Searching for salamanders

BERLIN TWP. — Nature is waking up with spring around the corner. Erie MetroParks hosted a pop-up salamander hike at Edison Woods on Friday. More than a dozen people, along with park naturalists, walked down the Big Meadow Trail to check funnel traps that were set in vernal pools. Vernal pools are temporary wetlands that form in shallow depressions. Rain fills those areas, which creates habitat for salamanders, frogs, insects and more. The pools eventually dry up during the summer. Salamanders prefer warmer weather to migrate. The temperatures the previous night were a little colder than the naturalists wanted, and there was also a lack of steady rain. However, they still hoped to find something in the traps. Most of the traps were empty, but there were a few with aquatic wildlife. There were two Jefferson salamanders, salamander larvae, a green frog, a dragonfly nymph and other insects. Participants received a close-up look at the creatures and learned about each one before they were released back into the water.