BANGOR DAILY NEWS • May 13, 2022
In the springtime, on rainy, warm nights, salamanders and frogs migrate between wetlands under the cloak of darkness. These mass migrations, which start happening in April, are known as the “Big Night,” even though they happen on multiple nights. The citizen science project Maine Big Night enlists volunteers to monitor more than 300 locations where amphibians cross roadways during this time. Wearing reflective safety gear and lights, they count and identify amphibians during rainy nights in April. People can also contribute to amphibian studies by submitting their amphibian and reptile sightings to the Maine Amphibian and Reptile Atlas Project, one of the longest running citizen science projects in New England. That’s what I’ve started doing.