Confessions of an Amphibian Groupie

In which Goldilocks* goes to the ponds and fondles a salamander. . . .

The ponds in the Scotia Barrens are teeming with life, and I can't get enough of it. I am there nearly every day to watch and listen, and to take as many amphibian photos and videos as my memory card will allow.

This was a day when I took my walk elsewhere, for a girl can't hike in the same direction every SINGLE day. But by the afternoon, I was missing my amphibian fix for the day. We had taken one of the cars out for a spin, and my husband offered to drop me off and pick me up so I could spend 20 minutes at "my" pond, without actually having to walk there myself. Cool.

As I approached the pond, I realized something was different, and it was. Very. There was no amphibian song. I wondered if the researchers were there, and as it turns out, that was indeed the case. They were standing on its banks.

Our local University sends people out to do research on the amphibians in the Barrens each spring. Notices are typically posted to that effect by each pond. And there they were, at my pond! There were three or four of them, some hidden under tarps on the ground by the pond, doing stuff to amphibians.

Of course, I seized the opportunity, and addressed the top guy immediately. Yes, he was one of the main guys, he admitted. And he told me they were finding lots of wood frogs, spotted salamanders, and other critters in the pond. He was the same guy I had emailed last spring when I discovered a huge, deceased frog by the far end of my pond. No, neither he nor I had ever seen such a thing. Nope, neither of us had any idea why. We both shook our heads.

I had my camera displayed obviously, and he apologized for ruining my fun. The amphibians weren't hopping so much, and I scooted on up to the next pond, a slightly bigger one, where the sound was practically deafening. And I took a handful of photos there. But it just wasn't the same. I feel like the Goldilocks* of the Barrens ponds: Nope, this one is too big. Nope, this one is too little. Ahh, this one is JUST right!

On my way back past the original pond, the main researcher hailed me and then he asked me, Had I gotten enough pictures? And then he came toward me holding two baggies, both with pond water in. Each baggie held an amphibian: one a newt (Notophthalmus viridescens), the other a spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum).

I took some photos and he told me about their research. Each amphibian would be photographed and measured and weighed, then placed back into the pond. He offered me the baggies for a closer look, and I actually got to hold them both and take as many pictures as I wanted. Yee-haw!

Well, this was paradise indeed for an amphibian groupie such as myself! It was like a pop-up book. I showed up at exactly the right time, and got to learn the news from the top dude and fondle (and photograph) a salamander close up that I hardly ever even get to SEE. What a great day!

My soundtrack song for this image of the researcher introducing me to a rather large spotted salamander talks about how I personally feel about amphibians. As if you ever wondered. ;-) The song is the Doors, with Hello, I Love You.


*One of my father's nicknames for me when I was a tiny, very blonde, blue-eyed baby girl was Goldilocks, or Goldie, for short.