I’m planning a tiger salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum) run tonight. Again there’s a possibility the weather might not cooperate, but it looks like the best odds this week, so we’ll give it a shot.

I’ve been focusing my herping energy in a couple other directions lately: I’ve been working on an essay on herping for a writing competition, and I’ve been scouting from my laptop. By that I mean I’ve been trying to use Google Earth to identify vernal pools from satellite images. There aren’t as many as I had expected, but I think I’ve found a couple promising areas to explore.

Scott came over yesterday afternoon to join me in looking at satellite images and matching promising sites to the NJ road atlas I use in the car. He is also feeling a little cabin fever, and we’re hoping the tiger run helps with our condition. Even if we find nothing, the big to-do of it all (getting out of work early, packing special equipment like nets and flashlights, driving out of the city, wandering around the woods in the dark) should use up some energy.

Next weekend I think I’ll try a local stream bed salamandering. There’s a red salamander (Pseudotriton ruber) spot in the city I’d like to investigate a little more. Wish us luck.