Westchester finds

Dedicated exclusively to field herping.

Moderator: Scott Waters

Post Reply
User avatar
shredsteban
Posts: 199
Joined: April 7th, 2012, 8:53 pm
Location: Riverside, Ca

Westchester finds

Post by shredsteban »

I was able to get out of the city last Wednesday to do some herping. Went up north about 30min in Westchester County. I flipped this Ringneck and a friend flipped 2 racers that both got away from him.

I was really hoping to see Copperheads or Timbers that day, but I am not familiar with their habits. In California, I would find a lot of various pit vipers around rock outcroppings, talus slides, manmade rock dams etc. Is that the same thing with the pit vipers on the east coast? I thought for sure that I'd see at least a Copperhead or two basking. There were a lot of rocks where we were. Am I missing something? Of course, I could probably research it online and I've done myself a disservice by assuming their habits based on my experience in California.

ImageNorthern Ringneck Snake (Diadophis punctuates edwardsii) by Nick Barrientos, on Flickr

ImageNorthern Ringneck Snake (Diadophis punctuates edwardsii) by Nick Barrientos, on Flickr
User avatar
cbernz
Posts: 547
Joined: March 16th, 2011, 12:28 pm
Location: New Jersey
Contact:

Re: Westchester finds

Post by cbernz »

Yeah, it's the same out here - they like rocks. I usually see them on exposed rocky ridgetops with lots of strewn boulders. I think the sad truth is that there is a whole lot more good looking habitat than there is occupied habitat. Even in places where I see pitvipers, I won't see them every time, even when conditions seem good.
User avatar
shredsteban
Posts: 199
Joined: April 7th, 2012, 8:53 pm
Location: Riverside, Ca

Re: Westchester finds

Post by shredsteban »

cbernz wrote: I think the sad truth is that there is a whole lot more good looking habitat than there is occupied habitat.
Thanks, this is especially helpful. I've never thought of that. Virtually every outcropping in California is occupied by something, at least in Riverside County.
User avatar
Kyle from Carolina
Posts: 221
Joined: May 3rd, 2012, 8:12 pm
Location: western MA and NC

Re: Westchester finds

Post by Kyle from Carolina »

The pitvipers are harder to come by in this part of the country compared to the west. Also, the coppers like to bask beneath leaf litter, so you may not see them even when they are 'out'. When I spent time out west, I became envious of how readily they were encountered with minimal effort. Definitely not the case in the upper northeast.
Post Reply