About Spotted Salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum)

Comic credit goes to this site.

Spotted Salamanders are one of the most common ambystomids. I've only seen them run in the Eastern Panhandle once. It was on March 27th of the year. It wasn't a rainy night if I recall correctly, but it was pretty warm. I saw the spotties in a permanent pond in Sleepy Creek that just happens to be fishless (no connecting streams).
I've caught them in drift fences more often than any other ambystomid and almost as often as Red Efts (Notophthalmus v. viridescens).  But this next one was under a coverboard.

Spotted Salamander larvae (and most likely other ambystomid salamander larvae, and other candidates) also have  an interesting mutualistic relationship with  algae.
Now's the time to see these guys migrating to breeding ponds but if you miss that (awesome) event you can steal find the product of all that activity much easier.

Photo reference

Eggs are aggregated into globular masses that are surrounded by a clear mass of gelatinous membrane. The outer membrane will help you to determine if the egg mass if from Spotted Salamanders or Wood Frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus). Jelly on the outside = Spotted Salamander. Eggs on the edge of the mass = Wood Frogs.

C&O Canal in Maryland, Just across the river from Shepherdstown, WV

Went walking down along the C & O canal today. The weather was nice, and the sun was out, but there wasn't too much moving on the trails (besides the bikers and walkers). I heard a Wood Frog (Lithobates sylvaticus) croaking in a vernal pool.

Pinkish Wood Frog photographed a couple of years ago in Sleepy Creek WMA.

There was also what I think were Common Merganser (Mergus merganser) floating around in the Potomac River. A cormorant of some make or model flew over at some point as well. They have such a characteristic shape in flight. It's hard to mistake them for anything else.

Common Merganser (Mergus merganser)

Do these pixels resemble birds?

I'll probably need to invest in a better camera to do justice to the birds on the river.