Gorum_140609_2849 by bgorum, on FlickrJune 9th found me hiking at the volcanoes west of Albuquerque during the evening sweet light and just hoping for something to photograph before it was gone. I looked up ahead and saw this beauty of a Prairie Rattlesnake out crawling and knew I’d found it!
Gorum_140609_2835 by bgorum, on FlickrFledgling Mockingbird from that same evening’s hike. There were three off these in a nest in a cholla that had housed a clutch of Thrasher eggs earlier in the season.
Gorum_140621_3081 by bgorum, on FlickrJune 21st and a Desert Cottontail at Bosque del Apache
Gorum_140627_3127_8_9 by bgorum, on FlickrJune 27th and some rock art. (Space guy walking his coyote by the tail)?
Gorum_140629_3154 by bgorum, on FlickrJune 29th and an adult and juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron working a drying pool at Bosque del Apache.
Gorum_140629_3208 by bgorum, on FlickrGreat Egret working the same pool
Gorum_140629_3300 by bgorum, on FlickrThey didn’t seem to care much for the crayfish, maybe because fish were plentiful.
Gorum_140629_3327 by bgorum, on FlickrJuvenile picked one up, but threw it back down without eating it
Gorum_140629_3333 by bgorum, on Flickr
Gorum_140629_3394 by bgorum, on FlickrDead and dying Bullfrog metamorphs in another drying pool. (In New Mexico that is a good thing).
Gorum_140701_3410_1_2 by bgorum, on FlickrJuly 1st and the view right before I got drenched
Gorum_140701_3414_5_6 by bgorum, on FlickrA nice wet road I was driving down with my heater cranked trying to dry off and warm up
Gorum_140701_3422 by bgorum, on FlickrLightning on the plains west of Albuquerque
Gorum_140701_3427_8_9 by bgorum, on Flickr
Gorum_140702_3582 by bgorum, on FlickrJuly 2nd and a Spiny Softshell crossing a levee road at Bosque del Apache
Gorum_140705_3598 by bgorum, on FlickrJuly 5th and a gravid Lesser Earless Lizard
Gorum_140705_3600_1_2 by bgorum, on FlickrRain over Albuquerque
Gorum_140708_3624 by bgorum, on FlickrJuly 8th and lightning over JA volcano
Gorum_140708_3645_6_7-Edit by bgorum, on Flickrand a rainstorm to the west
Gorum_140708_3682-Edit by bgorum, on FlickrThe volcanoes, Albuquerque, and the Sandias just after dusk
Gorum_140714_3711 by bgorum, on FlickrJuly 14th and a Hognose Snake cruised west of Albuquerque
Gorum_140717_3780 by bgorum, on FlickrJuly 17th and a Round-tailed Horned Lizard
Gorum_140717_3838 by bgorum, on FlickrMale Lesser Earless Lizard
Gorum_140723_3857 by bgorum, on FlickrJuly 23rd- Silver-leaf Nightshade
Gorum_140728_3864 by bgorum, on FlickrJuly 28th and a neonate Greater Earless Lizard at Bosque del Apache
Gorum_140728_3871 by bgorum, on FlickrNeonate Western Diamondback cruised on the way home that evening
Gorum_140730_3878 by bgorum, on FlickrJuly 30th and another Lesser Earless Lizard
Gorum_140730_3881 by bgorum, on FlickrA female still showing breeding season coloration on July 30th
Gorum_140730_3888_89_90 by bgorum, on FlickrLater that evening I found the lightest Western Diamondback I have ever seen.
Gorum_140730_3951_2_3 by bgorum, on FlickrIt was striking to see this individual stretched out on the black basalt. Unfortunately I was unable to get any in situ shots before it bolted. Most of the snakes from this location are medium to dark in tone, often reddish. This animal is extremely atypical for this population.
Gorum_140801_4010 by bgorum, on FlickrAugust 1st and a small Massasauga flipped at an illegal dump site
Gorum_140801_4018 by bgorum, on FlickrLater that night my girlfriend and I could hear spade foots calling from near hear house. We did a little four-wheeling in the rain and found a chorus of New Mexico Spadefoots…
Gorum_140801_4030 by bgorum, on Flickr……..and Couch Spadefoots
Gorum_140804_4053 by bgorum, on FlickrAugust 4th and a Prairie Rattlesnake crawling through an illegal dumpsite
Gorum_140805_4076 by bgorum, on FlickrForaging Gopher Snake at the volcanoes on August 5th
Gorum_140805_4084 by bgorum, on FlickrWinter Fat and the Sandia mountains
Gorum_140808_4110 by bgorum, on FlickrOn August 8th Todd Battey and I were looking for Rock Rattlesnakes and just about the time I was beginning to thing we were going to get skunked Todd got buzzed by this little fella.
Gorum_140811_4113 by bgorum, on FlickrGreat Plains Skink doing its best Pinacate Beetle imitation on August 11th
Gorum_140811_4125 by bgorum, on FlickrMassasauga we cruised that night
Gorum_140814_4143 by bgorum, on FlickrAugust 14th and Couch Spadefoot tadpoles
Gorum_140814_4150 by bgorum, on FlickrSame pond, but these are Spea
Gorum_140819_4151_2 by bgorum, on FlickrThread-leaf Groundsel and Volcan
Gorum_140824_4157 by bgorum, on FlickrAugust 24th and a Massasauga crossing a sand road during the evening sweet light
Gorum_140824_4173 by bgorum, on FlickrA truck was coming and I had to move the snake, but I wasn’t about to waste that light. I got off just a couple frames before the sun dipped down below the surrounding vegetation.
Gorum_140824_4180 by bgorum, on FlickrCruised a couple more that night
Gorum_140824_4183 by bgorum, on FlickrAs well as several Prairie Rattlesnake, including this one that appeared to be foraging along the shoulder. (There was a lot of rodent activity that night as well).
Gorum_140903_0002 by bgorum, on FlickrDouble Rainbow over Los Pinos mountains on September 4th
Gorum_140904_0001 by bgorum, on FlickrPrairie Rattlesnake out on the crawl on September 9th
Gorum_140904_0003 by bgorum, on FlickrGlossy Snake just after sunset. Some guy on a motorcycle stopped and watched me lying on the ground as I photographed this snake. Finally the guy said, “Oh, there’s a snake. I wondered what you were doing”.
Gorum_140904_0035 by bgorum, on FlickrNeonate Massasauga
Gorum_140911_0040 by bgorum, on FlickrOn September 11th I stopped and watched this Short-horned Lizard, hoping to photograph it eating harvester ants.
Gorum_140911_0051 by bgorum, on FlickrAt one point it went back into the vegetation where I couldn’t see it, but it made a quick movement and by the time I was able to maneuver for a view of it, it had almost completely consumed a grasshopper.
Gorum_140911_0073 by bgorum, on FlickrCruised a couple more Massasaugas that night
Gorum_140911_0076 by bgorum, on Flickrand a Plains Black-headed Snake
Gorum_141009_0051 by bgorum, on FlickrOctober 9th and a Differential Grasshopper on a Salt Cedar
Gorum_141009_0060_1 by bgorum, on FlickrVisited a den later that day and found a few snakes, including this young Black-tailed Rattlesnake
Gorum_141019_0085 by bgorum, on FlickrSame den on the 19th and I found more Blacktails and some Diamondbacks including these 2 in a crack
Gorum_141019_0088 by bgorum, on Flickrand this one out on the crawl
So that pretty much sums up my fairly uneventful summer. Its still good to get out and see herps, and birds, and landscapes though. I’m not complaining and who knows what 2015 will bring! Thanks for checking it out!
P.s., sorry for pandering by including the word Massasauga in the title. I am just unabashedly trying to get more views!
