Search found 1744 matches

by Jimi
June 9th, 2021, 6:58 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Spot Check - Memories #1 - Red-colored YBR
Replies: 6
Views: 4676

Re: Spot Check - Memories #1 - Red-colored YBR

We'll see. I may ask, or may not. I'm also not a fan of putting photos on the internet - I personally find something creepy about it. Having lived in both - Del Norte feels a long way and a lot different from Ft Bragg. It's so much wetter. Inland gets hot, just the same, but the rivers are bigger an...
by Jimi
June 7th, 2021, 4:15 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Spot Check - Memories #1 - Red-colored YBR
Replies: 6
Views: 4676

Re: Spot Check - Memories #1 - Red-colored YBR

They're another guy's pictures so I'm not eager to post them. He did send them to me, but...meh. I don't take many pictures, and hardly ever put any online, so obviously I'm not motivated that way. He takes a lot of pictures, but also posts hardly any as far as I can tell. So...uh...ha ha. I don't t...
by Jimi
June 3rd, 2021, 9:23 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Spot Check - Memories #1 - Red-colored YBR
Replies: 6
Views: 4676

Re: Spot Check - Memories #1 - Red-colored YBR

I have seen photos recently of some reddish and also some slightly bluish YBRs from the same locality in Utah. Parley's Canyon along I-80 just east of Salt Lake City. It may be that there's a genetic connection between these 2 "morphs" - something present, or something (e.g., the "dom...
by Jimi
May 26th, 2021, 7:49 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: A very curious cottonmouth
Replies: 16
Views: 8857

Re: A very curious cottonmouth

Oh yeah Porter you said something earlier - perhaps in jest, perhaps not - that bears a response. Something about grabbing a baby for photos. Just don't. Mama - the moms guard their broods for about 2 years, it's real common to see a female with 2 distinct size classes of little ones (this year's an...
by Jimi
May 26th, 2021, 7:41 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: A very curious cottonmouth
Replies: 16
Views: 8857

Re: A very curious cottonmouth

I just watched the video. Didn't seem like a "charge" to me. Aside - other than nest-attending females, who 100% absolutely DO CHARGE intruders - do gators really "charge"? A charge is a sassy bluff. Gators (other than the relatively small females stuck guarding a nest on land, o...
by Jimi
May 24th, 2021, 7:34 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: A very curious cottonmouth
Replies: 16
Views: 8857

Re: A very curious cottonmouth

Jesus that sounds awful!!! Ha ha ha yeah but really. Awful! The only place I know that's truly worth that is west Texas. Even there though, it's more like just go full nocturnal. Maybe a spot of dawn cut-walking, but otherwise sleep all damn day. I think part of it is, I don't cruise all that much a...
by Jimi
May 18th, 2021, 11:39 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: A very curious cottonmouth
Replies: 16
Views: 8857

Re: A very curious cottonmouth

The only thing I can think of that comes to mind as an absolute must would be a crayfish snake. Regina are easy to cruise in a lot of places. They - along with waters, muds, cottons, etc - like rain. Rain sucks for cruising many snakes, even in the green & wet SE USA, but it's good for the aqua...
by Jimi
May 9th, 2021, 2:04 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: A very curious cottonmouth
Replies: 16
Views: 8857

Re: A very curious cottonmouth

What would you say is the best state to visit for an encounter like this? I highly recommend getting out to the southeast. Ideal timing varies a little bit based on what you want to see and how you want to help (flip, dip-net, stalk, paddle, snorkel, cruise etc). Spring (~mid March - ~mid May) is b...
by Jimi
May 6th, 2021, 1:36 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Ghost traps
Replies: 8
Views: 5309

Re: Ghost traps

If you are running them right, you typically don't have any loss unless its a predation issue or act of god.
Even shrews? I have not released many live shrews from live traps (even those checked 2x/d), except for Suncus murinus, a stinky whopper of a shrew.
by Jimi
May 5th, 2021, 8:25 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: A very curious cottonmouth
Replies: 16
Views: 8857

Re: A very curious cottonmouth

Yeah that's pretty sweet. I appreciate that the boater didn't feel the need to deliver a savage paddle-chop (or five, or seventeen) to the animal. And that s(he) didn't feel the need to say anything - I love the quiet chill vibe too. The boater is obviously comfortable in the element, and among the ...
by Jimi
April 30th, 2021, 8:01 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Spring road cruising in So. UT
Replies: 3
Views: 3214

Re: Spring road cruising in So. UT

Sure thing, man. You know that temp gun is also handy as hell for flipping, and for stalking / walking. Finding snakes is somewhat akin to shooting down a missile with a rocket - it's easy to miss. Life is short and free time is limited, so it's best to make a study of finding snakes, if finding sna...
by Jimi
April 28th, 2021, 12:49 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Spring road cruising in So. UT
Replies: 3
Views: 3214

Re: Spring road cruising in So. UT

Some of those things are just as well walked as cruised, but since you've a mind to cruise, I'll bite. - The temps are so far from dangerous that there's no reason to wait for dark. In fact you'd be a fool to wait until dark to begin. Hit the pavement by 4pm. Or start a little earlier higher up, and...
by Jimi
April 19th, 2021, 11:23 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: I-10 Chronicles
Replies: 35
Views: 24442

Re: I-10 Chronicles

Good luck Dave, and watch the Drought Monitor maps. There are a few west TX counties right now that are not in drought, and also a belt of really terrible ("Exceptional, D4") drought. And lots of everything in between. https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?Sout...
by Jimi
April 13th, 2021, 12:37 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Southern California in late March.
Replies: 5
Views: 4317

Re: Southern California in late March.

They breeze in, they take what they can get, and mostly you never hear from them again. Sigh / meh.

How you doin'?
by Jimi
March 19th, 2021, 1:45 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Southern California in late March.
Replies: 5
Views: 4317

Re: Southern California in late March.

Also, I know it’s still a little early in the year for road cruising but would it be worth at least giving it a shot? (Nighttime temps in the desert areas will be around the mid 50’s) Sure it's worth making a few passes in the low elevations. Winders are crazy cold tolerant, and you will probably s...
by Jimi
March 2nd, 2021, 3:13 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Some Beijing snakes from 2020
Replies: 10
Views: 4788

Re: Some Beijing snakes from 2020

Well I sure look forward to them.

I also hope you blundered into lots of vipers while looking for ratsnakes. I really enjoyed your Shennongjia (or something like that???) series of posts that included e.g. Protobothrops jerdonii.
by Jimi
March 2nd, 2021, 9:30 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Some Beijing snakes from 2020
Replies: 10
Views: 4788

Re: Some Beijing snakes from 2020

Thanks very much for the post, Scott. Very interesting, that creek sounds like a fun walk.

And Kevin - I also miss your China posts! I like the food stuff almost as much as the herp stuff, and find the culture and geography stuff maybe the best of all.
by Jimi
February 10th, 2021, 3:45 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Mud snakes, and Rainbows
Replies: 9
Views: 5614

Re: Mud snakes, and Rainbows

how tight they stuck to the flooded habitat. Like never left it I mean it's just crazy how well common names sometimes work. Ha ha. Isn't that cool? I just love it. @OP - I've done alright cruising adult muds in the summer rain. They come out and crawl around in the rain, after dark. I've also done...
by Jimi
February 9th, 2021, 7:49 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Mud snakes, and Rainbows
Replies: 9
Views: 5614

Re: Mud snakes, and Rainbows

the board getting swept away in a big rain
Trivial problem if you take countermeasures. Use a metal stake, a short length of chain or cable, and a pair of stainless swivels (like for marine fishing). Ever seen a leg-hold set? Same idea. "Don't let it get away."

good luck!
by Jimi
February 8th, 2021, 11:32 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Mud snakes, and Rainbows
Replies: 9
Views: 5614

Re: Mud snakes, and Rainbows

Archives are your friend:

viewtopic.php?t=12175

Another month or so and the start of SC prime time will be upon you. I'm a little jealous.

good hunting!
by Jimi
December 1st, 2020, 9:49 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: 2020 EOY Report - Arizona
Replies: 15
Views: 7379

Re: 2020 EOY Report - Arizona

Nice bunch of pics, Jeff. Thank you! With the wet winter you guys had, I had been wondering what spring was like down there. And due to Covid crap, I just stayed pretty close to home this spring - and due to our terrible drought, it sucked royally up here, for me. So congrats on all the fun times th...
by Jimi
October 8th, 2020, 10:37 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Amazing finds in this summer
Replies: 5
Views: 2968

Re: Amazing finds in this summer

Nice finds & pics - thanks for sharing. My dream of some day visiting Taiwan endures. Between the culture & people, the natural history, and the scenery, it's an extremely appealing destination.

I also didn't know you guys have Daboia. So thanks for that too.

cheers
by Jimi
August 24th, 2020, 1:21 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Kansas in late August or mid September?
Replies: 11
Views: 5937

Re: Kansas in late August or mid September?

probably somewhere in the 20-25" range Wow - that's a monster! I think streckeri is the smallest subspecies. I used to keep two adult pairs, and got a few litters out of them. All four of my adults were in the 16-20" range. Pretty stout, could happily eat full-grown adult domestic mice. B...
by Jimi
August 24th, 2020, 9:35 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Kansas in late August or mid September?
Replies: 11
Views: 5937

Re: Kansas in late August or mid September?

Hey, congrats!!! Classic little streckeri. What was he, maybe 12" long?

"If you can hear the rattle, your ear is too close!" Ha ha ha. Cute little toe-stabbers, huh?
by Jimi
August 20th, 2020, 2:44 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Kansas in late August or mid September?
Replies: 11
Views: 5937

Re: Kansas in late August or mid September?

to gauge whether pit vipers in general are moving yet, logic being that if Pigs aren't moving yet in Southwest MO, their Massasauga cousins 250 miles west in Kansas probably aren't either I think maintaining some monitoring effort on that "home road" is very wise, simply to get to know it...
by Jimi
August 18th, 2020, 4:09 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Kansas in late August or mid September?
Replies: 11
Views: 5937

Re: Kansas in late August or mid September?

here's hoping the Pigmies I've never really looked for pigs west of the Mississippi, and the little I've done there was just unrequited walking & flipping, but knowing them just a little in GA & SC (where they are also very spotty & can be tough, like they seem further west) they seemed...
by Jimi
August 17th, 2020, 10:28 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Kansas in late August or mid September?
Replies: 11
Views: 5937

Re: Kansas in late August or mid September?

Thanks for the posts & pics, I enjoy seeing you two getting out and just getting along in life. (Unsolicited thus possibly hated advice - rack 'em up before you have kids, if you're so inclined! You will have no time or money for anything but the yard apes, once you go there.) So - I have zero a...
by Jimi
July 30th, 2020, 3:08 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: I-10 Chronicles
Replies: 35
Views: 24442

Re: I-10 Chronicles

I turned into a "camping" wus in old age and now my wife and I use this: Love it. The fiberglass trailers hold a lot of appeal for me. I'm still a "tent / truck shell / hell just throw down a tarp & puss pad and call it good" kind of camper. But - I live in the West where it...
by Jimi
July 24th, 2020, 11:18 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: I-10 Chronicles
Replies: 35
Views: 24442

Re: I-10 Chronicles

I've been pretty badly skunked in the Davis mountains a few times, when I went before the late summer rains had started. I don't go there any more in June; I just mentally lump that area in with the other "monsoon-season" places. Edwards Plateau is different. I asked a guy here about flipp...
by Jimi
July 20th, 2020, 3:13 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Possible Country Records for the US
Replies: 196
Views: 605360

Re: Possible Country Records for the US

A very useful phone APP we use in the east, but probably works out west, is "HUNTSTAND". It's useful because it can show who's land you are on. OnX ("onyx") might be similar to HUNTSTAND. It costs money but the developers have gone to the trouble of gathering parcel / landowner ...
by Jimi
July 17th, 2020, 1:06 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Possible Country Records for the US
Replies: 196
Views: 605360

Re: Possible Country Records for the US

Craig, do you have access to Herp Review? I think the observation was made right around dark, in mid May 2017. About 9 PM. Sounded like they walked it, or shined it - not cruised-on-road.

cheers
by Jimi
July 15th, 2020, 11:29 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Possible Country Records for the US
Replies: 196
Views: 605360

Re: Possible Country Records for the US

Thanks for the heads-up Bob, I will have to watch for the upcoming Herp Review pub on boas in Sonora.

And congrats also, to Chris G on his perspicacity.
by Jimi
July 10th, 2020, 12:34 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Aspidoscelis in Colorado
Replies: 3
Views: 3019

Re: Aspidoscelis in Colorado

As an extreme non-cnemidologist, and going by gestalt, I'm going with velox too. The very clean dark fields - no tesselations - are the main nudge (most cnemis have some degree of checkering). But I also live in a state with extremely low teiid species diversity, and velox lives here. So I'm primed ...
by Jimi
June 24th, 2020, 10:30 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Some young gators from northeastern North Carolina
Replies: 3
Views: 3052

Re: Some young gators from northeastern North Carolina

Many of those individuals - if they are not indeed of the same individual) depicted are pretty clearly in the same age cohort (further south I'd say 2019 hatch year; maybe slower/older up there?) Basically, they look like last year's 2-footers (they hatch at a foot, and normally grow about a foot a ...
by Jimi
May 26th, 2020, 3:28 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: End of Decade Post: USA, Mexico, Costa Rica
Replies: 11
Views: 4955

Re: End of Decade Post: USA, Mexico, Costa Rica

A blast from the past indeed. Good to see you're doing well. And as far as lizards go, they don't get too much cooler than this Yellow-spotted Night Lizard (Lepidophyma flavimaculatum): Yeah buddy; just a great genus all in all. If it weren't for the bugs, it would be a nice place: Yeah, but...hahah...
by Jimi
May 4th, 2020, 11:31 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Borrego Springs/Anza Borrego San Diego County
Replies: 15
Views: 7159

Re: Borrego Springs/Anza Borrego San Diego County

Yes, the Sonoran (influence) comes up to that area. Yours looks like the classic intergrade from what I can see in the pic. +1, some you see there are leaning stronger to the Sonoran phenotype but really, it's an intergrade zone. I distinctly recall walking in on about a 65" beast female in th...
by Jimi
May 4th, 2020, 7:55 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Everglades National Park in the rain
Replies: 22
Views: 11085

Re: Everglades National Park in the rain

In Utah at the federal level it seems to be a USDA / USDI thing: NPS and BLM campgrounds have been closed but USFS campgrounds have been open. A few of our Colorado Plateau counties have closed their (federal public lands) backcountries to dispersed camping because there's only a dozen or two hospit...
by Jimi
May 4th, 2020, 7:28 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Southern Oregon
Replies: 5
Views: 3735

Re: Southern Oregon

Heads up: https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/CurrentMap/StateDroughtMonitor.aspx?West The Klamath / Siskiyou country is looking rough, drought-wise. Would love to see the 2 Lampropeltis down there. Its an area I have only passed through in the past. That country is worth spending some time in. Getula al...
by Jimi
May 3rd, 2020, 4:44 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Everglades National Park in the rain
Replies: 22
Views: 11085

Re: Everglades National Park in the rain

everything fun is closed
Hey, the Great Basin is wide open. All the distance you need.
by Jimi
April 13th, 2020, 10:37 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Snakes and the Alaskan land bridge
Replies: 4
Views: 4143

Re: Snakes and the Alaskan land bridge

Thanks for taking the time, Bill. I just couldn't deal with the goofiness. It's a matter of evidence, not of opinion.

cheers
by Jimi
April 9th, 2020, 3:24 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Some herps from today - southeastern Virginia
Replies: 5
Views: 2385

Re: Some herps from today - southeastern Virginia

That cotton is a real nice one.
Indeed indeed. Seems like the farthest-northeast ones are, on average, the best of anywhere, looks-wise.

That water snake must have had a real wrestling match to subjugate the bullfrog. Especially on the kicking end. Jeez.
by Jimi
April 9th, 2020, 12:38 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Herping in New Hampshire
Replies: 3
Views: 3171

Re: Herping in New Hampshire

Careful, some stuff is pretty touchy! The biggest "problem" with New England is, even taxa that are superabundant (e.g. racers) further south can be extremely localized, and sometimes occur in really small populations up there. Hey (assuming you don't already - sorry if mistaken) if you wa...
by Jimi
April 8th, 2020, 10:44 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Lower Coastal Plain Pine Snakes Advice?
Replies: 17
Views: 15248

Re: Lower Coastal Plain Pine Snakes Advice?

If get close to one that is laying in some brush or foliage, will it stay still or will it get spooked and run? I don't think you're gonna get a runner. You hear something dashing off at 20 feet, you've probably got a coachwhip or racer. All the pits I've ever walked have been much more deliberate....
by Jimi
March 18th, 2020, 12:30 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Some Florida nemesis species
Replies: 10
Views: 5701

Re: Some Florida nemesis species

I don't know about getting your 2 nemesis species in/around the Ocala in March, but as long as there isn't a cold front blowing through you should be able to find some decent sport-herping. I'd probably put all my time into wet/dry ecotones, mostly working near sandhill ponds, but also investing som...
by Jimi
March 5th, 2020, 1:43 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Some Florida nemesis species
Replies: 10
Views: 5701

Re: Some Florida nemesis species

Hi Tom, I lived in St Auggie 4 years and got out quite a bit. Mostly for work all over NE FL (St Johns to Brevard, west to Marion Co), some just for play too though. With that background: I've seen loads of mud snakes as "cruising bycatch" on the Osceola NF. Rainy nights, or just hot muggy...
by Jimi
February 21st, 2020, 3:41 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Not my board line
Replies: 18
Views: 5572

Re: Not my board line

Would it be unethical I (sort of) applaud your presented sense of decency, at the same time as kind of laughing at your framing of the situation. Either: the boards are on private land owned by those who laid them out, or the boards are on private land owned by someone else (who may or - far more l...
by Jimi
February 18th, 2020, 11:30 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Reptile/ snake book for herping Cal/Nev/Utah
Replies: 5
Views: 4089

Re: Reptile/ snake book for herping Cal/Nev/Utah

Hi Frank, You're looking for a comprehensive field guide - a small, lightweight, inexpensive, durable book that will depict any wild reptile you find. To go with the standard, just get yourself a Stebbins ("Western Reptiles and Amphibians"). Having eventually destroyed my first edition, I'...
by Jimi
January 21st, 2020, 4:12 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Board Flipping Suggestions in SoCal
Replies: 8
Views: 4583

Re: Board Flipping Suggestions in SoCal

I always assumed flipping would be more productive under some sunlight. It depends. Early in the season when nights are still chilly and days are not very warm either - yeah, sure sun helps. But you'd be amazed how much a board or rock will warm with overcast. Inrared rays are invisible, and they p...
by Jimi
January 21st, 2020, 4:08 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Board Flipping Suggestions in SoCal
Replies: 8
Views: 4583

Re: Board Flipping Suggestions in SoCal

I actually flipped a night snake under a board that was fully exposed to the sun at around 73 degrees. Would you consider this uncommon? Not at all, no, but I would add that context matters. I intuit that what you're really after is predictive power. How to know what to do, and when to do it, to up...