NYFalls.com Talk

There are millions and millions of these in the state, but in all my hiking I've only come across one little orange one...Red-spotted Newt to be exact... while hiking in letchworth.

They're all over the place down at Allegany State Park. Especially near Thunder Rocks. Maybe they need a slightly warmer climate and they're only in the extreme southern strip of western New York?

Chris

The Eastern/Red-spotted Newt is extremely abundant here in the Finger Lakes National Forest. It's tough to hike and not see efts, and many of the ponds are loaded with adults. I would always collect several specimens of both the terrestrial and aquatic phases of these for my display/discussion on pond life at Conservation Field Days. They were always a big hit with the kids, but I have never outgrown my fascination with the fact that they start out as aquatic larvae, with gills, spend a few years on land as efts (the teenage years), and then return to the ponds as adults. This past October, I found the smallest eft I have ever seen right on the gravel path in front of my office. It was no more than an inch long, and it was having a heck of a time navigating over the crushed stone. It must have felt like rock climbing to us.

I've found some spotted salamanders (big black with yellow spots) along with red-striped, dusky, and blue-spotted salamaders - which I found in Bear Swamp State Forest.

I once caught a mud-puppy in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee - and I'd really like to find a Hellbender one day

A few months ago I actually found a bunch of salamanders in Barnes Creek
I think this is Northern Dusky

Cool little guy. I haven't had much luck finding salamanders this season, probably because I haven't been out enough, and I'm getting too slow!

I believe it's a Spring Salamander. Found in Tinkers Falls


He was pretty big - about 6"

that is big.