2015 so far in NM, CA, AZ and CO...

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herpseeker1978
Posts: 1139
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 8:05 am
Location: Albuquerque

2015 so far in NM, CA, AZ and CO...

Post by herpseeker1978 »

This year has been a good year so far. It started out in January with this:
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Eastern Side-blotched Lizard (Uta stansburiana stejnegeri)

another:
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yet another:
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My first snake of the year was found in February, spring came early! Bill Gorum asked if I wanted to check out some dens he had found, so we hiked in to see what we could find. You can see some snow on the other side of the canyon:
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After hiking around for a while, Bill called over to me that he had found a snake:
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Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox)

He said that the previous fall he had found a blacktail close by. I looked in the adjacent crack and found this:
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Ornate Black-tailed Rattlesnake (Crotalus ornatus)
Here they are together:
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We also turned up a few of these:
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Schott's Tree Lizard (Urosaurus ornatus schottii)

While working I was training Jonathan and we discovered that we had a common interest in snakes and other critters! He found this while servicing a house:
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remains of a Western Long-nosed Snake (Rhinocheilus lecontei)

True to form for Albuquerque, we woke up one morning to this:
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Chloe wants to build a snowman

Another common lizard found while working:
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Southwestern Fence Lizard (Sceloporus cowlesi)

We decided to hit up some local dens:
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Desert Striped Whipsnake (Coluber taeniatus taeniatus)
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another Uta

I was training Jonathan again and he found this:
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New Mexico Gartersnake (Thamnophis sirtalis dorsalis)

We check some local ponds occasionally, this is what we found:
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Red-eared Slider (Trachemys scripta elegans)
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Found this in my backyard:
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another SB

We found out that Disneyland was having a special Frozen Fun area at California Adventure, so we used our tax refund to head out to SoCal. We met up with fellow-forum-member Phillip Clevinger to look for some things on the way out. We found some tracks:
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Sidewinder tracks

Found this under some trash:
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Dune Scorpion

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More tracks...likely a coachwhip or a patchnose

After seeing many flee from us quickly, we finally got one to pose for us:
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Mojave Fringe-toed Lizard (Uma scoparia) LIFER!!!!
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Phil took us to a spot to find this introduced lizard:
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Colorado River Tree Lizard (Urosaurus ornatus symmetricus) LIFER!!!!

Then onto our destination:
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Chloe was afraid of him and Kyle grabbed his nose!

After Disney, we met up with Phil again and also with some other forum members including Hellihooks and others. On the way up we found this DOR:
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San Diego Gopher Snake (Pituophis catenifer annectens)
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We got there and Jim told us to go check out the area and there were some birds I could show Chloe. We got down towards the bird pens when I heard a familiar sound:
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Diamondback

the guy wrangling it asked if I knew what it was, I said "atrox" and then added, "it doesn't belong here!" He told me I was right and then started bringing out more snakes:
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Southern Pacific Rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus helleri)
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Red Diamond Rattlesnake (Crotalus ruber)
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Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake (Crotalus mitchellii pyrrhus) thrown in the mix.

Everyone arrived and we began our hike.
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One of our first sightings was this:
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Blainville's Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma blainvillii) LIFER!!!!

These were on every other rock:
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Great Basin Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis longipes) LIFER!!!!

We found this in a creek:
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Boreal Toad (Anaxyrus boreas boreas) LIFER!!!!

We spotted this in a rocky area:
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Purple-backed Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus magister magister)

We saw this as well:
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Western Side-blotched Lizard (Uta stansburiana elegans)

We also saw a few of these guys around:
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Great Basin Collared Lizard (Crotaphytus bicinctores) LIFER!!!!
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We headed back to grab some lunch and the kids were acting up, so we were moving pretty quick, when Phil called Jim and said they had located a snake:
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Two-striped Gartersnake (Thamnophis hammondii) LIFER!!!!
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We had a good lunch of hot dogs and chips etc. and then headed out. We stopped to flip some cover:
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and found this:
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Desert Night Lizard (Xantusia vigilis vigilis) LIFER!!!!
I flipped several others, but only caught this one.

Also flipped this:
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Western Side-blotched Lizard (Uta stansburiana elegans)

We also found this on the way out:
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Southern Pacific Rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus helleri) DOR

and this DOR:
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gopher

We went cruising that night and the next and didn't get anything. On our way home, we met up with David Alvarado in AZ to do some herping. He had held onto a few snakes he had found recently so that I could photograph them:
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Sonoran Gopher Snake (Pituophis catenifer affinis)
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Mohave Rattlesnake (Crotalus scutulatus scutulatus)
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Variable Groundsnake (Sonora semiannulata semiannulata)
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We went for a hike and saw these:
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Great Basin Collared Lizard (Crotaphytus bicinctores)
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Great Basin Whiptail (Aspidoscelis tigris tigris)

We found this at a rest stop in AZ:
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Plateau Side-blotched Lizard (Uta stansburiana uniformis)

One day while working I cam across these:
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Wandering Gartersnake (Thamnophis elegans vagrans)
They were found in this:
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We set up the traps on the pueblo on a cold windy day:
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While working I came one of these:
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Sonoran Gopher Snake (Pituophis catenifer affinis)
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One night we were hanging out at my parents' house and my email is on my phone and one came with this picture:
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Prairie Rattlesnake (Crotalus viridis)
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We captured the snake and held on to it to release later.

Another gopher found while working:
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We have checked traps a couple times as well:
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Plains Spadefoot (Spea bombifrons)

Caught these guys in a funnel frap:
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Jonathan wanted to come and watch me release the prairie, so he came along:
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We went to a flip site I know and found these:
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Wandering
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We went back into town and cruised this:
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Desert Massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus edwardsii)

We went for a short hike on Memorial Day and found these:
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Round-tailed Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma modestum)
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We went afternoon cruising and found this:
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Western Long-nosed Snake (Rhinocheilus lecontei)
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We were photographing the longnose, when I saw a board. I found these underneath:
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Found this on the way home from work one night:
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Caught this while working one day:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/mdmJa ... 83-h681-no
Desert Grassland Whiptail (Aspidoscelis uniparens)

Found this up in Santa Fe:
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velox
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My friend Brendan wanted to take his son and his sister-in-law on a "snake hunt." I took them to my flip spot:
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Sonoran Gopher Snake (Pituophis catenifer affinis) and Lined Snake (Tropidoclonion lineatum)
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Variable Skink (Plestiodon multivirgatus epipleurotus)

Cruised this beauty:
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longnose

We took a trip to Denver to visit family and friends. We got some herping in and some other wildlife viewing as well:
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Bison
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Prairie Dog
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Deer
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Magpie

My wife thought it was funny that this sign was there and there was a dor:
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Craw-dads
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Swallow
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We went to Lunch at the Hard Rock:
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and then to the aquarium:
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We went outside of town to try to track down a hoggie and found this:
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Prairie Racerunner (Aspidoscelis sexlineata viridis)
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Bullsnake (Pituophis catenifer sayi)
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Prairie Lizard (Sceloporus consobrinus)

We got up the next morning and hit it again. We were walking along and Chloe (age 3) said she saw a snake. We look over and sure enough:
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Eastern Yellow-bellied Racer (Coluber constrictor flaviventris) DOA
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Ornate Box Turtle (Terrapene ornata ornata)
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Woodhouse's Toad (Anaxyrus woodhousii woodhousii)
As we were walking back to the car I was kind of bummed that we didn't get a hoggie, but I did get some box turtles a toad and some lizards. We got back to the car and I saw some concrete blocks that I had flipped the night before, but not that morning. The first one I flipped had this:
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Plains Hog-nosed Snake (Heterodon nasicus)
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Finally!

We didn't find much the rest of the trip, but we did see these on the way home:
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Pronghorn

After we got back, we decided to take a cruise because John had told us he was going. We didn't go as far south as he did, but we did alright.
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gopher
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prairie
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longnose
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SouthWestern Woodhouse's Toad (Anaxyrus woodhousii australis)
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Desert Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula splendida)
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Checkered Gartersnake (Thamnophis marcianus marcianus)
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Painted Desert Glossy Snake (Arizona elegans philipi)
14 snakes in all for that night!



Species list for the year:

Blainville's Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma blainvillii) LIFER!!!!
Boreal Toad (Anaxyrus boreas boreas) LIFER!!!!
Bullsnake (Pituophis catenifer sayi)
Checkered Gartersnake (Thamnophis marcianus marcianus)
Colorado River Tree Lizard (Urosaurus ornatus symmetricus) LIFER!!!!
Desert Massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus edwardsii)
Desert Night Lizard (Xantusia vigilis vigilis) LIFER!!!!
Desert Striped Whipsnake (Coluber taeniatus taeniatus)
Eastern Side-blotched Lizard (Uta stansburiana stejnegeri)
Eastern Yellow-bellied Racer (Coluber constrictor flaviventris) DOA
Great Basin Collared Lizard (Crotaphytus bicinctores) LIFER!!!!
Great Basin Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis longipes) LIFER!!!!
Great Basin Whiptail (Aspidoscelis tigris tigris)
Hernandez's Short-horned Lizard (Phrynosoma hernandesi hernandesi)
Lined Snake (Tropidoclonion lineatum)
Mojave Fringe-toed Lizard (Uma scoparia) LIFER!!!!
New Mexico Gartersnake (Thamnophis sirtalis dorsalis)
Ornate Black-tailed Rattlesnake (Crotalus ornatus)
Ornate Box Turtle (Terrapene ornata ornata)
Plains Hog-nosed Snake (Heterodon nasicus) LIFER!!!!
Plains Spadefoot (Spea bombifrons)
Plateau Striped Whiptail (Aspidoscelis velox)
Plateau Side-blotched Lizard (Uta stansburiana uniformis)
Prairie Lizard (Sceloporus consobrinus)
Prairie Racerunner (Aspidoscelis sexlineata viridis)
Purple-backed Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus magister magister)
Red-eared Slider (Trachemys scripta elegans)
Round-tailed Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma modestum)
San Diego Gopher Snake (Pituophis catenifer annectens) DOR
Schott's Tree Lizard (Urosaurus ornatus schottii)
Sonoran Gopher Snake (Pituophis catenifer affinis)
Southern Pacific Rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus helleri) DOR
Southwestern Fence Lizard (Sceloporus cowlesi)
SouthWestern Woodhouse's Toad (Anaxyrus woodhousii australis)
Two-striped Gartersnake (Thamnophis hammondii) LIFER!!!!
Variable Skink (Plestiodon multivirgatus epipleurotus)
Wandering Gartersnake (Thamnophis elegans vagrans)
Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox)
Western Long-nosed Snake (Rhinocheilus lecontei)
Western Side-blotched Lizard (Uta stansburiana elegans)
Woodhouse's Toad (Anaxyrus woodhousii woodhousii)

Thanks for looking!
User avatar
shredsteban
Posts: 199
Joined: April 7th, 2012, 8:53 pm
Location: Riverside, Ca

Re: 2015 so far in NM, CA, AZ and CO...

Post by shredsteban »

Great post. Lots of variety. Congratulations on all of those lifers too!
bgorum
Posts: 619
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 6:46 am
Location: Albuquerque, NM
Contact:

Re: 2015 so far in NM, CA, AZ and CO...

Post by bgorum »

Very cool! I didn't even know you guys went to Cali. Looks like it was a good trip.
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JEDDLV
Posts: 69
Joined: April 28th, 2013, 1:54 pm
Location: Las Vegas, Nv.

Re: 2015 so far in NM, CA, AZ and CO...

Post by JEDDLV »

Good stuff, thanks for sharing
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