It's been a while.....

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gmerker
Posts: 30
Joined: June 8th, 2010, 7:43 am

It's been a while.....

Post by gmerker »

....since I last posted!

Because of that, this is a three-year report. All the usual places have been visited (California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and even a trip back East). Below is a sampling of what was observed by myself or the people I traveled with. There is no necessary order here….and it is picture-heavy!

Early emergence of a Desert Iguana:
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An awesome Flat-tailed Horned Lizard hoping I don’t see him:
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An animal I have not seen in almost 25 years: Coast Horned Lizard
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A couple of sleeping Crevice Spiny Lizards:
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A few random Ensatinashots:
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Black Salamander:
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Red-bellied Newt:
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A very pale Prairie Rattlesnake:
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A resting Red Diamondback Rattlesnake:
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A beautiful Trans Pecos Copperhead:
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Despite his nuchal pattern, this animal is indeed a male!: Gray-banded Kingsnake
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I had always wanted to see a Western Green Rat Snake doing what it should be doing in the wild. While on a short hike, I observed this:
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A beautiful Sonoran Lyre Snake:
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In West Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona, I saw a lot of these very cool animals frolicking (among other things) in the rain puddles during the monsoon season:
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The other thing:
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Western Diamondback Rattlesnakes Crotalus atrox in combat mode:
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A couple of Northern Water Snakes courting:
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And some pictures from another post:

These occasionally turn up in my area:
Anerythristic Sierra Nevada Mountain Kingsnake:
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What they normally look like:
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Sierra Nevada Mountain Kingsnakes combat dancing:
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I especially love coming across snakes feeding in the wild:

A Northern Pacific Rattlesnake feeding on a Chickaree Squirrel
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A Black-neck Gartersnake feeding in the wild:
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One of my favorite early spring snakes – California Red-sided Garter Snake:
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This Rubber Boa was surface active at 44 °F:
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One of my more active Northern Pacific Rattlesnake dens:
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A friend and I were traveling to his study site when we spied these animals. They remained motionless for what seemed like hours, so much so, I thought they were some artwork placed there by an aspiring artist!
Big Horn Sheep:
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Pronghorn Antelope:
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Kit Fox with prey item:
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Same Kit Fox in stealth mode:
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Saw a few of these the past two years:

Great Basin Gopher Snake:
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Arizona Mountain Kingsnakes:
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Mexican Hognose Snakes:
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Banana Slugs feeding:
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Double Rainbow in Western New Mexico:
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I remember many years ago getting into a discussion with a friend’s mother about roadrunners not being able to fly; I wish I would have had this image to show her:
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I always enjoy introducing the younger crowd to the joys of herping:

My Great-Nephew on his first snake hunt:
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My grandson on a lizard hunt with his father:
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Happy Herping to Everyone!
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Jeroen Speybroeck
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Joined: June 29th, 2011, 1:56 am
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Re: It's been a while.....

Post by Jeroen Speybroeck »

Woow, that's fantastic. With alterna and rivularis you posted two of my most "must get back to the US to see" species, but the rest of your shots include so many interesting observations too! Thanks!
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monklet
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Location: Ventura, CA
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Re: It's been a while.....

Post by monklet »

Really fun post, thanks :thumb: Say, I'm trying to figure out what is that odd object in the first Black-necked Garter image that is obscuring the head of the snake? ...looks like some kind of gastropod shell???
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Jeroen Speybroeck
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Re: It's been a while.....

Post by Jeroen Speybroeck »

monklet wrote:Really fun post, thanks :thumb: Say, I'm trying to figure out what is that odd object in the first Black-necked Garter image that is obscuring the head of the snake? ...looks like some kind of gastropod shell???
Frog's lung???
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The Real Snake Man
Posts: 405
Joined: June 12th, 2010, 4:08 pm
Location: Pasadena, CA or Mission, TX

Re: It's been a while.....

Post by The Real Snake Man »

Holy miraculous mother of herpetologically wondrous :beer: :beer: :beer: This was awesome! Some very great observations there, particularly the snake combats. Wow.
Aaron
Posts: 287
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 9:46 pm

Re: It's been a while.....

Post by Aaron »

Great post!
gmerker
Posts: 30
Joined: June 8th, 2010, 7:43 am

Re: It's been a while.....

Post by gmerker »

Thanks for the kind comments.
I was thinking the toad was exuding the oviduct.
There was a ten minute difference between the first and second image. The snake appears to ingest that structure in that time, gmerker
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