Notes from the Wildlife Naturalist:
Friends of Shades Creek Salamander Festival 
by Emily Hutto

One of the first signs of spring in Alabama is the annual emergence of the spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) for their yearly migration. The first warm, late winter rain triggers dozens to hundreds, and in some places, thousands, of spotted salamanders to emerge from their winter burrows and migrate in large groups to nearby vernal pools, where they mate and lay their eggs. A few days later, the salamanders will migrate back to their burrows.

The Southeast US, including Alabama, has the highest number of salamander species in the entire world, and they live all around us even though we rarely see them. 

Salamanders are secretive, and you may think that this migration happens in hard-to-find places, or deep in the forest. But you actually don’t have to travel far to see this fantastic natural occurrence - the salamander migration famously happens in Homewood, AL each year. And unfortunately, since the salamanders migrate in a populated area at night, are small, and cross roads to reach their breeding grounds, they are vulnerable to car strikes during this most important time in their life cycle.

To raise awareness about the salamander migration and to help protect this incredible animal, the Friends of Shades Creek host a yearly festival in Homewood right before the migration.  Ruffner Wildlife Care staff attended the festival this year, and we would love to encourage you to attend next year!

The festival is a lot of fun for people of all ages. This year, the Cahaba River Society, GASP, UAB, the Alabama Wildlife Center, the Oak Mountain Interpretive Center, and many others supported the festival and brought interactive displays about runoff, water quality, plants, animals, biodiversity, and more for the whole family. There were live wildlife ambassadors including snakes, turtles, owls, and of course, many species of salamanders.

If you or your family would like to be citizen scientists and help protect these incredible creatures, you can contact Friends of Shades Creek at https://shadescreek.org/.  We at Ruffner love to see our community participating in projects that inspire passion and education about the natural world.