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Amphibian Migrations and Road Crossings 2020 Project Summary

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Amphibian Migrations and Road Crossings 2020 Project Summary Amphibian Migrations and Road Crossings Project 2020 Project Summary Many New Volunteers in 2020! This year, we were thrilled to see a continued high level of participation in the Amphibian Migrations & Road Crossings (AM&RC) Project, with 110 volunteers in the Hudson River estuary watershed, plus another eight participants outside of the watershed. And even more exciting – 74 of those volunteers were new to the project! We welcome and thank both our new and returning volunteers. Together, you helped at least 2,850 salamanders, frogs, and toads to stay safe on roads during their breeding migrations. This year’s volunteers surveyed 127 miles of roads in 42 municipalities in nine counties in the Hudson River estuary watershed (see map). In addition, amphibian enthusiasts in Erie, Onondaga, and Saratoga counties submitted migration data. We appreciate all of your vigilance to keep yourselves safe, record and share your observations, and help amphibians! "Don't be impatient with me. Bear in mind that I hop around among all of you big beasts like a harmless and helpless frog who is afraid of being squashed." - Paul Ehrenfest to Albert Einstein, 1920 Wood frog observed in Marbletown (Ulster Co.) during March 3, 2020 migration. By L. Heady A Program of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation www.dec.ny.gov COVID-19 Just as migration season was starting, many of us were learning of the COVID-19 pandemic that would have unimaginable consequences around the globe. AM&RC volunteers needed to consider a new set of safety precautions as we all learned how to keep ourselves healthy—but there were a few silver linings for amphibian migrations during this dark period in our history. Especially further north into New England where migration had a later start, the pandemic resulted in fewer cars on the road and hopefully less risk to migrating amphibians. And as one AM&RC participant from the Town of Red Hook shared about volunteering during COVID, “Helping the amphibians is something we can still do, and it feels really good!” After migration season, the new reality of social distancing sunk in, and the words of American writer and environmentalist Wendell Berry hit close to home. Stay Home by Wendell Berry I will be standing in the woods where the old trees move only with the wind and then with gravity. In the stillness of the trees I am at home. Don’t come with me. You stay home too. 2020 Migration Weather and Activity Weather. The 2020 migration season had notable weather patterns. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported that in the 126-year period on record, New York had its 15th warmest February and 11th warmest March in 2020. Locally, the Mohonk Lake Cooperative Weather Station in Ulster County similarly recorded the 10th warmest February and 6th warmest March in its 124-year record. With temperature for the year at 4.5oF above average, the Mohonk station also documented the warmest year on record. (NOAA shared that the USA Phenology Network estimated that spring leaf-out occurred 24 days earlier than usual in NYC – 24 days!) The southeastern part of the state was abnormally dry for most of March. This trend was also observed at Mohonk Lake, which found 2020 to be the 8th driest spring season and the 7th driest year since 1896. Snow melt is an important source of water for woodland pools and Mohonk found 2020 to be the 2nd least snowy year on record, with snowfall at 36.6 inches below average. NOAA and Mohonk both found temperatures in April to be slightly below average but precipitation was near normal or slightly below. Migrations. How did the warm, dry season impact migration? Movements to woodland pools started relatively early in 2020 and it appeared the precipitation observed by volunteers during migration was often lighter than what occurred in the preceding 24 hours. Overall, rainfall was lighter than we have come to expect for migration. February 25. A wave of very early wood frog movement was observed in the lower to mid- Hudson Valley on February 25 when most volunteers documented “light rain” and temperatures from 40oF to 48oF. Hudson River Estuary Program | New York State Department of Environmental Conservation 2 March 3. Migration and volunteer activity really got underway on March 3 with reported precipitation conditions ranging from “no rain” to “light rain” and only a few instances of “rain;” however, nearly all volunteers observed rain in the previous 24 hours. Average reported temperature was 48oF. # # amphibians # Date volunteers (live + dead) species February 25 10 213 4 March 3 54 2,193 12 March 10 55 1,745 8 March 28 17 216 12 March 29 19 550 11 March 10. The warmest day of the month was March 9, with a high of 75oF reported in Albany. Mild weather continued on March 10, and the combination of warm temperatures and a light rain spurred another pulse of migration. Volunteers reported average temperatures of 54oF. March 28 and 29. Breeding was well underway in woodland pools by late March in most of the estuary watershed. Volunteers continued to monitor the tail end of the migration into early April, especially further north. At this point, observations were largely spring peeper and American toad, with fewer pool-breeders seen by volunteers. The greatest late-season activity was observed on March 28 and 29. Volunteers reported similar weather conditions on both nights – average evening temperatures between 40oF and 50oF and “light rain,” with “rain” in the previous 24 hours. Jefferson-blue spotted salamander photographed by A. Peters on March 3, 2020 in Esopus (Ulster Co.) Hudson River Estuary Program | New York State Department of Environmental Conservation 3 Amphibians. This year, volunteers observed 16 species, with numbers of wood frogs and spring peepers being the highest, followed by spotted salamander. They assisted 2,857 amphibians to safety, and tallied 3,349 live and 2,617 dead amphibians. The following tables and map provide details on the salamanders, frogs, and toads that were seen and counted during migrations 2020 Hudson Valley Migration by the Numbers (Note: includes small amount of volunteer data from outside the estuary watershed) 3,349 live amphibians 2,617 dead amphibians 2,857 amphibians assisted across roads 16 amphibian species 702 live salamanders 210 dead salamanders 2,647 live frogs and toads 2,407 dead frogs and toads 118 volunteers braved the rain and cold! 309.7 volunteer hours The eastern newt in the photo on the right possesses characteristics of the aquatic, adult phase, including a fin or keel along the tail used for swimming. It’s much more common to see the juvenile, terrestrial phase of the newt (the “red eft”) on land, but on migration nights, we do observe aquatic adults crossing roads. Unlike woodland pool breeding species like spotted salamander that live in the forest, adult eastern newts are found in permanent water bodies like lakes and ponds and do not depend exclusively on temporary, fishless wetlands for breeding. Photographed during March 3, 2020 migration in Ulster County by L. Heady Hudson River Estuary Program | New York State Department of Environmental Conservation 4 Hudson River Estuary Program | New York State Department of Environmental Conservation 5 Species reported by AM&RC volunteers during 2020 amphibian migrations (in order of greatest to least number of total individuals counted): Number Number Species Live Dead Total spring peeper 1,093 1,085 2,178 wood frog 1,137 559 1,696 unknown species 33 644 677 spotted salamander 330 88 418 eastern newt 165 83 248 American toad 166 72 238 green frog 129 25 154 four-toed salamander 119 16 135 Jefferson-blue spotted salamander complex 46 2 48 pickerel frog 25 17 42 bullfrog 40 0 40 northern redback salamander 35 3 38 northern leopard frog 15 20 35 gray tree frog 9 2 11 two-lined salamander 6 0 6 marbled salamander 1 0 1 northern red salamander 0 1 1 TOTAL 3,349 2,617 5,966 The AM&RC email list hit more than 1,200 subscribers in 2020! Town of Red Hook volunteer with a spotted salamander, photographed by L. Husted on March 3, 2020 (Dutchess Co.). Did you know? AM&RC volunteers in Red Hook communicate through their Facebook page, “Help the Salamanders Cross the Road in Red Hook.” Hudson River Estuary Program | New York State Department of Environmental Conservation 6 2020 News from the AM&RC Project AM&RC 2020 We were extremely lucky to get an early start on Project Partners volunteer trainings in 2020, just before migrations started and before social distancing became the new normal. With help from our AM&RC Project Partners Columbia Land Conservancy, Saw Kill Watershed Community, Teatown, Town of Red Hook, and Wallkill Valley Land Trust, we held four in-person training sessions in February that were attended by 116 participants. In addition, the ambitious Town of Pound Ridge Conservation Board used AM&RC program materials to host their own training for local volunteers. Also in early February, we completed an online set of training modules, which was fortuitous timing as the modules provided a learn-at-home opportunity for volunteers during COVID. The five modules are recorded PowerPoint presentations with audio narration and are available to view as a playlist on YouTube. Participants at AM&RC volunteer trainings experience an indoor, “mock migration” to apply what they learned about data collection and amphibian identification. Photos from Red Hook (left) and Columbia County (right) by L. Heady. Hudson River Estuary Program | New York State Department of Environmental Conservation 7 I’d also like to thank the Hudson Highlands Land Trust for including amphibian migrations in their Bringing Nature Home webinar series on May 21, and the Brooklyn Bridge Park Conservancy for adding amphibians to their celebration of National Reptile Awareness Day in an October 21 webinar about community conservation.
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