A baby dusky salamander, three red-backed salamanders (2 shown), one frog (possibly wood), and wood frog eggs were spotted in St. Lawrence County between the hours of 1-4 on a sunny day in April!  All herps were found along/near vernal pools!  Red-backed salamanders seemed to be bountiful.  This is in addition to the four photos I posted last week as encounters!

Here are a few photos that were recently posted on NUN's instagram and facebook to highlight Big Night for New York's Herps!

Click through to learn more!

A frigid and snowy day made it tough, but this is always a favorite hike. A nice fire at the lean-to warmed things up.

Great day snowshoeing up Phelps Mountain!

Nature Up North celebrated the new year with a snowshoe hike to the summit of Mount Arab in Piercefield. We had great weather for the trip, and were joined by 20 hikers of all ages from all across the North Country. Several people experienced their first winter hike in the Adirondacks while others had a chance to try snowshoes for the first time. The group enjoyed sharing snacks at the summit cabin, searching for wildlife tracks, and learning some common tree species. Thanks to all who joined us! 

This is a great trek either by land or water. I kayaked in from Low's lower dam to the upper dam (3 miles). This alone is an amazing experience. From there i took the trail up to the ruins of Hitchen's park and then the trail to the overlook (+/- a mile). The views of the Bog river plains and the high peaks are breathtaking. You can also walk in from the Horseshoe lake road.

We had a great turn out of mushroom enthusiasts for the first Nature Up North fall Naturalist Walk on Friday. Led along the St. Lawrence University Kip Trail by our guest, local mycologist Claire Burkum, the group was lucky to see a diversity of mushrooms - thanks to some recent rains. Sightings ranged from common puffballs and boletes to dainty bird's nest fungi (an exciting first for me). Thanks to everyone who joined the fun! 

What a lovely time we had exploring the several waterfalls along Tooley Pond Road. If you haven't been yet, it's a must go! As a group, we visited Banford Falls, Twin Falls, and Rainbow Falls. Along the three trails we learned about the location's history as an iron mining site and scavenged for wild edible plants.  

Late June is a great time to explore water plants - a variety of species are flowering this time of year, making finding them easier and even more interesting. During a paddling program today led by Nature Up North intern Maggie, we found a variety of species, including pickerel weed (flowering!), hornwort, ditchmoss, soft-stemmed bullrush, and sensitive fern. We also talked about some water-loving trees that like to grow along the river, such as silver maple, box elder and willow. 

I smelled woodsmoke while swimming at the sand banks on the Grass River. At first I assumed there was a bonfire at one of the houses, but the scent was odd, and very bitter. I saw movement out of the corner of my eye: beside the remains of a fire, there was smoke coming out of the ground. The fire must not have been put out fully, because it had burrowed under the ground, burning through fallen pine needles and fine rootlets. When I found it, it had spread in branching patterns over about a square foot of ground, and it was expanding towards the rest of the forest.