First spermatophores

Some days, the picture haul is truly outstanding, and it's exceedingly difficult to choose the best photo from among the dozens of National-Geographic-qualifying images. (OK, the last statement is a bit of self-deprecating humor; I do know the difference between aspirations and delusions.) Then again, other days the harvest is less than stellar. Today was in the latter camp, but though this shot, of an underwater scene, is not the best quality, it's included because of what it captures: the first breeding activity of 2014 of Spotted Salamanders. During today's beautiful weather, I headed to the nearby Babcock Ridge preserve to see if any amphibians were on the move in the mid-50s-temperatures. They weren't, and many of the vernal pools I'm hoping to monitor are still encased in ice. But in one open-water stretch, right in the center of the vernal, was a small collection, about a foot in diameter, of what appeared to be cottony growths on the underwater leaf litter. These are definite signs of salamander life: the spermatophores left by courting males who are attempting to convince any female in the vicinity to take his sperm packet inside her cloaca. The spermatophores were fresh, probably deposited in the pre-dawn, rainy hours this morning. Since I spotted no egg masses, I can't report on whether the early endeavor proved successful. But it's a start, and after this winter, a welcome start.