1230-1315. I noticed a small pond in an small old rock quarry right next to the road. I explored a bit, thinking it was probably county-owned. I later looked into it and found it was private property, and obtained permission from the owner to explore again later. The pond is roughly 20 m x 10 m, with a max depth of about 1 m when I visited on this day. I suspect it reduces in size dramatically over the summer, and may even dry up altogether. Perhaps I'll find out.

I grabbed my net and took a few swipes on the rocky/muddy bottom in 10-20 cm deep water. I obtained a couple eggs/embryos that I believe were Rough-skinned Newt, as well as some aquatic insects and some type of ... spherical algae??? While doing this sampling I noticed a few adult newts in the pond. Some blackberries made it difficult to circumnavigate the pond, but I made it. A couple swipes in a small inlet and in some emergent grasses produced a very small Pacific Tree Frog tadpole and a couple of aquatic snails.

Poking around the rocks produced a couple hiding Pacific Tree Frogs, a very cold and lethargic juvenile Western Fence Lizard, and some type of larval lepidopteran.

Posted on May 7, 2017 07:21 PM by umpquamatt