Some byproduct from searching mountains for Great Basin Rattlesnakes:
Dec
20th
2016
Texas Suboc
How about another suboc? This little guy was one of the first I’d seen, very close to the Mexican border in South West Texas. Such cool snakes! Their scales are unusually satin-soft, and their big, blue/grey eyes look almost out of place against their pale yellow color.
Dec
17th
2016
After nearly a decade – a first Trans-Pecos Ratsnake in Eddy County, New Mexico
My parents moved to Carlsbad, New Mexico about 10 years ago, and like any terrible child, I spent most of my visit time out there roaming the surrounding hills looking for rattlesnakes. Near the top of that list of sights to see was the Trans-Pecos ratsnake (or ‘suboc’ as they’re often called in the pet trade, short for Bogertophis subocularis).
I’d seen quite a few in Texas by this point, but I was still very excited. This large suboc was out crawling across a relatively flat portion of the limestone grasslands near Sitting Bull Falls. I got some photos, and left him to go wherever he’s hidden for the last decade.
Dec
14th
2016
More Night Lizard(s)
As stated in the last post, I don’t get to see a lot of night lizards. Despite how much time I have spent out in great habitat, this one is the very first that I’ve ever seen, in 2012! I was checking out a mine adit to see if it was being used by any gravid rattlesnakes, and a lizard jumped off the wall in pitch dark near the very end. I dismissed it at first, but then looked to see why a side-blotched lizard is in the back of a mine … and, night lizard!
This one is fun – when I returned to this area in the summer of 2016, I found the same lizard in the same spot. I had to do some careful comparison to be sure, but I’ve seen this little guy twice now. This may be a routine visit in the future.
Dec
13th
2016
Morafkai’s Desert Tortoise
I found this guy in a new area of the Belmont mountains in Arizona, after a long unsuccessful search for speckled rattlesnakes in the area. The hole behind him is is borrow, which he was making his way towards when I found him.
Dec
10th
2016
San Diego Gophersnake from San Diego County
These are a couple of the San Diego Gophersnakes we found on this trip while visiting Red Diamond Rattlesnake dens. They’re generally a higher contrast than our Sonoran Gophersnakes, and can have brilliant red eyes.
Dec
7th
2016
Night Lizards in Southern California
As far as lizard species go in the desert Southwest, Night Lizards are among the coolest. They are small, live-bearing lizards that look like nothing else. In Arizona, they are common, but I rarely see them due to my ignorance on their behavior and the fact that flipping over rocks isn’t really something that benefits my objectives. In Southern California we set out to look for Southern Pacific Rattlesnakes by flipping the abundant garbage covering the hillsides, and were treated to seeing about a dozen of these guys.
… and we did find the Southern Pacifics, eventually, in the form of a densite at the first pile of rocks we passed early in the day to make for “better” habitat.
May
22nd
2016
Peek-A-Boo
Based on some reports of speckled rattlesnakes seen on a trail in the Phoenix mountains in February, I set out to find the den they were staging from. This was found at the very end of March, which is pretty late, but in my experience speckleds can take awhile to stage out and distribute into the drainages and outcrops where they will spend the later Spring and early Summer. This guy was found right away within a few minutes of searching, presenting me with the debate that happens with early success … stay and observe, or go and find more?
See him there? Here’s a better angle.
I opted to stay, but he never came out. Eventually he seemed to notice me and withdraw, but not much. I decided to try and give him some water, and took a video.
https://www.facebook.com/snakeremoval/videos
I’m looking forward to watching this area later in the year!
May
16th
2016
Southern Pacific Rattlesnakes of San Diego
This is the fourth Southern Pacific Rattlesnake I’d ever seen, generously shown to us by the late Kent Van Soy in the San Diego area.
These snakes are generally regarded in the area as trash snakes, being a nuisance to boa hunters with bite-able fingers, but I think they’re amazing. I’ve always considered the Western Diamondback to be an example of the most adaptable of rattlesnake species, being found across a wide gamut of harsh environments and niches. These snakes, however, manage to thrive in well-developed urban areas, taking refuge in narrow drainage corridors without any access to open wild lands. In the right areas of Southern California, any patch of ground without pavement could be home to a healthy colony of SoPacs. One man’s trash snake is another’s treasure, as this one was to our group.
… and this one:
May
9th
2016
Desert Clouds North of Phoenix
One of the things I’ve learned to do in the years since I’ve paid attention to this blog, is to find dens. There’s a lot to it, but I’ve always been amazed at the diversity of circumstances that the common Western Diamondback Rattlesnake chooses to call home during the cooler months. In higher and rocky areas, there are a lot of options … but in the low Colorado river flats dominated by many cactus and few rocks, opportunities are few. This cholla patch is a good sign, meaning the ‘needle in a haystack’ approach I’ve taken to single out den sites is not far away.
Nearby, this is one of several diamondbacks I’ve been keeping an eye on in the Winter, taking advantage of space between a few rocks to enjoy the relatively warm air temperatures without the direct sun.
May
2nd
2016
Pipe Dangers
… not really. These little guys aren’t going to hurt anyone. But, every time I end up crawling through this pipe in North Central Phoenix on the way to tiger and speckled rattlesnakes, there’s at least one bat on the ceiling that won’t move until I’m right under it. Then … blam, it wakes up and freaks me out. I love bats, but less so when they’re directly flapping against your neck.
Also, right now I’m in Costa Rica for the second time! I kind of forgot to post to this blog for a couple of years reliably, and a lot has happened. I’m going to try to get through the hundreds of amazing experiences I’ve had in the meantime.
Apr
28th
2016
West Texas
Field herpers probably know this spot, or have driven past it a million times. On my first trip to West Texas, right on the border.
