Field Reports from the 2026 Amphibian Migration

Before the Storm…

March 31 brought widespread thunderstorms — perfectly fine weather if you’re a frog, but not so great for their human helpers. (photo © Brett Amy Thelen)

If what we saw while we hurried home in Tuesday’s lightning storm was any indication, March 31 was likely massive for amphibian movement in many places — but unfortunately the amphibians kicked into high gear just as our Crossing Brigadiers had to head indoors for safety. So, our amphibian counts don’t reflect the magnitude of the migration, but hopefully the lightning and intense downpours helped to keep some drivers off the road, making for safer journeys for our rain-revering wild neighbors.

Even with an early end (or, in some cases, late start) to their amphibian crossing activity, 68 volunteers took to the streets at 19 crossing sites throughout southwestern New Hampshire on March 31, providing safe passage for 1,264 live amphibians and recording 148 roadkills. This brings our season total to 6,592 amphibian rescues — and all of April is still ahead of us!

Read on for site-by-site details, listed alphabetically by town:

Concord

We often say that salamanders make people smile — but it should be noted that frogs make people smile, too.
(photo © Brett Amy Thelen)

Fisk Road. Three salamander lovers spent three hours patrolling Fisk Road in marginal temperatures, crossing 2 spotted salamanders and 1 four-toed salamander and finding 1 dead peeper, 3 live amphibians (+1 dead) in all.

Long Pond Road. With Fisk Road so slow, one Brigadier migrated over to Long Pond Road on an exploratory mission. There, he provided safe passage for 11 spotted salamanders (+4 dead) and 1 four-toed salamander, for a total of 12 live salamanders (+4 dead) in two hours of searching.

Dublin

Upper Jaffrey Road. After the storm moved through, a solo salamander shepherd patrolled Upper Jaffrey Road in the vicinity of the Learned Road wetland, where she crossed 8 spotted salamanders (+2 dead), 1 four-toed salamander, 1 wood frog, and 3 spring peepers (+5 dead), and recorded 1 dead red-backed salamander, for a total of 13 live amphibians (+8 dead) between 9:30 and 11 p.m.

Hancock

Antrim Road. A sweet father-son team conducted their annual patrol along Antrim Road, providing safe passage for 5 red-backed salamanders and 24 spring peepers, for a total of 29 live amphibians in the hour before the storm.

Harrisville

Nelson Road. On her way home from another crossing site, a solo Brigadier stopped to cross 5 live spotted salamanders between the Nelson town line and Child’s Bog. Many frogs went uncounted due to the lightning storm.

Henniker

Teamwork makes the dream work at River Road in Henniker!
(photo © Heidi Colburn)

Old West Hopkinton Road. A terrific twosome spent an hour on patrol at Old West Hopkinton Road, where they crossed 2 spotted salamanders, 4 red-backed salamanders, and 6 spring peepers (+3 dead), 12 live amphibians (+3 dead) in all.

River Road. A hearty crew of ten squeezed in three hours at River Road before the thunderstorms eventually rolled into Henniker. Together, they provided safe passage for 7 spotted salamanders (+1 dead), 1 four-toed salamander, 7 wood frogs, 44 spring peepers, and 1 green frog, 60 live amphibians (+1 dead) in all.

Jaffrey

Route 137. One dedicated Brigadier spent three nearly hours on solo patrol in the vicinity of the Hope Baptist Church, crossing 4 spotted salamanders (+2 dead), 2 Eastern newts, 42 wood frogs (+4 dead), 38 spring peepers (+3 dead), and 1 unidentified amphibian, for a total of 87 live amphibians (+9 dead).

Keene

So far this spring, our Salamander Brigade volunteers have moved 6,592 amphibians to safety. Only one of these amphibians was a two-lined salamander — so it’s a good thing Nate got a picture!
(photo © Nate Marchessault)

Jordan Road. Six stalwart salamander stewards spent almost two hours on patrol at Jordan Road before the thunderstorms sent them home. Together, they crossed 27 spotted salamanders, 11 Jefferson complex salamanders, 1 two-lined salamander, 5 red-backed salamanders, 14 wood frogs, and 2 spring peepers, for a total of 60 live amphibians and no dead! The salamanders really got going just as the thunder and lightning moved in. Thankfully, the road was once again closed to through-traffic, providing some measure of protection even after our Crossing Brigadiers had to leave for the night.

North Lincoln Street. The North Lincoln Street crew — ten frog fans in all! — counted 15 Eastern newts (+20 dead), 10 wood frogs, 114 spring peepers, and 3 green frogs (+1 dead), for a total of 142 live amphibians (+21 dead) in just over an hour on patrol. Many amphibians surely migrated in the heavy rain that accompanied the thunderstorm — protected until dawn by our third night of Big Night detours for the season. Big thanks to Morgan Prittie and Mary Verrilli for doing a roadside cleanup at this site the day before this migration!

Lempster

“First ever yellow spotted and I’m in love.❤️”
— new Crossing Brigade volunteer Kate Medeiros
(We told you that would happen…)
(photo © Theresa Liebert)

Allen Road. A dynamic duo investigated this new-to-us crossing site, providing safe passage for 4 spotted salamanders (+1 dead), 4 red-backed salamanders, 1 live wood frog (+1 dead), 12 spring peepers, for a total of 21 live amphibians (+2 dead) in just over an hour. Kate said, “Yay! First ever yellow spotted and I’m in love.❤️”

Mountain Road. That same terrific twosome also spent 45 minutes at Mountain Road, where they crossed 6 wood frogs (+4 dead) and 1 green frog, and noted 1 road-killed spring peeper, 7 live frogs (+5 dead) in all.

Nelson

Nelson Road. Seven intrepid volunteers spent just under two hours at Nelson Road, and one more stopped to move spotties off the road at this site on her way home from another crossing. Collectively, they provided safe passage for 22 spotted salamanders, 10 Eastern newts (+15 dead), 1 red-backed salamander, 22 wood frogs (+4 dead), 10 spring peepers, and 3 American toads, for a total of 68 live amphibians (+19 dead) before the thunderstorms kicked into gear.

New Ipswich

Thayer Road. A terrific twosome crossed 1 red-backed salamander and 2 spring peepers in a thick fog at Thayer Road, for a total of 3 live amphibians in 40 minutes. The thunderstorms kept them indoors after that, but the next morning, they heard raucous wood frog and peeper chorusing at the wetland near this site — joyful evidence that many frogs had made it across the road on their own.

Sullivan

Valley Road. A solo salamander protector spent 40 minutes on Sullivan Road before lightning forced him inside; in that time, he provided safe passage for 3 spotted salamanders, 2 Eastern newts (+1 dead), 8 wood frogs, and 84 spring peepers (+11 dead). He also noted 1 unidentifiable dead amphibian. All together, that’s 97 live amphibians (+13 dead).

Our Crossing Brigade volunteers have safely shepherded nearly 600 spotted salamanders across roads this spring — including this one — and it’s not even April yet! (photo © Clint Spaar)

Walpole

Wilson Road. One frog fan explored this new-to-us site, where they crossed 21 spotted salamanders, 1 wood frog, 3 spring peepers, and 1 pickerel frog, for a total of 26 live amphibians in just over an hour of searching.

Westmoreland

Glebe Road. Seven busy Brigadiers spent just over two hours on patrol at Glebe Road, crossing 53 spotted salamanders, 12 Eastern newts (+5 dead), 7 red-backed salamander, 1 wood frog, an impressive 436 spring peepers (+34 dead), 1 bullfrog, 1 American toad, and 1 unidentified live amphibians, 512 live amphibians (+39 dead) in all. Two of those Brigadiers recently moved to Westmoreland from South Carolina and reported that “this was the coolest thing they had done since they moved to New Hampshire.” Photos from this crossing also appeared in this Brattleboro Reformer story, along with this lovely quote from Liza Serenqua, our longtime Site Coordinator for Glebe Road: “It’s pretty special and amazing, out there at night in the dark with headlamps and the creatures are moving.”

Wilton

You never know whoooo might show up on a Big Night. Click on the photo for a larger view of this visitor to the Forest Lake Road crossing in Winchester. (photo © Dana Kedziora)

Whiting Hill Road. The Carnival Hill crossing crew — 17 Brigadiers strong! — provided safe passage for 1 spotted salamander, 3 four-toed salamanders, 34 spring peepers (+7 dead), and 1 green frog, and found 1 dead red-backed salamander and 1 dead wood frog, for a total of 39 live amphibians (+9 dead) in two hours.

Winchester

Forest Lake Road. Two diehard salamander stewards crossed 24 spotted salamanders, 1 Eastern newt, 35 four-toed salamanders (+5 dead), 7 spring peepers (+8 dead), and 1 American toad, and recorded 1 dead wood frog, for a total of 68 live amphibians (+14 dead) in just over an hour. As they worked, they flushed a Barred Owl, who was — no doubt — also at Forest Lake Road just for the amphibian migration.

Further Afield

Our friends with the Squam Salamander Brigade also provided safe passage for dozens of spotted salamanders and more than 100 spring peepers at a crossing site in Moultonborough on March 31. Although we don’t include counts from outside of southwestern New Hampshire in our project totals, we’re delighted to see efforts like these taking root across the state!

Do you have amphibian tallies or photos to share from March 31? We’ll update this report and the Salamander Crossing Brigade album on Flickr as we receive more counts and photos, so send ’em our way!

A Big Night & A Big Milestone: 100,000 Crossings!

Big Smiles for a Big Night and a Big Milestone:
100,000 amphibian rescues since we started keeping good count in 2007! (photo © Brett Amy Thelen)

March 26 started off like any other migration night, but an hour or two after sunset, it turned into something historic when we hit the project’s 100,000-rescue mark. That’s right: since 2007, our Salamander Crossing Brigade volunteers have moved more than 100,000 individual amphibians out of harm’s way in southwestern New Hampshire alone! This is certainly cause for celebration, and we’re hatching some plans for celebrating in style — though they may have to wait until the hustle and bustle of salamander season is behind us.

Thursday was also impressive in its own right, with 193 Crossing Brigade volunteers providing safe passage for 3,817 live amphibians — and recording at least 213 roadkills — at a whopping 29 crossing sites throughout southwest New Hampshire. We also received reports from seven additional sites in central and southeastern parts of the state. This brings our season total to 5,328 amphibian rescues, with much more to come.

Read on for site-by-site details, listed alphabetically by town:

Concord

Fisk Road. Although the rain was predicted to start before sunset, it didn’t actually move into the Concord area until 10:20 p.m. One dedicated Brigadier took to the streets even at that late hour, patrolling Fisk Road until 1 a.m. (!) In that time, he crossed 2 spotted salamanders (+1 dead), 2 four-toed salamanders, 6 red-backed salamanders, 3 wood frogs (+3 dead), and 2 spring peepers (+5 dead), 15 live amphibians (+9 dead) in all.

Hoit Road. At this lesser-visited site, one frog fan crossed 7 wood frogs (+5 dead) and 8 spring peepers (+4 dead), for a total of 15 live frogs (+9 dead) in an hour of searching.

Long Pond Road. A night owl investigated this new-to-us site at 1 a.m. (!), crossing 5 spotted salamanders (+1 dead) and 1 Jefferson complex salamander, for a total of 6 live salamanders (+1 dead) in just 10 minutes.

During the breeding season, wood frog coloration can vary quite a bit. Female wood frogs (left) can appear pink, reddish, or orange in color, while male wood frogs (top-right) are often darker brown or gray-brown. By summer, these color differences will have largely faded, though females will remain lighter in color than males. (photo © Parker Root)

Dublin

Lower Jaffrey Road. A terrific trio crossed 2 wood frogs (+ recorded 1 dead) in 30 minutes at this new-to-us site. It had barely started raining at the time of their survey, so this crossing could turn out to be much busier in wetter weather.

Henniker

Old West Hopkinton Road. A solo salamander steward spent nearly two hours patrolling Old West Hopkinton Road, where she crossed 5 spotted salamanders, 1 red-backed salamander, 5 wood frogs (+1 dead), and 10 spring peepers (+3 dead), 21 live amphibians (+4 dead) in all.

River Road. Rain arrived later than anticipated in Henniker, so the River Road crew — 8 Brigadiers strong — did not find any amphibians in their two hours on patrol, but we applaud their efforts nonetheless!

Jaffrey

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: salamanders make people smile. (photo © Sarah Thomas)

Dublin Road, Gilmore Pond Road, Gilson Road, Route 124, and Sawtelle Road. One innovative Brigadier completed a 20-mile, four-hour bicycle route in search of amphibians (ending at 1 a.m.!), collectively crossing 21 spotted salamanders (+2 dead), 2 four-toed salamanders, 8 red-backed salamanders, 35 wood frogs (+5 dead), 46 spring peepers, 1 pickerel frog, and 2 American toads, for a total of 115 live amphibians (+6 dead). They noted heavy traffic on Route 124, saying, “This is not a spot I’d willingly mess around, but I missed my turn a block back and found myself on the main road.” In other words: check out those other sites on future migration nights if you wish, but steer clear of Route 124 for safety’s sake!

Route 137. Seven enthusiastic frog fans patrolled Route 137 in the vicinity of the Hope Baptist Church between 8 and 10:30 p.m., where they provided safe passage for 3 spotted salamanders, 43 wood frogs (+1 dead), and 9 spring peepers, 55 live amphibians (+1 dead) in all.

Keene

Arch Street. A terrific twosome spent two hours on patrol at Arch Street, crossing 6 spotted salamanders, 34 wood frogs (+15 dead), and 1 American toad, 41 live amphibians (+15 dead) in all.

Court Street and West Surry Road. A dedicated mother-daughter duo provided safe passage for 1 Eastern newt, 2 red-backed salamanders, 29 wood frogs (+12 dead), and 31 spring peepers (+9 dead), for a total of 63 live amphibians (+21 dead) in just under two hours.

Eastern Avenue. Two longtime Brigadiers counted the casualties on Eastern Ave, finding 1 dead wood frog and 4 dead spring peepers, for a total of 5 roadkilled frogs in just 15 minutes. The frogs of Eastern Avenue always need more help, but traffic moves very fast here, so it is not a family-friendly site.

In a case of art imitating life imitating art, plans are underway for New Hampshire’s very first amphibian underpasses at our Jordan Road crossing site in Keene — not unlike the story told in Safe Crossing by Kari Pervical! Jordan Road was chosen because of the presence of Jefferson complex salamanders, which are a Species of Greatest Conservation Need in the Granite State — and because of our many years of Crossing Brigade data collection at Jordan Road, as well as our collaborations with the City of Keene on Big Night detours. 
(illustration © Safe Crossing by Kari Percival)

Sarah Stan has wanted to see a Jefferson complex salamander ever since learning about them in her high school environmental science class back in 2007. On March 26, she got her wish! (photo © Sarah Stan)

Jordan Road. Inspired by the news of the groundbreaking amphibian underpass project that will be coming to this crossing site in the not-too-distant future, a robust crew of 25 volunteers patrolled Jordan Road from 7 to 10:30 p.m. — and the amphibians did not disappoint! Together, the Jordan Road crew crossed 37 spotted salamanders, 45 Jefferson complex salamanders (+3 dead), 7 red-backed salamanders, 18 wood frogs, and 11 spring peepers (+1 dead), 114 live amphibians (+4 dead) in all. Traffic was thankfully lighter than usual, as the road was once again closed to through-traffic to protect amphibians on the move.

North Lincoln Street. It was a Huge Night at North Lincoln Street, as 67 volunteers and visitors counted 14 spotted salamanders, 18 Eastern newts (+1 dead), 2 red-backed salamanders, 233 wood frogs, a stunning 1,243 spring peepers (+13 dead), 1 gray tree frog, and 1 American toad, for a total of 1,512 live amphibians (+14 dead) in just four hours. Thankfully, Big Night detours were in place — ensuring safe passage for frogs and people alike from dusk to dawn.

Lempster

Mountain Road. A solo Brigadier investigated a new-to-us (and still partially frozen) site on Mountain Road, crossing 4 chilly wood frogs in just over an hour of searching.

Nelson

Granite Lake Road. A solo salamander steward conducted a short, sad survey on Granite Lake Road, counting 1 dead four-toed salamander, 1 dead wood frog, and 2 dead spring peepers, for a total of 4 dead amphibians in 15 minutes.

Nelson Road. Five frog fans spent an hour patrolling Nelson Road, where they crossed 6 wood frogs and 3 spring peepers (+1 dead), 9 live frogs in all. This site is still thawing out. The best is yet to come!

Peterborough

A hearty welcome to our newest Crossing Brigadier, 8-month-old Asa, who saw his very first spotted salamander on the Big Night of March 26! (photo © Sarah Thomas)

Sand Hill Road. A solo Brigadier crossed 6 wood frogs (+ noted 4 dead) in just 15 minutes at Sand Hill Road.

Summer Street. The dedicated Summer Street crew — 14 Brigadiers strong — spent four hours on patrol, providing safe passage for 3 spotted salamanders, 1 Eastern newt, 124 wood frogs (+7 dead), and 34 spring peepers (+2 dead), 162 live amphibians (+9 dead) in all. A very special welcome to our newest Brigadier, 8-month-old Asa!

Sullivan

Valley Road. Over the course of three separate shifts, a solo salamander shepherd crossed 2 spotted salamanders, 1 Eastern newt, 1 four-toed salamander, 42 wood frogs (+1 dead), 45 spring peepers (+2 dead), and 1 American toad, for a total of 92 live amphibians (+3 dead). He reported that all those peeper squats were “good exercise for total knee replacement.”

Swanzey

Swanzey Lake Road. Two amphibian aficionados surveyed Swanzey Lake Road from 8 to 9:30 p.m., counting and crossing 12 spotted salamanders (+2 dead), 12 four-toed salamanders (+1 dead), 10 wood frogs (+3 dead), 65 spring peepers (+14 dead), and 1 American toad, exactly 100 live amphibians (+20 dead) in all. Jacob, who is a new volunteer this spring, shared, “I’ve never seen a Spotted Salamander before. They’re sick!!” Yes. Yes, they are.

Westmoreland

In the words of new Crossing Brigade volunteer Jacob Whittle, who had never seen a spotted salamander before the Big Night of March 27, “They’re sick!!” ( (photo © Brett Amy Thelen)

Glebe Road. Eight dedicated Brigadiers answered the call at Glebe Road, providing safe passage for an incredible 191 spotted salamanders (+6 dead), 13 Eastern newts, 2 four-toed salamanders, 14 red-backed salamanders (+1 dead), and at least 337 spring peepers (+18 dead), for a total of 557 live amphibians (+25 dead) in three hours. There were simply too many peepers to count, so consider that number an underestimate!

River Road. Seven intrepid Brigadiers patrolled River Road from 7:30 to 9 p.m., crossing 18 spotted salamanders, 2 Jefferson complex salamanders, 1 Eastern newt, a whopping 309 wood frogs (+10 dead), and 55 spring peepers. Congrats to Lori on holding her very first spotted salamander!

Wilton

Whiting Hill Road. The Carnival Hill crew — 23 Brigadiers strong! — stayed out late, providing safe passage for 8 spotted salamanders, 1 four-toed salamander (tail-less!), 1 red-backed salamander (+1 dead), 3 wood frogs, 87 spring peepers (+5 dead), and 5 green frogs (+1 dead), for a total of 105 live amphibians (+7 dead) between 8 and 11:20 p.m.

Winchester

Our Crossing Brigade volunteers provided safe passage for more than 1,000 wood frogs on March 26 — including this dashing pair, who were escorted across Forest Lake Road in Winchester. (photo © Beckley Wooster)

Forest Lake Road. It was a four-toed fiesta at Forest Lake Road, where nine dedicated Brigadiers crossed 76 four-toed salamanders (!!) (+5 dead), 57 spotted salamanders (+3 dead), 2 Eastern newts (+2 dead), 13 red-backed salamanders, 114 wood frogs (+8 dead), 170 spring peepers (+21 dead), 1 pickerel frog, and 1 American toad, for a total of 434 live amphibians (+39 dead) in two hours.

Further Afield

Our friends with the Squam Salamander Brigade provided safe passage for hundreds of peepers and dozens of spotted salamanders at sites in Center Harbor and Moultonborough. We also received reports from folks in Auburn, Hampstead, Nashua, Newmarket, and Portsmouth. Although we don’t include counts from outside of southwestern New Hampshire in our project totals, we are grateful for these burgeoning efforts in other parts of the state — and we’re sure the amphibians are, too!

Do you have amphibian tallies or photos to share from March 26? We’ll update this report and the Salamander Crossing Brigade album on Flickr as we receive more counts and photos, so send ’em our way!

A Big Night to Welcome in the Spring…

Wood frogs stepped out in a big way in Keene on March 16. With temperatures in the 5os and a stirring spring rain, who could blame them? (photo © Brett Amy Thelen)

March 16 was a classic Big Night in Keene, where hundreds of frogs and scores of Jefferson salamanders marched toward spring in a steady, 55-degree rain. A handful of other Monadnock Region sites — still thawing out — saw more modest movement.

All together, 78 Crossing Brigadiers ensured safe passage for 1,500 individual amphibians — and recorded 84 roadkills — at 11 crossing sites during our first Big Night of the year, including the season’s first wood frogs, spring peepers, four-toed salamanders, spotted salamanders, and Jefferson complex salamanders. A promising start!

Read on for site-by-site details, listed alphabetically by town:

Jaffrey

Proctor and Harkness Roads. A terrific twosome investigated a new-to-us crossing site, providing safe passage for 7 wood frogs (+1 dead) and 11 spring peepers (+1 dead), for a total of 18 live frogs (+2 dead) in 90 minutes.

Keene

Eastern Avenue. One valiant volunteer braved the traffic on Eastern Avenue for nearly an hour and a half, where he crossed 17 wood frogs (+a dismaying 21 dead) and 3 spring peepers (+7 dead), 20 live frogs (+28 dead) in all. The frogs of Eastern Avenue always need more help, but traffic moves very fast here, so it is not a family-friendly site.

Our Crossing Brigade volunteers counted and crossed more Jefferson complex salamanders at Jordan Road on March 16, 2026 than on any other night since the project’s pilot year in 2005! In fact, our Brigadiers were so busy counting and crossing critters that they didn’t have time to take too many photos; this one is from 2025. (photo © Nina Duggan)

Jordan Road. Ten enthusiastic Crossing Brigadiers patrolled Jordan Road for just over three hours, providing safe passage for 5 spotted salamanders, 46 Jefferson complex salamanders (+3 dead), 68 wood frogs (+2 dead), and 33 spring peepers (+2 dead), 152 live amphibians (+7 dead) in all. This was a huge night for Jefferson salamanders at this site, with a single-night count higher than our entire season totals for all but three years since we started monitoring this site in 2005! Big Night detours were in place at Jordan Road on Monday night, but a complete road closure is not possible at this site, and local traffic must still pass through; seven vehicles drove through the crossing site during the time our volunteers were there, resulting in seven amphibian roadkills — including 3 Jefferson salamanders, which are an at-risk species in New Hampshire. These sobering numbers underscore why this site was chosen for New Hampshire’s very first amphibian underpass project, which is now in the planning and design phase. We look forward to sharing more information about this exciting project soon!

Amplexus (n.): the mating position of frogs and toads, in which the male clasps the female about the back. Usually, they do this in the wetland, but who are we to judge? (photo © Brett Amy Thelen)

North Lincoln Street. This was also our first Big Night detour of the season at North Lincoln Street — where a complete closure is possible — and we are so glad we closed the road! In just three hours, 50 volunteers counted 10 Eastern newts (+2 dead, from before the road was closed for the night), 1 red-backed salamander, 431 wood frogs (+1 dead), 739 spring peepers (+4 dead), and 1 American toad, for an incredible first-night total of 1,182 live amphibians (+7 dead). Rain continued well into the night, so the dusk-to-dawn road closure may well have saved thousands of amphibian lives. As is typical for the first Big Night of the season, the wetlands were quiet, but it won’t be long now before the chorusing begins…

New Ipswich

Thayer Road. A dedicated family of longtime Crossing Brigadiers spent an hour on patrol at this crossing site, which — lucky for them — is within walking distance of their house. Between 8 and 9 p.m., they counted and crossed 2 red-backed salamanders, 10 wood frogs (+4 dead), and 2 spring peepers, 14 live amphibians (+2 dead) in all. They said, “These creatures amaze us every year!” We couldn’t agree more.

Sullivan

Valley Road. A solo Brigadier scouted Valley Road, which is still quite snowy. He found 2 intrepid wood frogs (+1 dead) and 1 spring peeper, for a total of 3 live frogs (+ 1 dead) in 15 minutes of searching.

Swanzey

While not a record, March 16 is exceptionally early for red-backed salamanders to be out and about. Thanks to the Wilton crossing crew, this one made it safely across Whiting Hill Road. (photo © Donna Crane)

Matthews Road. In just over an hour at Matthews Road, one brave Brigadier crossed 5 spotted salamanders (+3 dead) and 2 wood frogs (+12 dead) and counted 13 road-killed spring peepers, for a total of 7 live amphibians (+28 dead). Matthews Road clearly needs more help, but traffic moves very fast here, so it is not a family-friendly site.

Swanzey Lake Road. A dedicated duo provided safe passage for 1 spotted salamander, 2 four-toed salamanders, 5 wood frogs (+1 dead), 7 spring peepers (+3 dead), and 1 green frog (a real surprise this early in the season!), for a total of 16 live amphibians (+4 dead) in one hour on patrol.

Westmoreland

River Road. A frog-loving family of five crossed 2 Jefferson complex salamanders, 47 wood frogs, and 6 spring peepers, for a total of 55 live amphibians in just 17 minutes. They said, “Wish we could have stayed out longer – they were everywhere!”

Wilton

Whiting Hill Road. Four fantastic frog fans spent just over two hours on patrol at Carnival Hill, crossing 1 spotted salamander, 1 red-backed salamander, 7 wood frogs (+1 dead), and 22 spring peepers (+2 dead), 31 live amphibians (+3 dead) in all. The frogs aren’t singing just yet, but the local woodcock provided a welcome soundtrack to their evening.

Winchester

Forest Lake Road. A father-daughter team patrolled Forest Lake Road — which is still largely bounded by ice and snow — for 45 minutes, counting and crossing the season’s first 2 four-toed salamanders. 

Do you have amphibian tallies or photos to share from March 16? We’ll update this report and the Salamander Crossing Brigade album on Flickr as we receive more counts and photos, so send ’em in!