Ugh (Except for the molossus)
May 23rd, 2008The weekend looked good for a trip up north to see what there is to see. We got a hotel room and headed out and were justified 10 minutes into our hike with a beautiful Black-Tailed Rattlesnake. It was my second in 2 weeks of my favorite rattlesnake, and Kelly’s first experience with one. I probably saved too many photos of it, but oh well. I had fun.
The sun set and we left, and found a really aggressive Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox) a mile or so away. It was a big contrast from the usual slow, solid demeanor of the molossus.
The rest of the trip wasn’t so much fun. There were a lot of misses … a ground snake, a whipsnake, a few other odds and ends, and maybe the largest Sonoran Gophersnake I’d ever seen. I misjudged the situation and lost him into a hole in the ground. The only other photos I took were of this Zebra-Tailed Lizard (Callisaurus draconiodes) the next morning on the way out.
Thats it! Oh ya, and here’s the newly-fixed email subscription thingie, in case its easier for you that way.









May 26th, 2008 at 10:05 pm
Yeah I haven’t been lucky here lately in the East Valley. I was up in the Superstitions yesterday and saw plenty of lizards and only a Western Patchnosed.
May 26th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
Well, I have never in my life seen a Crotaphytus, despite spending quite a bit of time in prime habitat! Luck is relative stuff.