FROGS, OWLS, AND RAILS by Dan McAskill

All those interested in participating in the amphibian monitoring project should note that the final two "Sounds of the Night" presentations will be held on Wednesday, April let at MacPhail House in Orwell Corner and on Thursday April 29th at Rodd's Mill River Resort. These presentations are designed to train volunteers in the sound identification of frogs and toads as part of an international effort to determine the population status of amphibians. Environmentalists around the world have become concerned over declines in the populations of many amphibians and it is hoped that the volunteers involved in this project will be able to provide information on the abundance of our frogs and toads on the Island".

In addition to frogs and toads, volunteers will be taught the calls of owls and rails so that better information can be obtained on their occurrence across the Island. The objective in the initial year of the project is develop an occurrence map for the various species of frogs and toads. The volunteers who participate in the project can be involved either in monitoring ponds within hearing distance of their home, in monitoring three to five ponds along a road route near their home, or in recording observations or calls while fishing or walking near wetland habitats. The participants in the first two types of sound surveys will have to devote part of three evenings of their time, one each during the first two weeks in May, the second two weeks in May, and the third in mid-June. Casual one time observations from trout or salmon fishers and naturalists will also be recorded so that as complete a distribution map as possible can be constructed for the Island.

Casual observation reports will also be encouraged for salamanders, newts, and snakes so that better information can be obtained on their distribution on the Island, the types of vegetation in which they occur at various times of the year, or areas where they congregate to overwinter or breed.

This should be a fun project for all those who participate. It combines a good learning experience and increased awareness of the life around us with the collection of critical population information on some of these animals.

The presentations will start at 7:30 p.m. and last for about an hour and a half to two hours. For more information or to obtain monitoring forms, contact Dan McAskill in the evening at 569-4351 or write him at RR # S, Charlottetown, P.E.I. ClA 7J8.

The orgainzations supporting this effort include the Society, ECO-PEI, the P.E.I. Department of Energy and Forestry, P.E.I. Fish and Wildlife Division, and the Canadian Parks Service.

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