Springtime charges in and retreats just as quickly accompanied with the usual rains. Vernal ponds begin losing their icy covers and whatever snow remains, gets “eaten away” by the sun.

These ponds form in forest depressions, collect excess water, and by summer are just a memory. The vernal ponds make the best and easiest places to find amphibians.

Salamanders are in Class Amphibia, the amphibians. They spend part or in some cases, all of their lives in water.

Growing up, I remember my elderly neighbors calling them lizards. Three lizard species do inhabit our state, but I have never found one in Pennsylvania.

I imagine the settlers in lower Carbon County encountered salamanders, but in their limited knowledge of biology named Lizard Creek erroneously.

The most common species, the redback salamander is active at night and in particular, rainy evenings, “redbacks” belong to the family known as lungless salamanders.

Fifteen of the 22 species of salamanders in our state are lungless salamanders. They breathe through their skin as fish use gills. Redback salamanders must keep their skin moist to survive. Find them under stones, downed tree trunks, or in rotting logs. Some readers may remember venturing out on rainy spring nights catching “night crawlers” for bait and seeing these. It has a reddish stripe the length of its body and tail. However, it has a leadback phase with a gray stripe.

Redback and four-toed salamanders have unique escape techniques. When predators grab either of these species by the tail, the salamander twists until the tail disengages from the body. In addition, the tail continues to writhe, allowing the tailless salamander to crawl away. The salamanders remain hidden for months until the tail regenerates. I try not to handle a “redback” too long, knowing it will snap off its tail.

Another species fairly common in our area is the spotted salamander. Spotted salamanders belong to the family commonly known as mole salamanders. You might surmise that these salamanders live underground.

They have lungs, more robust bodies and larger legs. They spend most of their life in animal burrows and under rotting logs and stones. The salamander in the photo was found under a piece of sidewalk near a clear mountain stream. They have a double row of yellow spots their entire body and tail and reach about 8 inches in length.

Spotted salamanders are beautiful and if trying to find one, look in the locations I described earlier.

However, they remain relatively close to a clean, cool water source where they mate and lay their eggs. If you find this habitat, venture out on a rainy March evening with your flashlight and walk a dirt road to see them crawling to their breeding areas.

Every year River Road in the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation area is closed to traffic to reduce the number of salamander roadkills.

If you pick up a spotted salamander it is best described as holding an 8-inch version of a damp, dark “Pillsbury Doughboy.”

The dusky salamander spends most of its life living in spring seeps, hiding under small stones venturing out to feed on small invertebrates. My East Stroudsburg University field zoology professor took us to a steep shale bank where water dripped constantly. We found four species, including the Dusky, which is also lungless and 3 to 4 inches long, slimy and difficult to catch.

Protecting these mountain springs, small streams or damp forest clearings from human encroachment may give our offspring the opportunity to discover the “salamanders at our feet.”

Test your Knowledge: The peregrine falcon was formerly called the ____________. A. pigeon hawk, B. sparrow hawk, C. duck hawk, D. chicken hawk.

Last week’s Quiz answer: Quite remarkably, at least 25 species of ducks could be observed in our area each year.

Contact Barry Reed at breed71@gmail.com.