Rock piles, logs, leaf litter and underbrush provide ideal shelter for a variety of insect-eating reptiles, our partners in pest control. I found this burrowing Blue-Spotted Salamander in our garden last week while extending one of the flagstone paths through the front gardens. Richard had left a small pile of flat stones for me, on top of what had been the potato bed. When I lifted the sun-warmed rocks to lay them on the path, he (or she) scurried out.
While these salamanders live on land, they rely on vernal (seasonal) pools that retain water into mid-summer for breeding. So they are primarily found in moist forests and swampy woodlands where shady depressions collect and hold water well after the spring melt. Given this summer's rain everywhere is moist and swampy. But our "muddle" -- the hole we've dug in heavy clay soil that will eventually be a small woodland pond, along with our shift from large expanses of lawn to a more diverse ecosystem -- is clearly attracting larger numbers of reptiles to take up residence in our garden.
While these salamanders live on land, they rely on vernal (seasonal) pools that retain water into mid-summer for breeding. So they are primarily found in moist forests and swampy woodlands where shady depressions collect and hold water well after the spring melt. Given this summer's rain everywhere is moist and swampy. But our "muddle" -- the hole we've dug in heavy clay soil that will eventually be a small woodland pond, along with our shift from large expanses of lawn to a more diverse ecosystem -- is clearly attracting larger numbers of reptiles to take up residence in our garden.
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