Posted By auntie on April 18, 2015

2.9 miles; richmond, ri

this was a fun walk with the ri wild plant society led by two uri professors to a vernal pond in carolina management area. we got to see lots of cool creatures, from fairy shrimp to newts to caddisflies that build homes for themselves and then hide in them like hermit crabs, not to mention your usual spotted salamanders and peeper frogs. who knew?

dr. paton wades in

both professors, dr. paul paton and dr. nancy karraker, waded into the pond in their hip boots to bring back creatures and egg cases for us to examine.

wood frog egg mass

this jelly-like mass is a wood frog egg mass. at least, i hope it is—i didn’t take notes. it’s either wood frog or peepers. and it’s fairly recently laid. we saw other egg masses that contained what looked like tiny tadpoles, and the older masses also turn cloudy and opaque.

lead form red backed salamander

this little guy was the “lead form” of the red-backed salamander, another seasonal denizen of the vernal pools. this walk went much faster than i expected, and i learned so much. i highly recommend you check out the rhode island wild plant society’s web page. there was a small charge for this walk for non-members, but they also run a free first-thursday botanizing walk, and lots of other activities.

Categories: Rhode Island, Walks and Hikes
Tags: 2–5 miles, RI, Richmond RI