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The AZ Game & Fish 2010 Calendar

Bryan — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:17:33 +0000

I have had a photo selected for the 2010 Arizona Game & Fish Wildlife Calendar! I win enough money for some new photo gear to replace some I broke this last summer, which will help. Here is more information about the calendar, where to get it (for $3), and a list of the other winners. This is the first photography contest I’ve ever entered, so I am encouraged to enter more, to say the least.

Here is the photo they selected, for the month of Novembe, of a Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox) I photographed in April.

Crotalus atrox

Here is a photo of some Canyon Treefrogs (Hyla arenicolor) that was selected as an honorable mention; also photographed in April of this year.

Hyla arenicolor

Here is more infor

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Camouflage Fail

Bryan — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 03:18:28 +0000

I watched this Canyon Treefrog, Hyla arenicolor, crawl out of a stream and climb a rock to do as they do, and take on the approximate color of the rock for an afternoon snooze. It takes awhile to take effect, it seems, as this little guy was not at all hidden at first. I set up on a rock and had lunch while I watched it gradually get darker and darker, but left before the change was complete.

Hyla arenicolor

Quality, Not Quantity (Part 4)

Bryan — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 16:41:14 +0000

Continued from part 1, part 2, and part 3 …

I spent a good part of the day exploring the Northern end of the mountains, where it was too cold to find any animals, but productive nonetheless as I found some great places to visit later in the year. The desert was in bloom and the colors were surprizing.

Superstitions In Bloom

Superstition Mountains

After an uneventful night cruise we decided to get out the flashlights and hike around the stream bed near the campsite, hoping to see some of the amphibians making all that noise. We found quite a few Canyon Treefrogs (hyla arenicolor) and Red-Spotted Toads (Bufo punctatus) active in the colder, moist air.

Hyla arenicolor

I also found this confused Ornate Tree Lizard (Urosaurus ornatus) wandering around the rocks at night. Normally pretty quick, I was able to just reach down and pick this one up. I seldom see these out at night … I wonder what he was up to.

Urosaurus ornatus

The next morning we went for a quick cruise up the canyon to see if any reptiles were awake and warming from the cold night. We didn’t see any snakes, but some big horn sheep climbed up over the road from a nearly vertical cliff on the other side. They let us take photos and didn’t seem at all spooked by the two cars that had stopped to stare. I haven’t seen these before in the wild so it was a nice treat.

Big Horn Sheep

Desert Bighorn Sheep

Ovis canadensis nelsoni

I know they’re not reptiles, but all part of the experience. Always cool to see animals out in their natural environment.

Young (metamorph) Canyon Treefrog

Bryan — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 22:51:48 +0000

Hundreds of these were swimming in shallow pools this September in Santa Cruz county, along with many more less-developed tadpoles of various species. This is the southern-most example of a Canyon Treefrog I had seen.

Canyon Treefrog

Also out in vast numbers were these big lubber grasshoppers. They were so big that I first mistaked them for tarantulas crossing the road when I saw them.

Lubber Grasshopper

… some habitat:

Santa Cruz County