Vernal Pool Night Walk #1 at Gunpowder (HERP CLUB MEMBERS ONLY)

Please join us for our annual Vernal Pools field trips hosted by Herp Club! This particular trip is only open to HERP CLUB MEMBERS ONLY. This is because we have such limited time and space for participants (we must keep a 8 person limit + 2 NHSM leaders=10 people total) due to the pandemic. Thank you for understanding. Visit https://marylandnature.org/support-maryland-nature for more information regarding general membership and club membership. Thank you for your support!

We will spend the evening with Herp club leader Tom Scollins searching for critters that leave their comfortable winter hideouts to engage in their spring nuptials. They include Wood Frogs, Spotted Salamanders, Red-spotted Newts, and of course, Spring Peepers. And there are plenty of other species to see at night in the spring.

While we want everyone to have a great experience, we don’t want to damage the habitat, and we certainly don’t want to hurt the little critters we love so much. So we ask participants not to enter the vernal pools. We will have nets to collect from the edge and aquariums to observe everything we find. Please help us out by listening to the trip leaders!

(And we don’t care what the calendar says, spring starts when the frogs start calling!)

We will meet in the parking lot at 7:30PM sharp to hike down to the vernal pool together.

Difficulty: Easy, it’s a short hike to the vernal pools. This hike will be at night.

What to wear: Dress for the weather, wear shoes/boots that you don’t mind getting muddy.

What to bring: Water, flashlight, headlamp.

Cost: Free to all, though we appreciate donations.

Please note: This field trip will be conducted under our new COVID-19 specific guidelines. Everyone attending the trip must:

1. Wear a mask
2. Bring your own hand sanitizer
3. Keep physical distance of at least 6 feet
4. Stay home if you are not feeling well, or if you have been in physical proximity to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 or is showing symptoms.
5. More information will be sent to participants.