For those of you in or close to Harford County this will be your chance to participate in the multi-county effort to document our native amphibians as they emerge from winter hibernation.
Come join us at a vernal pool in southern Harford County! Spring Peepers and spotted salamanders have already been observed in nearby areas! We’ll meet in the Edgewood Middle School parking lot and drive a few miles down the road.
A few notes (adapted from Joe McSharry’s post):
• This date is tentative because it is weather-dependent and the animals will come out when they want. We are trying this one a little earlier because the weather is warming up quickly and some amphibians have already started to emerge.
• While we want everyone to have a great experience, we don’t want to damage the habitat, and we certainly don’t want to hurt the little critters we love so much. So it may turn out that only one or two people go into the pool to collect while others remain on the side. We will have aquariums and nets to collect from the edge. Please help us out by listening to the trip leader!
• We will meet at the Edgewood Middle School parking lot at 7:00pm and drive to the vernal pool location from there. Please be on time. Parking is very limited so please carpool.
• Please be prepared. Bring a flashlight and/or headlamp. Bring comfortable shoes/boots that you don’t mind getting wet and muddy. Bring your cameras and hope for some great shots of rarely seen wildlife!
• If you are planning to go to multiple vernal pool sites please be responsible and clean your shoes/boots between each site with a 10% bleach solution for at least a minute and then rinse with clean water to prevent transfering diseases between pools.
