Last weekend's storm

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Fieldnotes
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Last weekend's storm

Post by Fieldnotes »

These pictures represent some of the creatures that were on the move during last weekend’s storm. All the pictures turned out horrible. I took my wife’s new camera into the field for the first time and only then did it dawn on me that learning a new camera at night and in torrential rain was a bad idea. I’m not too upset because I was just gathering pictures for locality records. Nevertheless the pictures are rather disgraceful and do not represent these noble creatures as they should.

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One of five California Tiger Salamanders found that night in Santa Barbara County. The storm didn’t start to pound the area until 1 am so all the Tigers were encountered well after 2 am. Most Tigers spotted were juveniles along a short stretch of highway beside a tiny, uspoiled plot of land.

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California Red-legged Frogs were all over the road with nearly a dozen spotted along with some road-kills. This large female was nearly roadkill when a van load of teenagers sped by screaming and throwing beer cans out the open side door. Little did they know that the real party was happening on the road that night --- the best kind of party too, an amphibian-street-party!

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Around a half-dozen of these were out and about… Spadefoots are rather obvious on the road they appear as plump, pale frogs, with huge eyes and they never seem to be moving. They may have the biggest frog-eyes of them all, but they can’t see cars approaching worth a dam for several were crushed.

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Interestingly I came across several Monterey Ensatinas and they were all found at the same spot on the road. The first one encountered was this big girl and later on that night several males were spotted at the same place. I suspect all the males were following a scent trail laid down by the female.

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Of course the ubiquitous Western Toads were active.

The one species not photographed and hopping verywhere was… well you guessed it… the Southern Pacific Chorus Frog.

Again, the horrible pictures suck. But I tried making up for it with some extended text. Footnote for those who know the over used stretch of road in the area, no tigers were encountered there. Sadly for the salamanders, I spoke with a ranch-caretaker who informed me that property owners parrelling that road are taking measures to see them gone. I’m sure this news is not a surprise to anyone familiar with industrial advancement and greed.
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KichiMark
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Re: Last weekend's storm

Post by KichiMark »

Oh wow. Thanks for sharing your finds. No need to apologize for the pictures. Your pictures are still better quality than mine haha. That really ticks me off about the property owners taking "measures" to rid their property of the salamanders. I understand it is their land but isn't the tiger salamander protected? Forgive my ignorance.
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MarcLinsalata
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Re: Last weekend's storm

Post by MarcLinsalata »

Your bad pics are on par with my best :? :oops:
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Ross Padilla
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Re: Last weekend's storm

Post by Ross Padilla »

Good stuff. Must have been a blast! :thumb:
hellihooks
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Re: Last weekend's storm

Post by hellihooks »

I rarely stop long enough to take a couple of voucher-quality pics, when it's warm and dry. :shock: In pouring rain... I don't know... :roll: we'll see... :crazyeyes: I do NOT handle wet and cold very well. But, I'm gonna try for the S.Berdoo Blotched ensatinas one of these rainy nights... even if it means night-walking in the rain... :shock: I think if there's any chance of finding aboreals in the berdoos, it'll be roughly the same area...
Nice to know I don't necessarily have to go all the way to nor cal to see a tiger... :thumb: jim
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Owen
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Re: Last weekend's storm

Post by Owen »

Nice stuff will. I spent just under 3 hours this morning walking around in the rain and had similar luck with flipped stuff. Flipped a nice big 9" Ambystoma near an 8" deep and filling vernal pond. Over 20 Ensatina as well. Reptiles other than Skilton's are really hard to come by, but I rather enjoy the seasonal diversity.
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Judson
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Re: Last weekend's storm

Post by Judson »

Pics look good by my standards :thumb:

just curious to why a rancher would want to eradicate all the sallys? are they some sort of harm to livestock or crop? what am I missing here?

-I
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SurfinHerp
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Re: Last weekend's storm

Post by SurfinHerp »

Thanks for sharing your nice finds Will! The pics are cool if you ask me 8-)

What do you think the chances are of someone recording a Monterrey Ensatina down in San Diego County this year? The HERP database only has one record by J. Lemm from 2009. I guess they're super-rare around here. Might be worth a targeted trip when the conditions are right though.

Take it easy,

Jeff
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M.J.FRANETOVICH
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Re: Last weekend's storm

Post by M.J.FRANETOVICH »

I thought this was a great post :thumb: :thumb:
And great pictures, thank you :thumb: :thumb:




Mel
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monklet
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Re: Last weekend's storm

Post by monklet »

Fieldnotes wrote:Little did they know that the real party was happening on the road that night --- the best kind of party too, an amphibian-street-party!
:lol: :lol: :lol:

Sounds like a great trip Will! :shock: Glad you scored. So, I suppose the rancher's wanting Ambystoma gone are worried about ESA issues? Hmmm, wouldn't that be interesting. :evil:

Photos suck :lol: but they give a good feel for the action, so it works. :thumb:
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Fieldnotes
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Re: Last weekend's storm

Post by Fieldnotes »

Thanks for the complements on the photos

KichiMark: The Santa Barbara population is under threat due to exploitation of habitat. (See further comment under Judson)

Ross: “…a blast.” Those are the words of a fellow herper for sure. It was a while since I road cruised salamanders, so the following morning I said to my wife “that was a fun night” as if I forget the feeling.

Jim: You probably know that there are “blotched” Ensatinas on the desert slope of the San Bernardinos, and perhaps not too far from where you live, but if you don’t send me an email and I’ll hook you up. Arboreals in the San Barnardinos – that’s going to be a tough search.

Owen: You really tallied up the Salamanders that morning and that Tiger must have been a pleasant surprise. Im sure you know what happens to people after they photograph all the species of salamander in their county… well then, they move forward to photographing all the salamanders in their state.

Judson: The property owners possess land that once developed into a housing tract will bring them millions of dollars in income. But with salamanders inhabiting the land the property owners are unable to do anything. I have heard that upwards of $40 k a month are being lost by owners and for that much money some people would even sell their own mother.

SurfinHerp: Odds of finding and recording Monterey Ensatina in San Diego County. Well, if someone is in the right habitat and puts efforts into searching, then odds are going to be 100%. If Sir Lemm has done it, then so can you.

Brad: That is just what I was hoping to do…put some action, as well as evidence into the post… BTW not sure if you got my phone message, but I tried to let you know the weekend was probably going to a good one. I had to add the word “probably” because a person can never know for sure how a night of cruising will turn out.
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