Marty Michener wrote:
> Me, too, I have often used sheds and the like. So, there you go, Walt,
> carry a concrete shed with you.
All I need is a strong assistant.
> Seriously, my very limited experience with Spadefoot Toads, Scaphiopus
> holbrookii. (DelMarVa, 1956) indicated that they only breed during, and
> shortly after, unusually heavy prolonged showers. The chorus time after
> such deluges may only be a few hours long. What luck have you had in your
> surveys with these elusive, fossorial creatures?
They are throughout Georgia, but I only occasionally get recordings.
Best have been after heavy rain, but occasionally not. I actually tried
to record one group in the middle of the day, a nice clear sunny day.
But, they were so far away I did not get much that time. They don't seem
to be quite as closely tied to showers down here.
> I see from your web site:
>
> http://wwknapp.home.mindspring.com/Docs/eastern.spadefoot.toad.html
>
> you have nice, clear recordings of "the grumbling old men" from one (two?)
> location, but they have always presented survey nightmares, because you
> almost have to be in location BEFORE the deluge to hear them. Or else, you
> find them in wet basements by word-of-mouth (This Broken Archipelago, J. D.
> Lazell, Jr. 1976, 'Spadefoot". p. 101, NYTimes Books, Quadrangle Press.)
I do a lot of following thunderstorms in the summer. A hour or two
behind the storm has all kinds of things. Particularly if the storm is
one of those just before sunset.
I often choose areas based on the weather information found on Intellicast:
http://www.intellicast.com/
They have a detailed radar image online that's updated frequently, and
also have 24 hour and weekly rainfall maps that are updated daily. When
it gets hot and dry in the summer, looking at the radar for thunderstorm
cells and chasing them down has been very productive. Most of my
spadefoots have come this way.
I have a few nice spots where I can find them most any evening in the
summer. Not calling, but they have big eyes, so easy to spot at night
with lights. The data is really spotty, however. They are a tough one.
I'm off this evening to try for Gopher Frogs, a site I recorded last
year, but a whole bunch of things were calling altogether. I'm trying to
get them alone. I also need photos of those yet. I'll be out with John
Jensen of the GA DNR, so if they are active we have a good chance on the
photos, John is very good at getting frogs. He's also the one that got
me onto surveying with audio, something he'd been trying to get someone
to take on. He heads the survey, and will also be getting a fair sized
box of CD's and cards to go through, I finally got last year's paperwork
done.
Walt
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