Tonights' weather was heavy rain, and a cold 45 degrees. Perfect amphibian weather, terrible weather for keeping warm and dry.
I decided to look for salamanders near the Neponset River Reservation. My goal was to find some blue spotted salamanders since there were rumored observations in the nearby area. I started the survey by walking along the edge of the wetland which was a tangled mess of vines and plants, after 15 minutes of this I intersected a paved road and decided to follow it. After a few minutes of walking up the road I bumped into a couple with a flashlight and umbrella walking in the rain in my direction, as it turns out they were also looking for salamanders! We decided to join forces and ended up finding three blue spotted salamanders, many spring peepers, a red backed salamander, and a dead four toed salamander that was most likely run over by a car.
The blue spotted salamanders at this site were extra small and difficult to see when they were crossing the road since they blend right in with the background.
Photography became increasingly difficult with foggy camera lenses and numb freezing cold hands.
All in all a success, one of the neighbors even gave me a ride back to my car.
