In a few short weeks the Earth will mark its journey around the sun with equal sunlight for both its southern and northern hemispheres, also known as the vernal equinox or “spring” in our northern hemisphere. You may have been noticing that the sun sits higher on the horizon these days (called the “solar altitude angle”). This increasing angle produces more direct solar radiation in our hemisphere, and each day we absorb a little more of the sun’s energy.
More energy equals more heat. Snow may still fall, but it’s faster to melt than earlier in the winter. Our native plants and animals are cued into this season of increasing light. Sap begins to flow, buds swell, and for many animals—particularly in temperate regions—reproduction is timed so that young are born or hatched in the spring.
Cold-blooded amphibians, who have waited out the winter months in a state of dormancy called brumation, will be emerging sometime in March through mid-April. Reproduction for them requires water, and their annual spring migration across the landscape to find a suitable breeding pool is sometimes called “Big Night.”
Big Night is a bit of a misnomer since all amphibians do not move all at once on the same night. But, when conditions are right (rainy spring nights with temperatures above 40 degrees F) many salamanders, frogs and toads are on the move!
If you’ve never experienced a Big Night, you owe it to yourself to make the effort to experience this natural event. For starters, you can join us online on Thursday, March 5 at 6 pm when Greg LeClair, Executive Director of the “Maine Big Night” project will be giving a presentation entitled “Roads, Rain, and a Couple Thousand Amphibians: Call it a Big Night!”
“Holding an 8-inch long, jet-black salamander with bright yellow spots in your hand is a life-changing experience,” says LeClair, who started the Maine Big Night project nine years ago. Maine Big Night is a statewide nonprofit community science project that relies on volunteers to collect data on spring amphibian road crossings. This data is used by the state to identify areas of special concern (high amphibian mortality rates or the presence of rare species) and plan for mitigation. “This year we’ll be constructing a make-shift amphibian crossing on Forrest Ave. in Orono, which has been identified through our project as having one of the highest amphibian mortality rates in the state,” says LeClair. “That site typically sees up to 80% mortality of crossing amphibians, and all but two of Maine’s amphibian species have been recorded there. Last year we had over 1000 volunteers monitoring amphibian road crossing sites in their communities,” he says, “and this year we’re hoping to get even more.”
To find out how you can get involved with this year’s Maine Big Night program, go to mainebignight.org. This website will give you all the information you need to become a certified volunteer and adopt a site in your community. If you don’t want to get certified, there are also steps you can take to connect with and accompany certified volunteers, detailed on the website.
Big Night volunteer kits are available for loan from Maine Audubon at both our Gilsland Farm and Fields Pond locations. The kits include head lamps, mandatory safety vests, ID cards, and more, and you can borrow them for the Big Night season which runs from March 15 to May 15.
For information about borrowing a kit at Gilsland Farm, contact: naturalist@maineaudubon.org
For information about borrowing a kit at Fields Pond, contact: fieldspond@maineaudubon.org
For those close by to our Fields Pond Audubon Center in Holden, we will be hosting two “Gear up for Big Night!” programs to get you up to speed with monitoring amphibian crossing sites close to Fields Pond.
Saturday March 7, 10-11 am
Tuesday March 10, 6-7 pm
For those in the greater Portland area, join us for a book talk by some of the contributors to the third edition of Maine Amphibians and Reptiles, a book that explores the lives of 38 fascinating species—from tiny newts to rarely seen sea turtles—found across Maine and the Northeast.
Wednesday March 11, 5:30 pm, Falmouth Memorial Library
Spring migration isn’t all about birds! Critters are crossing roads to get to their breeding grounds, so find out how you can get involved in this project so you too can exprience the thrill of a Big Night!
