It has apparently become a December tradition to visit some of my favorite fields and witness the beginning of california newts moving to their breeding ponds. This year, we arrived before dark and were able to uncover a slender salamander before the newts got moving. Movement began just before sunset and there seemed to be large pockets of moving newts interspersed amongst barren patches of poor habitat. It was too early to see them in the water, thus most newts retained their bumpy texture. A combination of factors includeing: time of movement, swollen cloaca, and flattening out of tails indicate that most if not all of the newts witnessed were in fact males. On the roads near where I was, others informed me that newts were incredibly defensive and displaying the classic raised head/tail behaviors.

Below are my favorite pictures from this particular outing:

As with every encounter, I refresh myself on some characteristics about the species. All newts are salamanders but not all salamanders are newts. Newts are primarily diurnal but are often nocturnal. California newts are incredibly poisonous with enough poison to kill a cow or human if ingested (be careful handeling with open cuts). They can be territorial when not in the breeding season which is kicked off when the rainy season begins and is typically December-February. In the water there often mating balls surrounding females. Larval stages can last through the end of summer and into the beginning of fall (this is the next goal is to find juveniles in a pond). Lastly, salamanders have been observed making three sounds: clicks, whistles, and squeaks.