The new newsletter from the Regional Parks Botanic Garden has an article on California Newts
If you’ve ever driven past South Park Drive in Tilden Regional Park in the winter, you’ve probably seen it closed—road closure signs block cars from entering from October 31 to March 31 each year. If you’ve walked a little way down the road from the east entrance off Grizzly Peak Boulevard, you’ve seen the Newt Crossing sign that explains why: Every winter, hundreds of California newts (Taricha torosa) make their way from the upland habitat where they spend their summers to breeding ponds where they compete for opportunities to produce offspring for the next generation. Newts are a family of salamanders, typified by their semi-aquatic lifestyles, and require both terrestrial and aquatic habitats to complete their life cycles. Vehicle mortality is a major cause of population declines for the California newt, along with habitat loss, drought, and invasive species, and closing the road during the breeding season plays an important role in protecting the populations in the East Bay.
Read full article and see photos at California Newts: Life at the Urban-Wildland Interface
Natural History Wanderings 
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