Californians are leaving, but frogs, salamanders, dragonflies, fungi, and birds go "YAY!"

This is a pic thread where we post mugshots of happy frogs, jubilant mushrooms, savvy salamanders, ecstatic dragonflies, and the anxious birds awaiting to eat them all.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002777705_rain02m.html

Good month for frogs
By Sandi Doughton

Sure you're ready for the rain to stop — but don't be selfish about this.

Think of your fellow frog.

While persistent precipitation has dampened human spirits around Puget Sound, Northern red-legged frogs and long-toed salamanders have been reveling in rain-swollen lakes and ponds.

The hearty amphibians started breeding in mid-January, and females are laying more eggs than usual after bulking up on a bounty of snails, slugs and other wet-weather goodies, said Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife research scientist Marc Hayes. An abundance of standing water means fewer eggs will dry up and die before hatching.

"This is the kind of weather that's absolutely terrific for amphibians," he said.

January was the third-wettest month on record for Seattle, with 11.65 inches of rain. The top spot is held by January 1953, which brought 12.92 inches. The winter of 1952-53 was also distinguished by a record-setting 33 consecutive days of rain.

Our recent 27-day streak fell short — but still reached near-biblical proportions. Noah's ark, remember, launched after 40 days and 40 nights of precipitation.

"Every time we get close to beating the record, it has been pulled away from us," said University of Washington meteorologist Cliff Mass. "But any way you look at it, this was an extraordinarily wet month."

Only two January days were rain-free at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport's official weather station. Even then, some areas got a sprinkling or more, said National Weather Service meteorologist Johnny Burg.

"It's just been one storm after another, with no break."

Frogs and salamanders aren't the only beneficiaries.

Dennis Paulson is looking forward to a population explosion of dragonflies.

The insects lay their eggs in shallow ponds and lakes, explained Paulson, director emeritus of the Slater Museum of Natural History at the University of Puget Sound. In recent years, many of those water bodies, especially in Eastern Washington, have shriveled up before the larvae could mature. Some species of waterfowl, like pintail ducks, have also been losing their marshy breeding grounds.

"I'm hoping a lot of these basins will be filled in by all this rain," Paulson said.

A wet winter usually means a bountiful spring, added University of Washington bird biologist John Marzluff.

"This ought to be a fabulous year for salmonberry, thimbleberry, huckleberry."

To Marzluff, that means bird food, particularly for struggling species like the Swainson's thrush.

Mushroom lovers are also smacking their lips in anticipation.

It is possible to have so much rain that it inhibits the growth of fungi, said Ron Post, president of the Puget Sound Mycological Society.

But generally, rain in January coupled with a robust snowpack means a bumper crop of boletes, matsutakes and morels. The Cascade snowpack is about 150 percent of normal, according to the Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center.

"When people complain about the rain, you'll always hear mushroomers say: It's a good thing," Post said with a laugh.

[...]