In the 1990's Noelle and I worked on a survey of amphibian life in the Lost Pond in the West Duwamish Greenbelt. We noted Red-legged Frogs, Long-toed Salamanders, Western Red-backed Salamanders, and Ensatina Salamanders. The Long-toed Salamanders and the Red-legged Frogs require calm water to breed while the other two salamanders are terrestrial and lay eggs on land. At the conclusion of the survey at the end of the 90'S we continued to check on the pond life yearly but never again saw and evidence of Red-legged Frogs except for a few egg masses that did not appear to be viable. We were not sure the frogs were still in the pond. On a visit to the pond last week I noticed a dead frog in the pond and returned with Noelle the following day and to our surprise we located 7 live and healthy looking frogs. So if they were ever gone....they are back after 2 decades of being AWOL. Long-toed Salamander larvae were also observed.
 |
| Noelle - The Frog Whisperer |
