Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,
Does anyone know about when the tiger or spotted salamanders start their migrations in Blacksburg, VA, around Virginia Tech? Thanks!

percise times depend on the local weather and exactly where you a located, but most species of eastern mole salamanders, including the eastern tiger, blue-spotted and yellow spotted species begin middle of march to early april and generally only move from dusk to dawn. I don't believe that Virginia has much of a tiger salamander population, and even in states like NY, where i'm from, and PA, it is quite rare to find tigers, even during mating season. And you should definatly check with your state DEC or wildlife commission proior to collecting any species from the wild, espically a species as endangered as the eastern tiger, since in NY the DEC actually watches tiger breeding pools for unlicensed collectors and issues Fines up to $500.00 per illegal salamander collected. so it is in your best interest to check your local laws before thinking of catching wild specimens, if that is what you are considering doing.
if you just want to watch the migration, then enjoy, but don't disturb.

2.0.0 whites treefrogs
0.1.0 mexican leaf frog (P. dacnicolor)
1.0.0 golden treefrog
0.0.1 green treefrog
1.0.0 southern leapord frog
2.0.0 green frogs
0.0.1 bullfrog
1.0.1 smokey jungle frogs
2.0.0 pixie frogs
1.0.0 pac-man frog
3.0.2 fire-belly toads
0.0.1 yellow-belly toad
1.0.1 fire-belly newts
1.0.0 blue-spotted salamander
0.1.0 yellow spotted salamander
1.0.0 barred tiger salamander
1.1.0 blotched tiger salamander
1.0.0 eastern tiger salamander
1.0.0 gray tiger salamander
0.0.4 koi
0.0.1 fantail comet
0.1.0 green iguana
1.0.0 german shepard
1.0.0 quaker parrolette

by the way, i've seen salamanders as early as march 13 beginning their migration to breeding spots.

OK, first of all, I'm a Canadian and while I do have an atlas open beside me as I type, I'm not exactly au fey with the climate differences and macro-gegoraphy of the states involved.

According to press, the sals are already on the move in Alabama.

AS for Virginia, the only thing I could find is a reference from 2001. And salamander meanders vary according to local weather and climate over the winter.

I hope that the following may be of some modest utility in giving you an idea of whom to contact in your local rea for more specific details on potential local salamander dates.

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2001 FRIENDS OF BULL RUN MOUNTAIN
Get on your hiking shoes! The Nature Programs sponsored by theFriends of Bull Run Mountain in Broad Run, VA, are a great way toget familiar with our mountain. So much to see! So much to do!Feb 20th, 21st, and 22nd, 7-9 p.m.Salamander SearchSpotted salamander migration is one of the more predictable eventsin nature. Adult spotted salamanders will make nightly migrationsto breeding pools year after year. Join Friends of Bull Run in thefield as we visit a breeding pool in hopes of a glimpse. Choose oneof the three dates. Pre-register, $6 per person.
http://www.brmca.addr.com/news/JAN-FEB 2001.pdf

BIRMINGHAM NEWS (Alabama) 23 January 06 'The salamanders are migrating, the salamanders are migrating'- Salamander watchers heed call of the wild (Patrick Hickerson)
Minutes after midnight Saturday, Ken Wills parked his sport-utility vehicle in a Homewood High School parking lot, pulled on a poncho, clicked on a flashlight and started down a dark stretch of South Lakeshore Drive looking for salamanders.
He had gotten the call - the salamander call.
"I just laid down to bed, so it was excellent timing," Wills said.
Dozens of people, methodically alerted by the Friends of Shades Creek, ventured to South Lakeshore Drive to watch the first wave in the annual migration of the spotted salamander down Shades Mountain.
The migration has absolutes: It will be wet, and it will be dark.
The nocturnal salamanders usually surface during a warm rain after a stretch of cold weather. They slither down to temporary pools to mate and lay eggs.
For hours people decked in rain gear walked along South Lakeshore Drive, sweeping their flashlight beams across the two-lane road like homicide detectives looking for a shell casing.
Those who stayed for hours counted about 10 salamanders.
Caitlin Creed, a senior at Homewood High School, pointed to one 6-inch salamander with a dark blue skin that sported just a few yellow spots.
"I found another one earlier that had more spots," she said.
Bill Mathews, Samford University vice president for business affairs, is a veteran of four migrations. Mathews said he hopes one day to record video of the salamander's mating dance, which is supposed to be elaborate. He has still photos.
"They didn't go out for a swimming jaunt," Mathews said.
A study done last year by a Birmingham-Southern University student counted 34 salamanders, which is considered a portion of the total population. The migration also comes in waves.
Henry Hughes, Friends of Shades Creek executive director, said the migration also calls attention to the salamander's home in the Homewood Forest Preserve, which is city-owned land that stretches up Shades Mountain.
The migration began a week before Homewood's Salamander Festival, scheduled for 4-7:30 p.m. Saturday in the new city hall in Soho Square.
"San Juan Capistrano has its sparrows," said Brad Creed, Caitlin's father. "We have our salamanders."
Those who come out asked to be paged about the migration, which has taken place as early as 9 p.m. and as late as 3 a.m. Michelle Blackwood, Friends of Shades Creek president, keeps the numbers with her at all times during the migratory months of January and February.
Hughes still has his 2005 notice on his answering machine that came from another salamander follower.
"It says, `The salamanders are migrating. The salamanders are migrating,'" Hughes said. "I couldn't erase it."
http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/113792493764740.xml&coll=2

I live in Dublin not far away from Blaksburg and our Jefferson and Spotted have yet to start migrating... too dry. The wood frogs are already breeding. The Tiger salamanders do not live in S.W. Virginia, they only live on the coast and one disjunct population in Augusta county. If you did find one in Montgomery county, it would be one hell of a find!