[All] 13 salamanders, Wideman Road & CKCO News

[Louisette Lanteigne]

Hi folks!
 
I'm on CKCO news tonight talking about the 13 salamanders found off of Wideman Road. I found 6 last night (around midnight) and 7 more this morning. (Not counting the live Red Spotted Newt I photographed)
 
I spoke with Salamander expert Mr. Campbell who directed me to bring the critters to Dr. Jim Bogart in Guelph. I met with Mr. Bogart and he will identify them and provide us with a written summery of the findings. The majority appear to be Red Spotted Newts and Red backs but there are a few unidentified ones in the lot worth checking out.
 
I've identified an amphibian "hotspot" where the most salamander road kills were found as seen in the attachments. The photo shows the area of all dead ones found but the hot spot represents the location of approx. 70% of the finds.  In this area, the number of dead frogs directly relates to the number of dead salamanders. 
 
I spotted and video taped are a flock of Wild Turkey by the salamander hotspot area this morning. They were causing a huge amount of noise in the grass. 
 
I also found out something really funny about the coyotes in ESPA 19. When the train goes by around midnight, it whistles, and if you stand at the corner of Wideman Road and Wilmot Line, you can hear the coyotes go absolutely nuts yipping and howling loudly with the train from the forests of ESPA 19.   As soon as the train stops, it's absolute silence. As if they were never there.
 
When I arrive at the University of Guelph to speak with Mr.Bogart, I bumped into David Emery from CKCO News.  He was covering the fact that Laird Road in Guelph will be PERMANENTLY CLOSED due to the sensitive amphibian habitats in the area. That's when I showed him the dead critters from Wideman Road.  Talk about timing. It will all be on CKCO news tonight.
 
Talk to ya later!
 
Lulu :0)
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