My 2014 herping was all spent in the southwest this year, starting in Southern California and then moving through Nevada, Utah, and Arizona.
This will be mostly a photo post and I will keep the commentary to minimum, unless you have any questions.
I hope you enjoy.
California:
San Diego Gopher Snake
Large-blotched Ensatina
Another high elevation San Diego Gopher Snake
San Diego Mountain Kingsnake
San Diego Mountain Kingsnake
Southern Pacific Rattlesnake
Red Diamond rattlesnake
Red Diamond Rattlesnake
Utah:
Long-nosed Leopard Lizard
Always a good sign to find the tracks of your target species. (Gila Monster tracks)
Banded Gila Monster (Utah)
Banded Gila Monster (Utah)
California Kingsnake
California Kingsnake
Nevada:
Spotted Leaf-nosed Snake
Big Horn Sheep
Desert Tortoise
Speckled Rattlesnake
Desert Horned Lizard
Desert Horned Lizard
Banded Gila Monster (Nevada)
Banded Gila Monster (Nevada)
Coachwhip hunting a Desert Iguana (Iguana in top right of the photo)
Coachwhip hiding in a cactus
Desert Tortoise
Speckled Rattlesnake
Desert Horned Lizard
Speckled Rattlesnake
Arizona: I spent about a week in Arizona this year and had some good success
Gila Monster (Found walking down a wash in Southern Arizona)
Gila Monster
Desert Tortoise (Found only about 10 yards away from the Gila Monster above. Another Desert Tortoise was seen only a few yards away from this one. It turned out to be the morning of the tortoise since we spotted a few more during this hike, I think it was 5 or 6 total.)
Sonoran Whipsnake (found in a tree while looking for a different snake)
Brown Vinesnake (The other snake we were looking for in the trees)
Brown Vinesnake
2nd Brown Vinesnake (We found two that day before moving on to another area)
Tiny Tiger Rattlesnake
Another Tiger rattlesnake
Baby Gila Monster (Not a very good photo, but it was a cool little Gila. I had never seen a baby before this. It was about 6 inches total length.)
Sonoran Gopher Snake
Mohave Rattlesnake
Banded Rock Rattlesnake (found basking at the base of a tree with no rocks or cover nearby, it was really easy to spot)
Banded Rock Rattlesnake (Another look)
Banded Rock Rattlesnake
Ridge-nosed Rattlesnakes
Madrean Alligator Lizard
Sonoran Whipsnake
New Mexico Threadsnake
Desert Massasauga (It was awesome to find one in Arizona)
Desert Massasauga (A view from above)
Hooded Night Snake
Black-tailed Rattlesnake
Western Diamondback Rattlesnake
Banded Rock Rattlesnake
Banded Rock Rattlesnake
Ornate Box Turtle
Ornate Box Turtle
Western Diamondback Rattlesnake
Ornate Box Turtle (The day of the Box Turtle since we saw 8 different turtles that morning)
Ornate Box Turtle
Ornate Box Turtle
Texas Horned Lizard
Mohave Rattlesnake (Plenty of these)
Mohave Rattlesnake
Twin Spotted Rattlesnake (From the northern part of their range)
Black-tailed Rattlesnake
A nice Yuma phase California Kingsnake
Same snake
Green Rat Snake (Found out on the crawl near a stream at about 9am)
Green Rat Snake
Some habitat shots along the way.
(Utah)
(Nevada)
(Nevada)
(Nevada)
(Nevada)
(Nevada)
(Nevada)
(Arizona)
(Arizona)
(Arizona)
(Arizona)
(Arizona)
(Arizona)
(Arizona)
And my first snake of 2015, from January, was… A Rosy Boa (What a surprise)
Thanks for looking
Devin
2014 - The Southwest (CA, NV, UT, and AZ)
Moderator: Scott Waters
- DevinBergquist
- Posts: 52
- Joined: May 26th, 2014, 10:15 am
- Location: Southern California
Re: 2014 - The Southwest (CA, NV, UT, and AZ)
Devin,
Phenomenal photographs and excellent finds. Great to see all of these full sized on a screen (as opposed to the small images on instagram).
That baby Gila is just adorable!
Phenomenal photographs and excellent finds. Great to see all of these full sized on a screen (as opposed to the small images on instagram).
That baby Gila is just adorable!
Re: 2014 - The Southwest (CA, NV, UT, and AZ)
Awesome photog dude Diggin the box turtle variation and that blacktail shot.
Re: 2014 - The Southwest (CA, NV, UT, and AZ)
WOW I can't even imagine success like that. It was like reading a herping guidebook showing every cool species one could find. I hope to someday see half those species. well done
Re: 2014 - The Southwest (CA, NV, UT, and AZ)
Beautiful work, the Sonoran whip snake is one of several stunning photos. The Nevada banded gila equally so...You really have this figured out, I hope to be so fortunate.
Vic
Vic
- DevinBergquist
- Posts: 52
- Joined: May 26th, 2014, 10:15 am
- Location: Southern California
Re: 2014 - The Southwest (CA, NV, UT, and AZ)
Zach, Thanks for your comments. The baby Gila was awesome, I had always wanted to see a baby Gila so it was really cool to finally check that off.
Porter, Thanks man. It was interesting to see all the variation in the box turtles that were all found within a close proximity to each other.
Neil M, it was a fun year, I appreciate your comments. Hopefully 2015 is even better.
Vic, Thank you very much. I am kind of a Gila nut so it was awesome to target and find Gilas in both Utah and Nevada, probably my favorite finds of the year.
Devin
Porter, Thanks man. It was interesting to see all the variation in the box turtles that were all found within a close proximity to each other.
Neil M, it was a fun year, I appreciate your comments. Hopefully 2015 is even better.
Vic, Thank you very much. I am kind of a Gila nut so it was awesome to target and find Gilas in both Utah and Nevada, probably my favorite finds of the year.
Devin
Re: 2014 - The Southwest (CA, NV, UT, and AZ)
Beautiful photography. Awesome assortment of finds and good going on the gila monsters. Still have never seen one.
Re: 2014 - The Southwest (CA, NV, UT, and AZ)
Great photos! I like the black-tailed the best if I had to pick.
Another Visual Feast
I've enjoyed many posts on this forum, but this one is Uncommonly interesting.
The way that you arranged texture along with color is stunning. The canyon shots of AZ look like one of my ideal locations. (It's hard to beat a desert canyon for hiking & hanging out for the day - or week - or month.)
The Yuma Cal King was my first good photo of such a specimen.
I also recognize some of the spots. I lived in SoCal for 10 years, and in the Las Vegas area for a few months.
This was a true gem of a post, and the photos are Stunning.
The way that you arranged texture along with color is stunning. The canyon shots of AZ look like one of my ideal locations. (It's hard to beat a desert canyon for hiking & hanging out for the day - or week - or month.)
The Yuma Cal King was my first good photo of such a specimen.
I also recognize some of the spots. I lived in SoCal for 10 years, and in the Las Vegas area for a few months.
This was a true gem of a post, and the photos are Stunning.
- SurfinHerp
- Posts: 653
- Joined: October 18th, 2010, 8:55 pm
- Location: San Diego, CA
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Re: 2014 - The Southwest (CA, NV, UT, and AZ)
Awesome Devin!
Incredible photos of almost all of my favorite herps, in one post
Incredible photos of almost all of my favorite herps, in one post
- Jeroen Speybroeck
- Posts: 826
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- Location: Belgium
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Re: 2014 - The Southwest (CA, NV, UT, and AZ)
Nice! What's up with the rosy's eye, though?
- DevinBergquist
- Posts: 52
- Joined: May 26th, 2014, 10:15 am
- Location: Southern California
Re: 2014 - The Southwest (CA, NV, UT, and AZ)
Roki, thank you for the comments. Gila's are well worth the wait, your first one will definitely be a memorable experience.
Semasko, Black-tailed are awesome, thanks.
Ameron, Thank you for your comments, they are much appreciated. The southwest is a special place to herp and explore, that's for sure.
SurfinHerp, Thank you, it was a fun year. Hopefully 2015 is even more fun. I have always enjoyed your San Diego posts, especially since I am down there often, keep it up.
Jeroen, Thank you. To be honest I am not real sure what is up with the Rosy's eye. It looked to have a fairly fresh shed, maybe it was left over from the eye cap? Not sure though since I haven't seen that before, otherwise it was a healthy and large boa, so I guess everything was ok. Maybe some of the other boa experts on here might have seen that before or know why it is like that?
Devin
Semasko, Black-tailed are awesome, thanks.
Ameron, Thank you for your comments, they are much appreciated. The southwest is a special place to herp and explore, that's for sure.
SurfinHerp, Thank you, it was a fun year. Hopefully 2015 is even more fun. I have always enjoyed your San Diego posts, especially since I am down there often, keep it up.
Jeroen, Thank you. To be honest I am not real sure what is up with the Rosy's eye. It looked to have a fairly fresh shed, maybe it was left over from the eye cap? Not sure though since I haven't seen that before, otherwise it was a healthy and large boa, so I guess everything was ok. Maybe some of the other boa experts on here might have seen that before or know why it is like that?
Devin
- chris_mcmartin
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Re: 2014 - The Southwest (CA, NV, UT, and AZ)
Check your PMs...
-
- Posts: 4
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Re: 2014 - The Southwest (CA, NV, UT, and AZ)
Awesome, thanks for sharing
- DevinBergquist
- Posts: 52
- Joined: May 26th, 2014, 10:15 am
- Location: Southern California
Re: 2014 - The Southwest (CA, NV, UT, and AZ)
Chris, I checked my PMs sorry it took a few days, thanks.
Viperas.de, Thanks for looking and commenting.
Devin
Viperas.de, Thanks for looking and commenting.
Devin
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Re: 2014 - The Southwest (CA, NV, UT, and AZ)
Best post I've seen in a long while. just outstanding, in all respects. jim
Re: 2014 - The Southwest (CA, NV, UT, and AZ)
Killing it Devin. Can't wait to meet up and find some more stuff.
Amazing collection of photos as always.
Amazing collection of photos as always.
- DevinBergquist
- Posts: 52
- Joined: May 26th, 2014, 10:15 am
- Location: Southern California
Re: 2014 - The Southwest (CA, NV, UT, and AZ)
Jim, Thank you very much for your comments, they are much appreciated. I am glad you enjoyed it.
Jason, thanks man, 2014 was a good year. We'll have to get out again this year, let me know when you have a free weekend. Things are really picking up in Southern California.
-Devin
Jason, thanks man, 2014 was a good year. We'll have to get out again this year, let me know when you have a free weekend. Things are really picking up in Southern California.
-Devin