekman Road. Please watch children very carefully. 3. While you are looking for salamanders and frogs, be safe and stay within the police barricades. 4. Wear warm, wet weather gear (boots, raincoat, etc.). Salamanders usually move when it rains. 5. Bring a flashlight to help see where you're walking and where you might be about to step. Hold the flashlight low and keep the beam pointed well ahead in the direction in which you are walking. This gives you the best illumination and lets you see salamanders and frogs well before you get to them. 6. Bring a still or video camera if you like. 7. Please watch where you and your children walk. Salamanders and frogs are small. We want to protect them, not injure them by walking carelessly. —Look for updates posted to this website. We'll let you know as soon as conditions look promising. IMPORTANT NOTE: Police have suggested that because of traffic congestion around the salamander migration area and along Church Lane, that you enter the area from White Pine Road and park along the road near the police barriers near the East Brunswick/South Brunswick border (about half way up the road). White Pine Road and Beekman Road are the same road. Beekman is the name used in East Brunswick, and White Pine in South Brunswick. Thank you. For much faster notification, please let us know you want to be on our e-mail list. In this way, you will know about current conditions and promising changes right away. Also, this would make a GREAT extra credit report for school. ———————————————————————————————————— MORE REALLY GREAT INFORMATION Some basic information about Spotted Salamanders. Notes about our Salamander Migration, why we want to protect Spotted Salamanders and other questions answered here. Information about the Salamander Life Cycle and here, too. From the NJ Dept. of Environmental Protection, Division of Fish & Wildlife, endangered & Non-game species program, “A Field Guide to the Reptiles and Amphibians of New Jersey” If you have additional questions, email us! We're happy to help.http://homepage.mac.com/rwolfert/NatureWebsiteMC/files/SpottedSalamanderInfo.pdfhttp://homepage.mac.com/rwolfert/NatureWebsiteMC/files/NotesAbtSalamanderMigration.pdfhttp://www.twingroves.district96.k12.il.us/Wetlands/Salamander/SalLifeCycle.htmlhttp://www.uri.edu/cels/nrs/paton/LH_spotted_sal.htmlhttp://www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/ensp/pdf/salmandr.pdfhttp://www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/ensp/pdf/salmandr.pdfshapeimage_7_link_0shapeimage_7_link_1shapeimage_7_link_2shapeimage_7_link_3shapeimage_7_link_4shapeimage_7_link_5
Activity Log for 2009 (What we did see) Friday, April 3, 2009 Well, we’ll call it a season. We had nearly perfect weather yesterday. Perfect, that is, for salamanders and frogs. And, once again, a crowd of people responded to the opportunity to watch salamanders do what they have done for thousands of years. I arrived on Beekman road at about 7:25 PM, in light rain. The road was re-wet as it had rained heavily early in the day but several hours of no-rain allowed it to begin drying. This last rain put the icing on the cake and everything was in place. The only thing missing were Spotted Salamanders. It has to happen every April. The migration must come to an end sometime, and last night was it. Instead of spotted salamanders, one of our participants yelled ‘snake’! He had found a 20-24” garter snake (photos below) on the edge of the road. It was a harmless snake but good in size, and rapid in movement. It made quick time across the road, but not before our getting some great shots of it. This was the first snake we had ever recorded during the salamander migration. There were plenty of frogs; Northern Green, Spring Peeper, Bullfrog, Leopard Frogs and two Northern Gray Treefrogs (another first during migration), and we captured good shots of those as well. The only salamander that showed up was a single Red Backed Salamander. We were visited by 2 members from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (Entomologists) who arrived as I was leaving at nearly 10:30 PM, and were curious to see what Beekman Road had to offer. (Too bad they weren’t here on March 26th or 29th.) They ID’d a photo I took of a large spider that some of our very keen-eyed children found on the road. Turned out to be a Wolf Spider (also below). To sum it up, it was certainly an extremely interesting migration year. It began very late, and perhaps because of that, the main thrust of movement may have been that great first night. It’s not always like this. Our average start date has been March 12th or so. We were two weeks behind that this time. We certainly learned more about our annual subject this year in terms of preferences and habits. This will help us protect them better in the future. We also had a great turnout of people, from little munchkins, through adult, each time the salamanders moved. We hope you enjoyed learning about salamanders and frogs. Your comments and the smiles you exhibited certainly said you did, and that pleases us greatly! The show will certainly return each year. For those of you on our email list, you will always know about our events before they make it into the newspapers. If you’re not on our email list, just email us here and tell us to put you on the list. We wish to heartedly thank the Police Department and Mayor Stahl for their continued willingness to help us with the road closings each year. Without them, this event could not take place. Without them, our population of Spotted Salamanders would, once again, be threatened. Because of this cooperation, we are preserving this population, and allowing them to continue as they have done for thousands of years. See you for salamanders in March of 2010. And we hope to see you at many of our other events before that. Thanks for all your interest and encouragement. Jennifer, Liti, Dave, Daphne and Rich Sunday, March 29, 2009 Boy, was this evening a wild one. The forecast was for rain on and off throughout the day. Of course we did not have any during the day so things started to dry out. We thought of calling off the road closing for the night but there was supposed to be some rain coming through in the early evening. I arrived at Beekman Road at 7:30 just in case there were any people there. The sound of peepers reverberated throughout the road. It must have been several times louder than it had been on Thursday, the first night of migration. On the way, I saw the very heavy line of clouds coming in from the southwest. As I walked half way down the road the sky opened up. We had very heavy rain and pea-sized hail. I called everyone off the road and told them to wait in their cars for 20 - 30 minutes. After that time, I went back onto the road and people began to emerge from their cars. The rains were extremely heavy, accompanied by lots of thunder and lightening. For the first hour or so, there was nothing. Then, slowly, earthworms emerged, and then a few Spring Peepers. It still took another hour for the first Spotted Salamander to make it’s presence known. In all, we saw 10 Spotted Salamanders, some very small, and 1 Red Back Salamander. Peepers were not in good numbers on the road and we counted about a dozen. For those who stayed, they were treated to a nice show, but not the overwhelming numbers we had on Thursday. All we can think about that was that the start of the season was so late, that it was like a flood-gate opening, and most of the salamanders moving on Thursday. But, it was hard to believe that there weren’t at least a few left over for tonight. Is this it? Is this the end of the 2009 Salamander Migration? Maybe. We just don’t really know. We may close the road with the next rain event just to be certain. If there is no activity at all, then that’s it. Saturday, March 28, 2009 Interesting night. With the prospects of migration small during ‘regular evening hours’ (at least for most of us), we notified everyone by email that most of the rain would not occur until after midnight. Even so, during a short visit to Beekman Road at about 10 PM, I saw about 25 people on the road. Also ran into Liti who told me that Dave had been there earlier. From what I gathered, up until that time 2 Leopard Frogs were seen, several Spring Peepers and a single small Spotted Salamander. While I was there, another small salamander was found and one or two more peepers. All of you are tenacious, going even when the chances of seeing much are little. If anyone visited the road very late, please let us know what you observed. Friday, March 27th, 2009 Dave had the idea that we should both write up our impressions of last night’s fabulous beginning to the Salamander Migration season so you can see how we each interpreted it. So, here goes. From Dave: Last night was wet, raw and magical. It was quite simply, perfect salamander weather! Everyone that made the trip out to Beekman Road last night and braved the 44 degree weather and nearly constant rain, was treated to a natural show that is the harbinger of spring. While we hemmed and hawed during the day about whether the rain would develop in time and be strong enough to really soak the ground, it just all came together perfectly. I'm certain that everyone who ventured out got the wonderful spring treat of seeing salamanders, no one went home disappointed. Last night was THE reason why we close the road. There were literally dozens and dozens of salamanders crossing last night along with even more spring peepers than you could count. With so many salamanders and frogs on the road at the same time, the potential mortality from cars would have been totally devastating had we not closed the road. Road closures like last night are definitely reversing what must have been huge population losses in the past.      I've been fortunate enough to witness the migration every year for the past 6 years since we started closing the road, but I can tell you, that it never ceases to amaze me! There is just nothing as awesome as finding that first spotted salamander crossing the road and knowing that we are doing something so incredibly important by protecting these harmless vulnerable salamanders. As individuals, we should rightly relish in the pleasure of seeing these spotted salamanders each spring, but as a township, whether we come out or not, we should be very proud of our role as a leader in amphibian conversation and stewards of our natural resources. Our annual road closings have literally made news around the world and in all sorts of media, and as a result, our little project has taken on an importance well beyond the closing of Beekman Road for a few days each spring.  But last night isn't likely the end of the story. Typically, we have salamanders crossing on multiple rain events and it is very possible that the next rainfall will trigger even more to the pools. The weather forecast for Saturday afternoon and evening looks warm and nice and rainy and could be perfect once again for amphibians. While we can never predict with any certainty what will happen, if the forecast pans out, there is simply no way I'm not going to walk the road and see what is there. At worst, I'll get wet and listen to the calls of spring peepers and chorus frogs from the vernal pools, at best, I'll get wet and be treated to more magic! From Rich: The show must go on! An old adage but so appropriate here. The start to this migration season was like a 1930’s movie where Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland got together and said “Hey kids, let’s put on a show!”, and then went through endless trials and tribulations before they actually could pull it off. Well, we went through just that this year, and jumped through hoops, to boot. The temperatures had been less than perfect this March, and the rain was just about non-existent. We have been in an amazingly dry period for March. (Global warming???) The average date for the start of the Salamander Migration is March 12th. This usually comes after a period of heavy, but too cold rains or snow events, and then finally, the right combination of temperature and precipitation arrives. (Remember, the rain HAS to soak the ground, not just dampen it, and the temperatures should at least be above 40°.) This is the 5th year that I have been attending the Salamander Migration and, looking at photo data, our start dates have been: 2005-March 5th, 2006-March 12th, 2007-March 15th, and 2008-March 7th. It was quite an effort to put this show together and we had some bad tryouts beforehand. Two false starts when the forecast indicated a good possibility of the right conditions, but, alas, no rain and therefore no salamanders at all. But last night we had some surprise. The rains were NOT forecast to be as heavy or as long as we experienced; very much to our (and the salamanders) benefit. All of you who have come out on the nights that were flops were finally rewarded for your perseverance, and treated to a great show. While I personally saw about 35 salamanders throughout the evening, Dave, who was often on the other end of the road from where I was, ran into pockets of movement that I didn’t see. Estimates were that there might have been 75 or 80 Spotted Salamanders during the 3 hours I was on Beekman Road. And, as a bonus, we had at least 150 Spring Peeper frogs, and a pretty good chorus of them from both the vernal pond area, and the other side of Beekman Road. Earlier in the day, the Pickerel Frogs were positively loud in their calling from the pond area. People were just thrilled and gave the night a RAVE REVIEW. We were thanked over and over for giving them a chance to witness this wonderful event. Many adults and children saw, and even held a Spotted Salamander or a Spring Peeper frog for the first time in their lives. The looks on their faces was magical, and it was VERY gratifying for us to help provide the opportunity for everyone to witness this event. Perhaps the best present that we take from this is that we bring a very important environmental awareness to a (primarily) suburban population that most often does NOT have much experience with nature. With adults, we might be developing an active awareness of the environment. With children, we are planting the seeds of awareness that (we hope) will last a lifetime. In both cases, some will become activists, supporting environmental sustaining and improving initiatives. Whatever good comes from this will be attributed to our little amphibian friends, who just put on the best show possible. Oh yes; it’s likely last night was just the first of several nights of salamander movement. We hope to see you back there again. Sunday, March 8th, 2009 Well, almost everything fell into place to begin the 2009 Salamander Migration. The only problem was the weather. The 3 weather services that we check ALL indicated intermittent rain during the afternoon (starting at around 1 PM) and a light but steady rain throughout the evening. We had absolutely NO rain in East Brunswick at all. Not a drop! The predicted rain approaching our area began the day moving toward us, but as the day progressed, the southern edge of the rain system broke up and moved north. There WERE very heavy thunderstorms just 40 miles to the north. I was on Beekman Road for about an hour and a half last night, hoping I’d see at least 1 or 2 moving salamanders or frogs. While I did hear quite a few Spring Peepers in the woods near the vernal ponds, nothing crossed the road; not a salamander, not a frog…just several moths. While there, I met with a reporter from News12 New Jersey who did a brief interview report about our efforts. It aired last night and may be on again today. However the station had to use footage from several years ago to fill in for the ‘missing salamanders’ last night. Only 2 people came to Beekman Road while I was there and it turns out that they were involved with a herpetology survey for New Jersey. They did tell me that about 2 weeks ago, they walked Beekman Road (it was warm then, remember?) and found 2 dead Spotted Salamanders and one which apparently had its tail run over, but was otherwise OK. (It seemed to survive and the tail will re-grow.) What was interesting was that they DID see Spotted Salamanders in February. We had absolutely no idea that they would/could appear that early. I guess we’ll have to start monitoring the road earlier than in previous years. The BIG nights are still ahead of us. The first heavy rains accompanied by temperatures in the 40’s will bring out large numbers of salamanders and we should enjoy watching this annual event for at least several nights. Make sure you’re on the email list so you can find out about our activities way before they hit Channel 3 or the newspapers. That way, you’ll know first and won’t miss anything! See photos below.    See photos belowmailto:rwolfert@comcast.net?subject=Please%20put%20me%20on%20the%20email%20listEvents_%26_Trips.htmlshapeimage_8_link_0shapeimage_8_link_1

AWARDS


RECEIVED FOR THE EAST BRUNSWICK SALAMANDER MIGRATION PROJECT


* The Amphibian Protection Plan received a 2004 Environmental Achievement Award from the Association of New Jersey Environmental Commissions (ANJEC) for an outstanding environmental commission project.


also…


* The Amphibian Protection Plan has received a special award from the New Jersey Audubon Society for an outstanding community environmental protection effort in a suburban area. It was presented, in ceremony, to Mayor Bill Neary.

                     DIRECTIONS & MAPS: Click HERE for a fully interactive Google map of

                       the Salamander Migration area. Use it to get there from wherever you are.

                       The map also indicates all parking areas that you may safely use.


                           Also see Important Salamander Migration Information, below.

For even more information (believe it or not) click here for the Salamander Page Extras.

(There’s even information about the frogs we see on Beekman Road.)

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Salamander Migration Updates (Prospects for migration) Here you will get a good idea of what we go through to report a Salamander Migration night to you. April 3, 2009, 12:22 PM Another good rain, and one that should let up by evening. Might be perfect, that is IF there are any salamanders left to move. Last time we had 10 Spotted Salamanders and a single Red-backed Salamander. Seven spotteds were moving toward the pond, including a female laden with eggs, and 3 were moving away. (They’d already had it with the pond and were returning to the forest for the rest of the year.) IF tonight, we see no movement, then this will conclude the salamander migration for 2009. However, if there is still movement, we’ll probably go at least one more night. See you there. April 1, 2009, 7:59 PM Sorry, there just wasn’t sufficient rain to warrant closing the road tonight. It was locally heavy (not here) and short lived). There’s a little more coming but it, too, seems light and too short to do the trick. Maybe Friday. Oh, we really won’t know if this year’s migration is over until we have a night where there is no movement TO the pond. There may be some away from it, but that is usually not as concentrated. Rich March 29, 2009, 10:04 AM Well, as expected late yesterday, the rains did come, but very late. And they persist during the day today. Forecasts indicate spotty, and even heavy periods of rain during the day. We may even get some thundershowers popping up. As it is, with little possibility of things drying up anytime today, these are very good conditions for salamander migration this evening. WE WILL CLOSE BEEKMAN ROAD TONIGHT. Hope to see you there. Bring flashlights with good batteries and dress appropriately. Remember, it’s best to hold the flashlight low and fan it out 25 or 30 feet ahead. This makes even small things on the road cast longer shadows, and therefore easier to spot. Rich Dave’s report just came in. So, here it is. here is a Sunday morning update about what we saw last night. At about 8 PM, Lois, Sam, Hannah and I put on our waders and wandered down to the vernal pools. The  spring peepers were so loud it was almost painful to be there. There were so many frogs calling it was incredible! They were very easy to find as they floated on the water or clung to plants. Mixed in the cacophony of spring peepers, were also a few chorus frogs, but they were not too easy to separate out due to the piercing calls of the peepers. We were able to briefly see a few adult spotted salamanders swim thru the leaf litter on the bottom of the pools, but these were just fleeting glimpses. We also found quite a few egg masses and a number of nice aggregations of spermatophores.

Based on what we have now seen over the past few days, I suspect that Thursday's migration was the bulk of the adult population. However, spotted salamanders commonly do move to the pools in waves and some additional movement isn't out of the question. Last night when we got to Beekman Road the surface was damp and by the time we left at about 10 PM, it was getting wetter. On our way out (to the diner for some badly needed comfort food after wading in the pools in the damp and dark for a few hours), Sam found a small 2" spotted salamander crossing the road. A bunch of us were lucky enough to see it. There were also quite a few spring peepers on the road and someone told me they found a chorus frog on the road too. Lois also found a nice pickerel frog sitting in a puddle on the road and Sam got some nice photos. While there may not have been a lot of salamanders on the road last night, it was a perfect night to walk Beekman Road and take in the awesome sounds of spring! We've waited a long time to hear these spring frog choruses, so revel in them, because like all things ephemeral in nature, they only last a short time and need to be enjoyed while you can!

As for tonight, the two weather sources I routinely check, once again have different forecasts regarding the intensity, timing and duration of rain. I suspect that today will be pretty damp (although the NOAA update at 4:11 AM mentioned some possible breaks of sunshine) and that there will be some rain into this evening. It might even be a lot if NOAA trumps Weather.com. So, I'm guessing at this point with lots of hours to go yet, that we will close the road again this evening. If the damp rainy weather does pan out, and there is any major salamander movement, I would not be surprised if this is the last of it for this season, other than maybe some trickling.  So, keep posted, I'm sure Rich or I will update this again later today as we see how the weather develops...Dave   March 28, 2009, 9:59 AM Rich, here is today's update.
Yesterday afternoon around 5 PM, Lois, Hannah and I went over to the vernal pools and did a bit of exploring. We donned our waders (I found that mine have a huge leak somewhere and I probably should have just gone in sneakers with as much water as they filled up with!). With the rain on Thursday night the vernal pools filled up quite a bit and the larger one is now too deep in the center for even our waders. The pools were filled with chorus frogs and spring peepers AND a few spotted salamander egg masses. We also found some male spermatophores in the smaller pool, so breeding has already taken place to some extent. As for the possibility of some more movement tonight, the weather forecast looks moderately promising, although the timing may be an issue. Thinking like a salamander is just so darn tricky.

The latest Weather.com forecast shows the morning showers we have now, pulling thru and then just a chance of light intermittent showers the rest of the day. As it is expected to stay cloudy, calm and warmish, this should keep the forest pretty damp. More rain is then forecast for tonight but the timing maybe problematic as the hourly breakdown seems to indicate it might not really get going until after about 10pm. Then overnight the forecast is for a soaking rain with as much as 1\2 inch thru the early morning hours. At this point, I anticipate we will close the road again, maybe just to be on the safe side given the big movement on Thursday, but maybe if the rain pans out today and tonight, to insure the safe passage of more salamanders and frogs to the vernal pools. Time will tell....
Dave     Keep looking at the Salamander Migration Meter on the Front Page throughout the day for the latest determinations as to whether the road will be closed or not. SATURDAY ADDENDUM: Weather forecasting is sometimes like trying to swat a flying insect. The forecast has moved the rain back a few hours. Therefore, early arrivers on Beekman Road may not see any activity. However, you WILL hear Spring Peepers and Chorus Frogs singing loudly, and, between 7:15 and 7:45 or so, you may hear the ‘peenting’ mating calls of Woodcock birds in the area. At this time (around 1 PM on Saturday), we feel that salamanders may begin moving late in the evening or early into the morning hours. Sunday is looking promising at this point, even if what seems to be a light, but all day rain stops before evening, it will have done its work and we think salamanders will move then, too. Keep checking the Front Page and here. ————————————————————————————————————————————————————— March 26, 2009 9:50 AM Well, for the first time since the snow storm at the beginning of the month we are about to get some very badly needed precipitation today. As of about 8:15 AM this morning, East Brunswick has been getting some very light mist. The forecasts on NOAA and Weather.com are still calling for some heavier rain, but they have backed off a bit from yesterday and seem to have pushed the timing of the main area of rain back from an early afternoon start to something a bit later. Nonetheless, there does seem to be a decent shot at showers and light rain this afternoon and then perhaps a steadier, heavier rain with fog in the early evening. Temps look to be just about 50f. How this plays out in terms of salamanders moving is still very much up in the air in mind, as I'm not sure if the intensity and timing of the precipitation coupled with the cold dry conditions we have had for the past few weeks and my observations on Sunday will translate to a trigger. The forecast for the weekend is actually becoming of greater interest to me with each passing day as there appears to be a decent shot at a warm soaking rain from Saturday thru Sunday, but that is still a ways off. So, at this point, I would expect WE WILL CLOSE THE ROAD TONIGHT TO ERR ON THE SIDE OF CAUTION. Whether this all comes together and we are lucky enough to see some salamanders and other amphibians is up in the air right now, I just dont have a high level of confidence one way or the other at this point, but keep posted...you never know.  Dave Here is the latest forecast for today from NOAA: Today: Periods of rain, mainly after 1 PM. High near 49. South wind between 3 and 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. Tonight: Periods of rain, mainly before 1 AM. Patchy fog. Low around 40. South wind between 5 and 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible. ————————————————————————————————————————————————————— March 25, 2009 4:00 PM As everyone reading these emails this year and in year's past knows, predicting the migration of the spotted salamanders to the vernal pools is at best an educated guess. Sometimes we are right on target and we seem like heroes, other times, we completely miss the ball and are as disappointed as anyone that the road is empty and we seemingly wasted everyone's time. But, I generally look at these misses in a different way. Every time we close the road and nothing happens, we gain a little better of understanding of what does and does not trigger the migration. In addition, while most people only see the road as closed or not, we typically go through daily and even hourly gyrations about what we should do. We often check the NOAA forecast and hourly precipitation graph and other websites like Weather.com many, many times to try and figure out what we should do. One thing I have learned is just how difficult it is for the weather forecasters to in many cases pinpoint accurately what will happen and when. While our newspapers and websites boil down complex forecasts based on models to one or two lines, I would strongly suggest that anyone interested in the intricacies of weather forecasting to take a few minutes and read the Forecast Discussion on the NOAA site. You simply will not believe the caveats and hedging that the forecasters use that somehow gets boiled down to a one or two line forecast.    As far as the road closing goes, it has always been our strategy to err on the side of caution and to close the road even if conditions don't seem quite perfect, as we try to protect the salamanders and rebuild what has likely been a population decimated by possibly decades of road mortality. We fully understand the commitment of resources and the inconvenience that the road closures can cause, but it is important to keep in mind that a single female can carry hundreds of eggs to the pool and her loss can be devastating as we try to stabilize what must have been a severely depressed population via uncontrolled road kills for so many years. Let's keep in mind that the road closures are part of the Amphibian Mortality and Roadkill Reduction Protection Plan that we devised about 5 years ago.   I'm not sure what a salamander thinks about, but I'm pretty sure if they think about anything, they probably greatly appreciate our efforts and not having to make a mad dash to dodge many ton vehicles on 1\4" legs across Beekman Road! It has been my experience that car-salamander battles always go to the car and anyone who has seen a squashed spotted salamander will certainly feel a tinge of regret. It is not a pretty sight!   ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________   So, on to our forecast for what that might be worth...Here are my thoughts on the salamander migration as a follow-up to my email about the vernal pools from my visit there on Sunday.   As everyone probably knows, it has been quite cold for the past week or so, and we have been in a very dry pattern for weeks now. But, there is some hope that things are about to change. Over the past few days we have been carefully watching the forecasts and models for Thursday. What was originally predicted as only a low a possibility of showers over the weekend, seems to increase in intensity and duration with every forecast. The most recent NOAA forecast is shaping up for a decent and relatively warm rainfall event beginning during the day and carrying into the evening. Here it is:   Thursday: Rain likely. Cloudy, with a high near 48. South wind between 3 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible. Thursday Night: Showers likely, mainly before midnight. Cloudy, with a low around 42. North wind between 6 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New rainfall amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.   This could be a nice trigger for a migration event. Or, not. I have some concerns about how cold and dry it has been and that I couldn't find a single spotted salamander under any logs on Sunday. But if this forecast pans out, I'll definitely head out to see what is on the road. I hope we look like heroes, but if not, try and think about what we learned rather than what we didn't see. Dave ————————————————————————————————————————————————————— March 23, 2009 1:12 PM I checked the vernal pools yesterday and I could not find any salamander egg masses or spermatophores and despite quite a bit of searching in the woods above the ponds and across Beekman Lane, I could not find any adults. The water levels in the ponds are pretty low, but waders were still needed to get into the middle where the water is about 3 feet deep. The areas where the egg masses are typically found are well flooded to about a foot or two, plenty of water for egg laying and maturation at this point. Given the lack of eggs and adults, I am assuming that we have had no real movement yet because of the dry, cool conditions. I expect, (though I could be totally wrong) that the next decent rainfall will spark the migration. But it is just a guess. The next weather event with rain is forecast for Thursday, but this seems to be mostly showers at this point. The intensity and timing of the rain, if it comes, will be critical, so anyone watching and waiting should keep a close eye on weather sites like NOAA and Weather.com (like we do) and the njnaturenotes website for our most up to date thoughts. If only we could speak salamander, we'd know for sure!   Dave ————————————————————————————————————————————————————— March 20, 2009 1:25 PM We struck out last night. It makes me feel like the boy who cried wolf. But it is necessary to point out that we don’t close the road on a whim or for our entertainment. We do it if there is a possibility of salamander movement. The object IS to protect this population and ensure its survival for decades to come. In the past, we’ve had movement on nights where there has been light rain (like yesterday). But the temperatures were at least in the upper 40’s. Or, we’ve seen movement when the temperatures were as low as 38°, but the forest and road were soaked. So, we just didn’t get the right combination yesterday. We saw a single worm (when there are many it’s a sign of a wet forest floor) and just 1 moth (a sign of good temperatures). However, a walk to the vernal pond yielded several hundred Spring Peepers singing away, a few Chorus Frogs (they sound like you are running a finger down a comb), and 2 Canada Geese. If the temperatures were warmer, we would have experienced a deafening roar of peepers at the pond. It WILL happen…we just don’t know when. The next chance of rain (actually thunderstorms) is NEXT Thursday, the 26th, with a period of rain to begin about 2 days after that. That should do it and give us a chance to observe good movement for several nights. Let’s see how it plays out. Rich ————————————————————————————————————————————————————— March 19, 2009 1:57 PM Today’s light rain really is not exactly what we hoped for, but at least it’s something. This dry spell has lasted far too long. Salamanders usually will have moved at least 1 night by this date so we’re behind previous years. IF, a big if, this rain is sufficient, and things don’t dry out much by evening, then we should get some movement on Beekman Road tonight. So, BEEKMAN ROAD WILL BE CLOSED TONIGHT! Migration does NOT happen in just 1 night. It can’t. Salamanders may be as far as a quarter of a mile away from the road when the rains begin and not all all of them can make it across in one fell swoop. We usually get at least several nights of movement over a period of 2 or 3 weeks. So, if this doesn’t work, or doesn’t work well, we should have several other chances. The forecast is for no rain for about a week. Keep looking at the Front Page Salamander Migration Meter and on this page every day just to be certain. You cannot rely solely on our emails to stay on top of things. I should be there about 7 PM or a little after. Rich March 11, 2009 9:55 AM The last few days have been frustrating. Any predicted rain (and we were supposed to have sufficient rain) simply didn’t happen. And it seems that we’re in a dry period from this afternoon on for at least 5 days. So, what happens to the salamanders if it DOESN’T rain? We would guess that they will stay put and take advantage of the next rain event, when it will likely be warm enough to encourage movement. In fact, the next good one may bring on a really nice migration night. We will all have to be patient. It will happen! There is always the question of whether they will move without rain, if it stays dry long enough. The short answer is that we don’t know. But we will check Beekman Road even during dry nights to find out. ————————————————————————————————————————————————————— March 8, 2009 10:29 PM WE WILL CLOSE BEEKMAN ROAD TONIGHT. While this is the first closing of the season we don’t expect too much. Here’s the scoop. We are going to have some rain, and the temperatures are easily high enough to bring on some migration. But, as has been the case for the past year or so, we don’t seem to be getting a really soaking rain, and it may not happen early enough to trigger any movement. This happened many times last year when the rains didn’t come until after midnight. There was likely a good movement of salamanders, but at that time of night, no one was there to watch. So, we will close the road, not for our convenience or entertainment, but to err on the side of caution. After all, this whole effort is to keep this population of Spotted Salamanders safe from traffic, and to help it increase, perhaps to the point where we might be able to introduce it to other vernal ponds in the region. With any good luck, we will have at least several nights this year when it rains heavily during the day, temperatures are at least in the 40’s, and the salamanders move in large numbers. ————————————————————————————————————————————————————— March 7, 2009 10:29 PM Welcome to the Salamander Page. This is where we will often have the latest news about this year’s migration. This is an unusual time in that the weather is warm ‘earlier’ than we’ve experienced since we began the salamander migration event six years ago. Our usual start date is around the 15th of March or a few days later. With temperatures around 70° today, the ground thawed beautifully. There is almost no snow left (except for the larger piles). IF, and that’s a big if, tomorrow’s rains are sufficiently substantial, then we will close Beekman Road to road traffic in anticipation of (at least a small) salamander migration. At this time, there is no solid indication of when we might have slightly heavier rains. It is important to remember that the rain must be heavy enough to thoroughly soak the forest floor and reach where the salamanders have been staying throughout the winter. A light rain just dampens the leaves on top and doesn’t reach them. So, we’ll have to monitor the situation throughout the day. I’ll try to email everyone but the website will have the latest word…always! Keep watching the Front Page for information. Thanks, Rich. Questions or comments? Please click HERE to email us. Also see the Activity Log (below) for what happened each night of the migration. mailto:njnaturenotes@comcast.net?subject=Salamander%20migrationshapeimage_9_link_0

Harry Spotter, 2008’s Poster Salamander and celebrity, visited the 3rd graders at Lawrence Brook School in East Brunswick.


The photo to the left is of Mrs. Chris Raymond, the Principal, with Harry. Both human and amphibian are said to have enjoyed the inter-species visit. While the human is looking forward to vacation near a pool, the amphibian can’t wait to get into the vernal pool to tell his friends about the tall creatures that live indoors.

Please see the Salamander Page Extras for additional pictures, resources and information.

Why do we close Beekman Road?