This month, Outdoor Radio takes you to Salisbury, Vermont where salamanders, newts and frogs are crossing Morgan Road to a swamp where they reproduce. Dozens of volunteers are keeping a tally, and when a car comes along, the volunteers scoop them up so they don't get squashed.
"It's an early sign of life in the Spring. It's a major wildlife spectacle that many people have overlooked." — Herpetologist Jim Andrews
Biologists Kent McFarland and Sara Zahendra are joined by Herpetologist Jim Andrews as the volunteers work with clipboards and flashlights to participate in this rite of Spring.
Over the course of two and a half hours, 44 volunteers counted 512 amphibians.
For more information about amphibian migrations in Vermont, check out these sites:
- View the Vermont Reptile and Amphibian Atlas
- Report your sightings of amphibians to the Vermont Atlas of Life
- Learn about vernal pools and see a map of Vermont sites
Outdoor Radio is produced in collaboration with the Vermont Center For Ecostudies with support from the Windham Foundation. The program is recorded and produced by VPR's Chief Production Engineer Chris Albertine.
