It feels good being right about stuff, especially after some hard work. I had an idea about new locations to find Arizona Black Rattlesnakes, Crotalus cerberus, and got to work looking at maps. A few days later, here’s the result; a big rattlesnake laying in ambush near a waterhole. It’s a great feeling to see these in general, but it’s especially fun when they prove a theory.
He’s pretty cool looking, too.
After a long night of herping and not seeing much at all, I finally found … or was found, rather, by this diamondback just a few yards from my camp. I think he was already a little worked up from the cows that came through a short time beforehand.
Western Diamondback Rattlesnake, Crotalus atrox
This is the first Sonoran Whipsnake, Coluber bilineatus, I’ve managed to photograph as-seen without being laid across a roadway or other artificial basking surface. I was hiking through a canyon in the Superstition mountains with Mark Leppin and saw him coming out of a tangle of brush. He sat perfectly still and we got a few pictures.
So, I’m way behind on this thing. I do have a few posts coming in on essentially maintenance mode (one per week, set well ahead of time) so that I had the freedom to not look at a computer for awhile and be out looking for snakes. It’s been a tough year so far with the ultra dry conditions, but still one of what I feel is personal growth in regards to finding these guys in the wild. The role that photographing them takes has changed as well, and I’m happy that the world still seems to be completely wide open with this hobby of mine.
I’ve come to realize this year that, with most of these species, I now am practiced enough that I could just go see one whenever I want (of course conditions being somewhat favorable), and I have more than enough photos of the same old diamondback pose to last several lifetimes sitting on my hard drive. I’m starting to favor taking less photos overall, and trying to do more to capture the environment and feel of the time/place of the observation than the animal itself. When I am hiking these days, my snake hook only serves as a walking stick, and very occasional annoying-blade-of-grass-mover to get a shot. The vast majority of animals photographed are disturbed not at all or very little. I don’t know, too much detail here? I’m just very happy that this thing seems to progress on its own.
In a week I’ll be traveling to the Grand Canyon area to spend several days looking for 2 of the last 3 species of rattlesnake I have left to see in Arizona, before going to South Western Idaho to look for Western Rattlesnakes (and visit some old friends). I’m realizing that I have posted very little of my finds from the year, but I need something to do in the winter! I’ll try to throw up some of the backup and at least get the ball rolling, and hopefully that will make this blog at least seem a little bit alive while I finish up my season.
I’ll wrap up this this bore-fest with a baby black-necked gartersnake, sitting as found on one of the driest days of the year.
Looking for giant Diamondback Rattlesnakes with some Swedish friends visiting the US for the first time, we found this cool little guy. The diamond pattern on the latter third of her body had been reduced to a series of black blotches. This is part of the reason that no matter how many diamondbacks or sidewinders I see, it’s always good to take an extra look.
Trimorphodon lambda: Pencil-thin, huge-eyed, and slightly venomous … I love these guys.
Nothing too special about this one … a pretty typical looking animal for this area. I followed it for a short time but failed to get any good full-body images, as it was moving through thick brush. I did manage to get this shot of his head, however, as he crawled between shrubs.
I know they’re common as dirt, but I rarely see these checkered gartersnakes in Arizona, with the exception of along certain grassland corridors. They’re pretty little snakes that, in my experience, aren’t so quick to musk and bite as their black-necked cousins more commonly seen around Phoenix.
I’m not sure why, but this is a species that I’ve never seen before. I’ve been all over their range, in good habitat, looking for rattlesnakes and such … just never bumped into one of these. They’re beautiful, but it’s never been an actual target on a trip. That might need to change.
I like how the photo turned out, but to me, this is the end of weeks of searching, many miles hiked, hundreds of miles on the road, and way too many of gas station burritos from Carlsbad, NM. I found it with my sister, so it was even better.
NOTICE All images on this website are Copyright © Bryan D. Hughes and may not be copied, downloaded, printed, or otherwise recreated without permission. If you have a request, please ask me. Violators are subject to legal action.
Site designed by Bryan D. Hughes, Zigbot Media.
Entries (RSS)
and Comments (RSS).
Powered by WordPress
