The seasonal nature of vernal ponds means that they are uninhabited by fish. Vernal ponds are home for a diversity of animals that count on them for the spring breeding season. If a vernal pond’s physical features don’t tip you off, the wildlife living there will certainly give away its location. Vernal ponds themselves are generally less than 40 yards in diameter and no more than 4 feet deep, although they receive water from a larger surrounding landscape. Blackened, compressed leaf litter gray soil watermarks on surrounding tree trunks and the presence of moisture-tolerant vegetation all suggest an area that collects water part of the year. They are slightly harder to identify during the summer and fall months however, there are several clues to look for. Generally drying up in late summer, these ponds are only temporary woodland reservoirs.

Named from vernalis, the Latin word for spring, vernal ponds form seasonally in shallow ground depressions from spring snowmelt, precipitation, and rising water tables. It’s easy to recognize vernal ponds in the late winter and early spring. With the rapid population declines of so many amphibian species, it’s crucial that these often unnoticed habitats be recognized and protected. Vernal ponds are extraordinary wetlands, fascinating to observe, and essential to the lives of many woodland species. Jellylike masses and strings of eggs will be visible in the water and on the pond vegetation where salamanders and frogs have left them behind. You might witness the bustling activity of salamanders, frogs, toads, and newts that have come to breed, as well as all kinds of aquatic insects and their eggs that will develop over the spring months. If you crouch by the water’s edge, you’ll find an entire community of creatures. You may have been led to this pond by the unmistakable sounds of spring peepers and wood frogs calling for a mate. They become the seasonal breeding and feeding grounds for many intriguing amphibians and insects, as well as the reptiles, birds, and mammals that depend on them for food. Vernal ponds are temporary wetlands that fill after the snowfall each spring. Have you ever walked through the woods in spring and found an immense puddle that wasn’t there over the winter? You may have discovered one of the most ecologically important habitats to be found among woodlands.

Ethereal vs ephemeral