Today I went to the Blue Hills and took part in an effort to certify a vernal pool. We also visited a previously certified vernal pool. What I didcovered is you have to know what you are looking for, and have good eyes, to see them! We saw spermataphores, so we knew that the male salamanders had come to the pond when it rained Thursday(?) night. We didn't see any egg masses, so it didn't seem the females had arrived yet. (Rain is due tomorrow night, so it should be a big night for amphibians.) We looked and looked, and finally someone saw a salamander moving on the bottom. Then a second one, which we managed to catch and put in a basin to take pictures. At the previously certified pool we also found fairy shrimp. We also saw a fingernail clam, damselfly nympth and many, many assorted small creatures.
