A female toad carries a male toad on its back as it travels to a nearby pond to lay eggs.
Posted on 03/23/2009 11:48:08 AM PDT by JoeProBono
Whether it is toads blocking roads, salamander love songs, or a groundhog overcoming his shadow, many animals have unique ways of welcoming spring.
How Birds, Toads, Groundhogs and Salamanders Start Spring Most people are familiar with the ritual of Groundhog Day; since 1887, every Feb. 2, Americans wait eagerly to learn if Punxsutawney Phil will see his shadow, which tells us if we’ll have six more weeks of winter, or if spring will come early. According to legend, Phil was chosen because he is the same groundhog used during the first Groundhog Day, and will live on forever.
Early February is between the Winter Solstice and the Vernal Equinox (the official start of spring), so it makes sense that we look to Phil for signs of spring around this time. This winter Phil saw his shadow, and let everyone know that six more weeks of winter was in store.
In Upper Roxborough, Pa., toads mark the beginning of spring by stopping traffic. Last year the Philadelphia neighborhood saw more than 100 American toads killed by passing cars as they tried to cross the road on their journey to find a mate. This spring the city will put up temporary detours so that the toads may cross in peace.
According to the Philadelphia Daily News, volunteers will patrol the roads in anticipation of the first migrating toads, and put up detour signs in hopes that more toads will cross successfully and the declining toad population will be stabilized.
In Green County, Ohio, students get to experience the beginnings of spring firsthand by watching salamanders mate in local vernal pools. The pools, which have no fish, can only exist in the right combination of warm and wet weather; when this happens at the beginning of spring, it is prime time for the once-a-year mating of salamanders. After spring, the pools dry up and the salamanders return to their burrows.
Bird watchers everywhere can tell you when it is spring by the sweet sound of birds chirping. Among the many bird signals that alert us to the arrival of spring are the hooting of owls and pecking of woodpeckers.
A female toad carries a male toad on its back as it travels to a nearby pond to lay eggs.
All the critters have come out of hibernation here in southern michigan. The temperatures are all over the place but I’m seeing the occasional turtle, hearing the peepers at night and spooking the snakes during the day.
I hope Mr Toad know what he’s doing, trusting here to drive...
That grate ahead of her doesn’t look very “toad friendly”.
I know spring is here when my cat disappears for a couple of days at a time.
Friend Owl, from Bambi
In the summer time he runs to the truck with all the kids on the block, knowing a few of them will give his a sample. Often he beats them to the truck.
When the birds wake you up in the morning...it’s not winter anymore.
There’s a killer on the road.
His brain is squirmin’ like a toad.
:)
Boy, I still have almost a foot of Global Warming in my back yard. I’m not likely to hear an ice cream truck for a while.
Wow...that’s really, really sweet. Thanks.
and Blue Birds and Robins and Woodpeckers and Northern Flickers and Stellar Jays and Blue Jays etc....I LOVE the four seasons. Nothing like them. Each to their own way in nature.
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