Team DCLT which included TerraCorps members Charly Raymond and Lydia Rheinhardt, and Summer Art Fellow Serena Yu, were joined by Ian Ives, Director at Mass Audubon’s Long Pasture, Ashumet Holly, Barnstable Great Marsh and Skunknett River Wildlife Sanctuaries on Cape Cod. Ian took the group on a Spadefoot tour on a barrier beach in Barnstable. The population there is strong and they were able to use eye shine method to locate the toads, as well as other amphibians including Fowler’s toads and American toads. Once the team knew what they were looking for, they went to a DCLT property in hopes of finding our very own (more local) population.
The spadefoot spends most of its life hidden underground except to breed and forage at night. It emerges to breed in vernal pools following heavy rains in spring and summer.
Lydia says “We found one small Spadefoot! We hope to go out there soon with help from the Mass Audubon Spadefoot Toad Conservation program to search for more.”
Learn more about the Mass Audubon Spadefoot Toad Conservation Program here.