Wildlife Diversity Program Quarterly Report for January–March 2025
Another Dry Winter in the Sandhills by Aubrey Greene, Wildlife Diversity Biologist/Herpetologist U nfortunately, the winter rains many of our rare amphibians require for breeding never came to the Sandhills; therefore, most wetlands were dry throughout the winter breeding season. The few wet- lands that continue to hold water from late-summer rains have had minimal breeding by rare amphibians because we have not had the rains to trigger individ- uals to move from the uplands to the wetlands for breeding. One species that is of particular concern is the gopher frog. Last year, 2024, was the first breed- ing event in three years for Sandhills gopher frogs but we haven’t found evidence of breeding in 2025, and we are nearing the end of their typical breeding sea- son. These regular winter droughts could be a pat- tern this State Endangered frog cannot sustain. Dry ponds also made for a slow dipnet monitor- ing season. Fewer than 10 of the 30 monitored ponds were holding enough water to survey for larval amphibians. Surveys yielded the usual suspects including Southern leopard frog and green frog tadpoles, and adult bro- ken-striped newts and Southern cricket frogs. Some unexpected finds included a beautiful adult carpenter frog and a few tiger salamander egg masses getting ready to hatch.
NCWRC
Above: Adult Carpenter Frog; Left: Tiger Salamander egg mass. Photos by Aubrey Greene.
WANTED: Softshell Turtle and Northern Pine Snake Sightings
by Aubrey Greene, Wildlife Diversity Biologist/Herpetologist
W ith warming temperatures, turtles and snakes are on the move, and we continue to be interested in softshell turtle and pine snake sightings in North Carolina. We want to learn more about these native species’ distributions across the state to help us monitor and manage their populations in the future. So if you see one, please take a picture, note the location, and submit your turtle and/or snake sighting using our easy reporter tools online.
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