How to Spot Salamander Eggs

Our ponds are now alive with salamanders. Their hardiness beggars belief. As we huddled on our sofas recently when evening temperatures hovered just above zero, many were migrating to ponds, guided by wayfinding abilities still poorly understood. Others were already in the ponds, mating and laying eggs.

First to move are the Jefferson salamanders. I’ve recorded them breeding in Headwaters ponds in late February. Our cold 2025 winter kept them underground until mid-March. Jefferson salamanders are imperiled in Canada but can be regularly found in Caledon and through the escarpment in Halton Region.

Years ago, I searched for Jefferson salamanders just south of Orangeville hoping, if found, that their endangered status might stall a proposed quarry. Unfortunately, I drew a blank. They were likely present, but in very low numbers.

You don’t have to go out on raw, rainy nights to search for these salamanders at their breeding ponds – though I encourage the adventurous among you to do just that! Instead, you can look for their eggs during the day. 

In early spring in the ponds where Jefferson salamanders breed, the eggs of wood frogs and spotted salamanders will also be present. Separating Jefferson salamander eggs from wood frog eggs is easy. The frog eggs are laid in large floating masses, containing hundreds or even thousands of embryos. 

Separating spotted salamander eggs and Jefferson eggs is a little more difficult, but not much. Jefferson eggs are aligned neatly in linear fashion along supports like twigs in the water, whereas spotted salamander eggs are less uniform, and for want of a better word, “clumpier.”

Also, each spotted salamander embryo is surrounded by a distinct membrane. Jefferson eggs have these membranes too, but they are far less conspicuous.

Look at the photo comparisons on this page. And then perhaps you can find evidence of these endangered salamanders on your property or in a local woodlot!