A Sweet Little Fall AZ Trip

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Steve Barten
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Joined: June 7th, 2010, 5:13 pm
Location: NE Illinois

A Sweet Little Fall AZ Trip

Post by Steve Barten »

In September a small group visited southern AZ for a few days of herping. We rented a picturesque cabin in the mountains and enjoyed good food, good weather, beautiful scenery, and good friends. We didn’t kill ourselves herping 24/7, but enjoyed the moment. We didn’t see huge numbers of our targets but we did have a few choice finds.

This was our view as we ate breakfast.
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Climb up to the talus they said. It will be fun, they said. My legs were sore for the rest of the trip and we found nothing.
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View from the top
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A promising canyon
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One of our first finds, a mountain king on the crawl
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Close up
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After a couple photos, she retreated into her hole
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Heard what sounded like a refrigerator running, saw this:
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A promising rock
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Checked the crack and saw this:
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Lifted the rock for a quick shot of this juvenile black-tailed rattlesnake with a food bulge, then gently replaced it.
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We found some gophersnakes while road cruising. First an adult.
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Juvenile
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We saw a number of atrox on the roads
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Nice rattle
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Neonate
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Mojaves were the most common species we saw on the roads.
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Juvenile
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POed
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Side of the road, we heard him as we drove by
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Mountain stream
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Lepidus found near the stream
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Black-necked gartersnake found near the stream
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Found in the driveway to our cabin: my lifer regal ringneck.
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Road cruising at night, saw a black snake silhouetted against the white line on the side of the road: a Yuma-phase kingsnake.
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A pretty Long-nosed snake with a food bulge
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A good spot while road cruising: this tiny hatchling glossy snake crawling off the road into the grass, and we were able to locate him after we stopped.
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Neonate Texas horned lizard tries to blend in
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Yarrow’s spiny lizard
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This Clark’s spiny lizard was warming up and watching us eat breakfast
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Some amphibs: Chiricahua leopard frog
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Newly transformed red-spotted toad
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A little rain brought some amphibs out at night: Great Plains toad
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Sonoran Desert toad
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Anna’s hummingbird
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Broad-billed hummingbird
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Anna’s hummingbirds
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Bacon on the hoof
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Robber flies: cannibal or love in?
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Spider love
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Thanks for looking.
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Blacktail31
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Joined: March 2nd, 2013, 4:47 pm
Location: Tucson Arizona

Re: A Sweet Little Fall AZ Trip

Post by Blacktail31 »

AWESOME post to see on a cold Midwestern night! Cant wait to get back to good old Arizona!
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AndyKraemer
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Joined: March 21st, 2012, 7:04 am
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Re: A Sweet Little Fall AZ Trip

Post by AndyKraemer »

Great post! I really need to get myself over to the SW!
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TravisK
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Joined: July 8th, 2010, 11:14 am
Location: Eastern Washington

Re: A Sweet Little Fall AZ Trip

Post by TravisK »

Steve Barten wrote:Neonate Texas horned lizard tries to blend in

*Neonate Texas horned lizard blends in*
Fixed

Great post, that ring neck is spectacular.
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Neiloss
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Re: A Sweet Little Fall AZ Trip

Post by Neiloss »

Great stuff - fantastic first hummingbird shot.
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ThamnElegans24
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Joined: November 23rd, 2010, 6:44 pm
Location: Mesa, Arizona

Re: A Sweet Little Fall AZ Trip

Post by ThamnElegans24 »

Great stuff! Love the ringneck. Thanks for sharing.
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Steve Barten
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Joined: June 7th, 2010, 5:13 pm
Location: NE Illinois

Re: A Sweet Little Fall AZ Trip

Post by Steve Barten »

Thanks, everyone. I've been to southern AZ a number of times but had never seen a ringneck there before. This one was in the driveway of the place where we were staying and it couldn't have been easier to find.

Thanks, TravisK for fixing my wording - that horned lizard was the size of a quarter and he did blend in! We watched him run and he seemed to disappear when he stopped. One of our group found him when we stopped to photograph a big Mojave in the road.

It was fun to put this together during this arctic blast. That first spring herping trip can't come too soon.
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Berkeley Boone
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Re: A Sweet Little Fall AZ Trip

Post by Berkeley Boone »

What a show! I need to get out to AZ again. I've only been once, and I lost all of my pictures from that trip.

Great finds. That AZ mountain king was pretty sweet, and the photos of the hummingbirds were really great, especially the Anna's in flight! The feather detail in that picture is mind blowing!
Steve Barten wrote:Climb up to the talus they said. It will be fun, they said. My legs were sore for the rest of the trip and we found nothing.
That was hilarious! Thanks for the chuckle! Sounds like my luck if I were to get out there...
--Berkeley
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DevinBergquist
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Joined: May 26th, 2014, 10:15 am
Location: Southern California

Re: A Sweet Little Fall AZ Trip

Post by DevinBergquist »

Looks like a fun trip and you did well with some cool finds. That Yuma King was sweet.

By the way I recognize that very spot in your photo labeled "Mountain Stream" Beautiful area, one of my favorite spots in the Chiricahuas. Check out the background in the photo below, look familiar?

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Fundad
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Re: A Sweet Little Fall AZ Trip

Post by Fundad »

Really Nice Shots..

Fundad
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LouB747
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Joined: June 7th, 2010, 8:50 am
Location: Huntington Beach, CA

Re: A Sweet Little Fall AZ Trip

Post by LouB747 »

Great post. I hear AZ calling my name this year!
NACairns
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Re: A Sweet Little Fall AZ Trip

Post by NACairns »

Great stuff, man I miss those mountains. Thanks for the trip.
Nick
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Chad M. Lane
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Location: Manteca, CA

Re: A Sweet Little Fall AZ Trip

Post by Chad M. Lane »

Great stuff!
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Jeremy Westerman
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Re: A Sweet Little Fall AZ Trip

Post by Jeremy Westerman »

fantastic crypsis in that horned lizard photo. I used it on Facebook (credited of course) as an educational example. Hope you don't mind.
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