15th annual Salamander Festival is ‘fun, educational’

Friends of Shades Creek will host the 15th annual Salamander Festival — called a “fun, educational experience” for all ages by Michelle Blackwood, Friends president and co-founder — at the Homewood Senior Center on Saturday, Jan. 26, from 3-5:30 p.m.

Attendees can see live salamanders, frogs, turtles, snakes and other reptiles, as well as live crayfish, according to Blackwood. Biologists and naturalists at the event will answer questions and help attendees handle the animals, Blackwood said.

Ken Marion, a retired UAB biology professor, will display salamander species he raised in his lab, according to Blackwood. The salamander “lives underground all year round and only comes out to mate and lay eggs in a wetland pool,” Blackwood said.

That migration, which begins in the Homewood Forest Preserve where about 10 species live, usually happens in January or February — hence the timing of the festival.

The migration typically “occurs on a warm night that’s not rainy after it’s been cold for a while,” Blackwood said.

Other eco-groups will set up displays at the event. At press time, Blackwood had not confirmed all participants but said that Birmingham Audubon, Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Homewood Environmental Commission and Alabama Wildlife Center are among those usually involved.

There will be free, nature-themed arts and crafts activities for kids and adults, Blackwood said. The event will offer live music and an awards ceremony, and there will be bottled water and snacks for sale.

There will be also be an hour-long nature hike beginning at the Senior Center at 2 p.m., Blackwood said.

For more about Friends of Shades Creek, go to shadescreek.org.