Trees and Shrubs of The Land Between
Backyard BioBlitz Program
Below are seasonal lists of birds that we have highlight to look for in every season! This is not a comprehensive list of all the species that you can find, but it should help you identify some common and even rarer species. Click on the buttons below to explore the our highlighted species for each season.
How to help amphibians on my property
Make sure that you preform regular maintenance on your septic system (learn more about septic systems by clicking here) and do not use pesticides or fertilizers.
Spring Trees and Shrubs
Spring is an exciting time in the Land Between! Many species are waking up from their winter slumbers and are starting to get out and about. Amphibians have very interesting overwintering mechanisms, some can even freeze solid in the winter and then thaw out in the spring!
Blue Spotted Salamander
Spring Peeper
Eastern Red Backed Salamander
Western Chorus Frog
Eastern Red Spotted Newt
Wood Frog
Northern Leopard Frog
Yellow-Spotted Salamander
Pickerel Frog
Blue-Spotted Salamander
(Lepomis macrochirus )
Appearance: The blue-spotted salamander is black with blue spots and is usually 10-14cm long.
Months of Most Frequent Encounter: April-May and September-October
Habitat: The blue-spotted salamanders can be found under rotten logs, woody debris, and moist rocky cover or near ponds in the spring and during rain.
Fun Fact: Some blue spotted salamander females can reproduce without mating! These individuals are know as unisexual. These salamanders can also release toxins from their tail.
Eastern Red-Backed Salamander
(Plethodon cinereus)
Appearance: Eastern red-backed Salamanders are slender with black to grey bodies, usually with a red to orange stripe, but sometimes the stripe is absent. When the stripe is absent this is known as their lead phase.
Months of Most Frequent Encounter: April-June and September-October
Habitat: Eastern red-backed salamanders are often found under rotten logs, woody debris, and moist rocky cover or sometimes out walking around during rainfall on cool days.
Fun Fact: Eastern red-backed salamanders can drop their tails when attacked by predators and it will eventually regrow. The eastern red-backed salamander is one of the few salamanders to skip the aquatic stage hatching from eggs on land into small versions of adults.
Eastern Red-Spotted Newt
(Notophthalmus viridescens)
Appearance: The eastern red-spotted newt is red, orange, green, to brown in colour on top with red spots bordered with black lines. They have a yellow to orange belly and rough skin. The average length of a red spotted newt is 6-10 cm long
Months of Most Frequent Encounter: March-May and September-October
Habitat: Adults are generally found in and around pools and shallow wetlands. Juveniles can be found under rotten logs, woody debris, and moist rocky cover or out walking around during rainfall on cool days.
Fun Fact: Eastern red-spotted newts produce tetrodotoxin the same toxin as pufferfish! Their bright orange and red colours warn predators that they are toxic and can’t be eaten. This is called aposematic colouration.
Northern Leopard Frog
(Lithobates pipiens)
Appearance: The northern leopard frog is usually green, but can be grey-brown in colour. They have a cream coloured underside and black or brown back splotches. They are usually 5-9cm in length. The call of the leopard frog is a chuckling sound similar to the sound made by rubbing a balloon.
Months of Most Frequent Encounter: April-October
Habitat: Leopard frogs are generally found near water and in damp lowlands/shorelands. In the spring they will be near or in shallow wetlands for breeding.
Call: The leopard frogs call sounds like someone rubbing their hands on a wet balloon. Click below to listen.
Fun Fact: Leopard frogs are one of the most common frogs in Ontario, and are the only frog that can legally be used as fishing bait.
Pickerel Frog
(Lithobates palustris)
Appearance: The pickerel frog is very similar to the leopard frog, but is generally only brown and grey in colour, the blotches are more square and under the hind legs is bright yellow. They breed slightly later in spring than leopard frogs.
Months visible: April-October
Habitat: Generally found near water and in damp lowlands. In the spring they will be near or in shallow wetlands for breeding.
Call: The Pickerel frogs call sounds like someone doing a long drawn deep nasal snore. Click below to listen.
Fun Facts: The Pickerel frog will call from underwater making it hard to hear. Pickerel frogs are also Ontario only poisonous true frogs (not toads) secreting poisons from their skin.
Spring Peeper
(Phseudocris Crucifer)
Appearance: Spring peepers are very small, 1.5-3.5 cm long and beige with line patterns on their back with an x shape in the centre. They have sticky pads on their feet.
Months of Most Frequent Encounter: March-May
Habitat: Shallow pools, wetlands and damp lowlands.
Call: Spring Peepers make their calls in the spring that are a high peep..peep..peep.
Fun Fact: In the spring the peeps of thousands of spring peppers will meld together and sound like a long undulating trill, these calls can be so loud some say it can drive you mad if you are too close!
Western Chorus Frog
(Pseudacris triseriata)
Appearance: Western chorus frogs are very small beige or dark brown frogs, similar to the spring peeper but instead of an x shaped marking there are generally three dark coloured broken stripes running down their back. They are usually 1.5-4cm long.
Months of Most Frequent Encounter: March-May
Habitat: Western chorus frogs can be found in shallow pools, wetlands, and damp lowlands
Call: Their call sounds like your fingers running down the teeth of a comb
Interesting Fact: The western chorus frog is a Species at Risk in the Land Between
Wood Frog
(Lithobates sylvaticus)
Appearance: The wood frog is brown to tan with a sometimes coppery sheen. It has triangular black face markings on each side of the head and a white upper lip. The wood frog is usually 3.5-7cm long. The call of the wood frog is a rolling quack kind of like a duck.
Months of Most Frequent Encounter: March-May
Habitat: Shallow pools, wetlands and damp lowlands
Fun Fact: Wood frogs completely freeze in the winter and thaw out in the spring! They can do this because they have a natural antifreeze in their blood.
Yellow-Spotted Salamander
(Ambystoma maculatum)
Appearance: The yellow-spotted salamander is black with yellow and or orange spots and is usually 15-25cm long.
Months of Most Frequent Encounter: March-May and September to October
Habitat: Yellow-spotted salamanders can be found in and around ponds in early spring right at ice out, and under rotten logs, woody debris, and moist rocky cover.
Fun Fact: Yellow-spotted salamander eggs can have a symbiotic relationship with algae—it produces oxygen for the developing young! Yellow-spotted salamanders can live for over 20 years!