Dear WeatherCat observers of the nature all around us,
It's been a few years, but once more I had an unexpected visitor in the ground level birdbath we have in the backyard:
When I found it at about 8am, it seemed content and quiet. However, when I checked again at about noon, it was clearly struggling to get out and utterly failing. I helped it make an escape, but wonder if I didn't remove it from the frying pan only to put it into the fire. Salamanders need a very moist environment and as long as it is raining it will be okay, but this is California after all.
I'm still wondering what creature is putting salamanders in this birdbath. Perhaps it is raccoons. They do frequent this birdbath, especially in the Summer when all other sources of water dry up. Of course these dainty creatures will wash their food when possible. Salamanders on the other hand are frequently poisonous. It could be a raccoon tried to eat this creature and couldn't, thereby leaving it in the bath. I don't know where the raccoons could have found it, but it seems a bit too large for the local birds to carry.
That's the wild tale from California for today!
Cheers, Edouard