After 1.5" of rain and wind last night, the golf course is pretty wet. When conditions are like this, it's more common to find salamanders out of their usual hiding places. Bill Brooks found this spotted salamander on the 5th hole this morning while picking up debris. The are such beautiful creatures and this guy was returned to #6 stream between the fairways.
Years ago, I worked with a graduate student studying salamanders through the Highlands Biological Station. He showed me that if you take a flashlight at night and shine it along a creek bank on the golf course, you'll see hundreds of tiny eyes looking back at you. It was one of the coolest things I ever saw! They are a nocturnal species and live in damp conditions under rocks, leaf litter and in stream banks. At night, they feed and poke their heads out of the banks of the stream. Their eyes are extremely reflective, allowing you see how many are living around a given stream. From an environmental standpoint, this is really impressive. If we didn't treat the golf course with such care, these amphibians wouldn't be here. They are very sensitive to environmental stresses and this is an awesome indicator of how responsible our operation is. Highlands is know as the 'salamander capital of the world,' with more species of salamanders found here compared to anywhere else in the world!
