Birding in Douglas County and Klickitat County put me behind a little bit, so there have been no entries for some time!
But, in the spirit of not giving up on a good project, I thought I'd hike Echo Mountain, and give a few logs a turn, looking for amphibians! This was not the first time I've done this on a hike, but it's the first time I've had success!
My first salamander was a Long-toed Salamander, with a big yellow stripe down the back. This was not too far from the water, which... come on, Tim, why weren't you checking places like this (near lakes) for amphibians more often? Given the reaction when the log was overturned (no reaction at all), I am guessing this little guy may have been hibernating.
Salamander number two! This is a Northwestern Salamander. The fun thing about these salamanders is that they are extremely toxic. They would kill nearly anything that tried to eat them, except... for local garter snakes! The two species have evolved in response to each other, building up toxicity and resistance to the toxins respectively. Similar to the other salamander, this one was pretty unresponsive, and likely in hibernation.
