Eastern Red Newts
January 12, 2017
Melissa Donahue and I went froglogging last night (1/11/17) and were disappointed that we didn't hear a single frog BUT we were thrilled to find out it was mating season for Eastern Red Newts! We saw 2 pairs of newts in amplexus - 1 at the Nature Center Pond, 1 at the Burch Reserve East pond. We saw at least 15 or so individuals in the same area, an unusual sight for sure. We noticed several striking physical differences between the males and females:
1) males were a much darker, olive-brownish color and females were a paler tan; 2)the tail on a male appeared wavy like a ribbon and he often waved it from side to side during amplexus. 3) the female was clearly gravid - the abdomen was bulging.
The next day I returned to the Nature Center pond and caught two of the darker newts and was able to confirm they were both males by the rubbery pads on their hind legs and the swollen, dark yellow cloaca.
While looking for newts I found a number of gorgeously patterned leeches in the pond - at least 6 or 7 in close proximity to each other. I am usually lucky to find one so that seemed unusual. They were resting on rocks and twigs and leaves.
