Jim and Chris,

Another dark topped salamander with a yellow belly is the Olympic Torrent
Salamander. Anderson Island may well be at about the southeast edge of its
range. The yellow belly is well illustrated in "Amphibians of WA and OR" by
Leonard et al. (Corkran and Thomas doesn't have a good belly photo). There
are also good photos on the web, esp the burke museum site,
http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/herp/rolympic.htm. While I've never
seen it, according to Leonard et al, the Torrent salamander is usually found
cold clear streams, seepages or waterfalls, but sometimes nearby in the
surrounding forest during periods of wet weather. Their skin is smooth.

On the Owl, I'm voting for a Short-Eared. While I believe that both the
Barred Owl (now common in the area) and the Long-eared (relatively rare)
have a bit darker tips to the underwing the Short-eared is the only one with
distinctly black tips to the underwings, and the wings seem relatively
narrow compared to other owls. Until I saw 2 short-eareds a week ago (see
tweeters 10/23) where I wasn't expecting them, I also would have been
surprised to see one at that intersection. You'll find a lot of good photos
on the internet if you google images: short-eared owl.
www.birdsofbritain.co.uk/bird-guide/short-eared-owl.htm has a good
illustration of the underside of the wing.

-----Original Message-----
From: TWEETERS-owner at u.washington.edu
[mailto:TWEETERS-owner at u.washington.edu]On Behalf Of Christopher Duke
Sent: Wednesday, October 29, 2003 8:50 AM
To: tweeters at u.washington.edu
Subject: Re: Bellevue owl and unrelated salamander question.


Jim-

As far as I know, the only possible answer is indeed a Rough-Skinned Newt.
The other handful of amphibians that I know would be found in that
habitat are either all black with a green stripe down the back, all
grey-brown, or entirely reddish. The newt is the only one of our
salamanders that has the two-toned coloration, again, as far as I know.
If someone out there knows otherwise, please let me know. With regards to
its rough-ness, that varies greatly depending on how moist their skin is
at the time. Rough-Skins live in some fairly warm, dry places, and their
dry, wrinkled skin is a water-saving mechanism for drier times. When
there is a lot of moisture around, I've found them to look a lot more like
a regular salamander, skin-wise.

Good bird/salamandering!

-Chris Duke
Bellingham, WA
dukec at cc.wwu.edu

> I sent this Monday but it bounced so I'll try it one more time...
>
>
> On the way home from work last Thursday (Oct 23 - sorry for the long
> delay) an owl was flying over the intersection of Northup Way and Lake
> Washington Boulevard/Bellevue Way at 6:45 PM. Based on its size
> (somewhat larger than a crow but not big enough to be a Great Horned
> Owl), shape, and dark tips to underwings, I would say it was either
> Short-eared or Long-eared. The wings seemed a bit narrow for
> Short-eared and the habitat did not seem quite right (but then I
> wouldn't think this was an ideal place to find ANY owl). Also viewing
> conditions were not good (low light and lots of testy rush hour traffic
> while negotiating a left turn) so I can't be more specific but if anyone
> has seen an owl regularly in this location, I would be interested to
> hear about it. Otherwise keep a lookout for it.
>
> On an unrelated note, my family went to Anderson Island in South Puget
> Sound for the weekend and we ran across a salamander I had never seen
> before. That describes most salamanders. It was in the middle of a
> trail through a wet second growth (mostly alder) forest. It had a dark
> gray-brown back that blended in perfectly with the leaf litter. Its
> belly was bright yellowish orange. It was about three inches long with
> a fairly flat but wide body. My amphibian book shows a Rough-skinned
> Newt that fits this description except it didn't really have a rough
> skin. Does anyone know what would be in this area that fits this
> description?
>
> Jim Elder
> jime at icomamerica.com
>
>
>
>

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