Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Ahh the sounds of spring....

Toads are calling outside my window.  Oh how I love that sound!

I have begun (slowly) to rack up species observations.  You can check out my progress here: http://www.kylehorner.com/resolution.html

:)
Kyle

Monday, April 25, 2011

Species Number 2!

Well I may be off to a slow start, but I have now photographed two species!  Only forty-something to go :).

I went slogging for peepers the other day, and despite hearing many was not able to nail one down for a photo.  Here's the habitat I was wading through:

Frog Habitat















Wading thigh-deep at this time of year is chilly business!  I wasn't the only one who was cold though.  I came upon a number of Wood Frogs, and hardly recognized them at first!  At this temperature their skin becomes very dark, apparently to aid in thermoregulation (dark things warm up faster!).

Wood Frog (Lithobates sylvaticus)















I didn't notice until editing this photo that the poor guy is falling victim to a mosquito!  Even the frogs aren't safe.

I also stumbled across an egg mass (of which there will soon be many!).  Not sure on the species (I guess I don't know my egg masses), so I can only narrow it down to the 4 that were present in the pond - Wood, Leopard, Chorus and Peeper.

Egg Mass















Gotta love that underwater point-and-shoot!  Anyway, that's all for now.  More soon!

Kyle

Sunday, April 24, 2011

It Begins... (finally)

Well, with a slight increase in the temperature, I decided to try my luck at frogs the other day (Friday).  Sadly, the frogs were mostly quiet.  I did hear a few Chorus Frogs calling intermittently, but was unable to track them down.  Just as I was starting to head back to my car in disappointment, I turned up a very unexpected critter!

Four-toed Salamander (Hemidactylium scutatum)















Four-toeds are a reasonably uncommon and hard-to-find species throughout Ontario, so it's a nice one to nail down early in the season.  Although he looks like the more-common Redback Salamander, the constriction at the base of his tail and his spotty belly (see below) give him away.

Four-toed Salamander (Hemidactylium scutatum)















They're not exactly award-winners, but photos nonetheless!  I'm hoping this means the drought has ended, and there will be many more photos to follow.

Check back soon!
Kyle

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

What's going on???

Remember when it was spring?  That was a good day...

Kyle

Saturday, April 16, 2011

The herps are out!

Well they're here, though sadly I have no photos to show.  Nonetheless my 'observed' list is up to 4 species - Spring Peeper, Western Chorus Frog, Wood Frog and Northern Leopard Frog.  I have made two attempts at photography thus far, and somehow picked the only two days on which the frogs weren't calling.  I'm talented like that.

Photos soon!
Kyle