Near Miss

Day 34: It may have been the thudding of our boots on the frosty ground which startled this young Long-Toed Salamander (Ambystoma macrodactylum) into moving just ever so slightly. In any event, the minor motion caught the tail of my eye and saved the little feller from an untimely end. I didn't even realize what had stopped me in my tracks, but as always when something moves in the woods where I'm not expecting motion, I froze and began scanning the ground. It took me a while to spot that yellow dorsal stripe among the leaves, and even after I located the culprit and had knelt down to take a picture, Yonit was attempting to figure out what had captured my interest. Our little amphibian friend never twitched another muscle. This species is generally inactive at this time of year, resorting to the protection of forest litter or possibly even burrowing underground to over-winter, so I was a bit surprised to see one. Sad to say, Long-Toed Salamanders are losing their habitat as small, unprotected wetlands are filled in, and farmed game fish are being introduced into upland ponds. Hopefully here in the relative sanctuary of a state park, the species will thrive.