2016 review: Oregon, Costa Rica, Idaho, Michigan, Snake Road

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the_cw1
Posts: 138
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Location: Utah
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2016 review: Oregon, Costa Rica, Idaho, Michigan, Snake Road

Post by the_cw1 »

So this has been a wildly eventful year. I started it living in Portland Oregon with too much money and time on my hands so I, due to boredom, decided to herp Costa Rica. Now, here I am living in Michigan attending a masters program for philosophy. What a world. I'm doing well academically, so with that stress out of the way I thought it would be fun to do a year in review post. I saw tons of species this year, more than I ever have, so this will be long and sort of all over the place.

This will try to be in chronological order, so I'll jumping locations quite frequently. And, as well, my photography got much better as the year went on. It's a rewarding hobby, haha. All in all it was a wonderful year and I hope to make some more connections in SW Michigan. Seems like there are not too many herpers here, but a man can dream.

(FYI, I started this year without having species names but added them over time. I'm not interested in adding them post hoc. And many of these are going to be reposts, but I don't mind much. I love looking over other folks' posts and I want to spread the holiday cheer while we're all most indoors, haha)

Hope you enjoy the pics! I'm not big on stories., unfortunately, but I love telling them in person.

My highlights of the year:
Copperheads
Eyelash vipers
Eastern Massasaugas
And a big ass Fer-de-lance that swam away without a picture.

Oregon
I started the year looking for garters and chorus frogs. Portland has some wonderful sites that I miss so much being back in MI. It's hard to appreciate just how much *room* there is out west.

Imageoregon_chorus_frog1_macro by Derek Halm, on Flickr

Imageoregon_long_toed_salamander_1_macro by Derek Halm, on Flickr

Imageoregon_gartersnake_macro2 by Derek Halm, on Flickr

Imageoregon_chorus_frog2_macro by Derek Halm, on Flickr

Imageoregon_gartersnake_macro4 by Derek Halm, on Flickr

Imageoregon_long_toed_salamander_2_macro by Derek Halm, on Flickr

Costa Rica
I stayed on the Atlantic side. The first few nights were at the CRARC. Everyone should go there if they can. The next few days were spent near Cahuita and the tip near Panama. I loved the heat. Loved the ocean. And, of course, loved the herps.

CRARC
Imageagalychnis_callidryas by Derek Halm, on Flickr

Imagedragonfly_in_flight by Derek Halm, on Flickr

Imagerainforest_landscape by Derek Halm, on Flickr

Imagedenropobates_pumilio by Derek Halm, on Flickr

Imagegreat_potoo by Derek Halm, on Flickr

Imagedendropsophus_ebraccatus2 by Derek Halm, on Flickr

ImageRed Eye Stream Frog Macro (duellmanohyla uranochroa) by Derek Halm, on Flickr

Imagebothriechis_schlegelli by Derek Halm, on Flickr

Imagehyalinobatrachium_fleischmanni_macro_2 by Derek Halm, on Flickr

ImageGlass Frog Macro (hyalinobatrachium fleischmanni) by Derek Halm, on Flickr

Cahuita

Cahuita is calm and I met some wonderful people there. There was this french dude who was a herper and also a professional clown. What world!

ImageRaccoon Siesta by Derek Halm, on Flickr

Imageameiva_quadrilineatia2 by Derek Halm, on Flickr

Imagecapuchin_3 by Derek Halm, on Flickr

Imageiguana_iguana by Derek Halm, on Flickr

ImageEyelash Viper Macro by Derek Halm, on Flickr

Imagebothriechis_schlegelli_macro_4 by Derek Halm, on Flickr

Back to Oregon
When I came back to Oregon, the weather was warm enough (March) for critters to be out. You'll notice things start to head out to the desert after a certain point. Eastern Oregon has to be seen to be believed. Most of these shots are either near Portland or near my snake site in Oregon.

Imagejumping_spider_macro by Derek Halm, on Flickr

Imagegarter_snake_macro by Derek Halm, on Flickr

ImageSnail Waking Up by Derek Halm, on Flickr

ImageCrotalus Oreganus Macro Juvenile by Derek Halm, on Flickr

ImageCrotalus Oreganus Macro Adult by Derek Halm, on Flickr

ImageSunset in Wasco by Derek Halm, on Flickr

Imagelazy_fence_swift by Derek Halm, on Flickr

Imagecrotalus_oreganus by Derek Halm, on Flickr

Imagewhip_snake_macro by Derek Halm, on Flickr

Imagedeschutes_river_lanscape by Derek Halm, on Flickr

Imagegopher_snake by Derek Halm, on Flickr

ImageBaby Garter Snake Macro by Derek Halm, on Flickr

ImageDragonfly Macro by Derek Halm, on Flickr

ImageGopher Snake Macro by Derek Halm, on Flickr

(I went down to Corvalis and met R. Hoyer from the forums and he told me all about rubber boas and sharp tails. I recommend it for anyone here. Stand up dude with lots of knowledge)

ImageSharp Tail Snake by Derek Halm, on Flickr

ImageRubber Boa by Derek Halm, on Flickr

Idaho
I next went with the chapter trip out to Idaho with some awesome dudes. It was a wonderful time. Support your local chapter and get out there. I learned some interesting things and hope to reconnect with them when I come back after grad school (save the date spring/summer '18 guys)

ImageCut of the Earth by Derek Halm, on Flickr

ImageGreat Basin Rattlesnake - Crotalus Oreganus Lutosus by Derek Halm, on Flickr

ImageWhipsnake Macro by Derek Halm, on Flickr

ImageGreat Basin Rattlesnake - Crotalus Oreganus Lutosus by Derek Halm, on Flickr

ImageScreech Owl by Derek Halm, on Flickr

ImageSide Blotch Lizard by Derek Halm, on Flickr

ImageWoodhouse Toad Macro by Derek Halm, on Flickr

ImageKangaroo Rat Macro by Derek Halm, on Flickr

Oregon one last time

ImageGopher snake at sunset by Derek Halm, on Flickr

ImageHatchling gopher snake at sunset by Derek Halm, on Flickr

ImageNorthern pacific rattlesnake - crotalus oreganus oreganus macro by Derek Halm, on Flickr

Michigan
I grew up in Michigan but was not much of a herper after a certain age. I guess it comes in waves or something. Now, I enjoy getting out there and seeing what I can find. Considering I had never found massasaugas when I was a kid, it made it all the more important to find them and other critters.

ImageFrog Macro by Derek Halm, on Flickr

ImageHoneybee Macro by Derek Halm, on Flickr

ImageBlue-spotted Salamander (Ambystoma laterale) Macro by Derek Halm, on Flickr

ImageNorthern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon) by Derek Halm, on Flickr

ImageNorthern Ribbon Snake (Thamnophis sauritus septentrionalis) Detail in Tree by Derek Halm, on Flickr

ImageEastern Massasauga Rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus catenatus) by Derek Halm, on Flickr

ImageEastern Massasauga Rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus catenatus) by Derek Halm, on Flickr

ImageEastern Massasauga Rattlesnake (Sistrurus catenatus catenatus) by Derek Halm, on Flickr

ImageMantis Macro by Derek Halm, on Flickr

ImageNorthern Leopard Frog (Rana pipiens) Macro by Derek Halm, on Flickr

ImageBumble bee macro by Derek Halm, on Flickr

ImageJuvenile Northern Water Snake (Nerodia sipedon) Macro by Derek Halm, on Flickr

ImageBullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) in duckweed by Derek Halm, on Flickr

ImageHatchling Common Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina) by Derek Halm, on Flickr

ImageWhitford Lake by Derek Halm, on Flickr

ImageHatchling blue racer (Coluber constrictor foxii) by Derek Halm, on Flickr

Snake Road
And, finally, in between classes I made the drive down to the chapter meet on Snake Road. Lots of cool people willing to talk shop and enjoy the climate. It made me quite happy to see so many people so excited to see the one baby timber. :)

ImageNeonate Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus) by Derek Halm, on Flickr

ImageNeonate Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix) macro by Derek Halm, on Flickr

ImageCopperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix) by Derek Halm, on Flickr

ImageRough green snake (Opheodrys aestivus) by Derek Halm, on Flickr

ImageNeonate Cottonmouth (Agkistrodon piscivorus) macro by Derek Halm, on Flickr

ImageNeonate Timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) closeup by Derek Halm, on Flickr
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technoendo
Posts: 112
Joined: December 13th, 2014, 5:27 pm

Re: 2016 review: Oregon, Costa Rica, Idaho, Michigan, Snake

Post by technoendo »

What a year Derek! You have seen some great herping adventures sir.

When I met Derek in May the first thing that blew me away was how good his macro photographs are compared to anything I shoot. He goes for the shallow depth with the bokeh/blurred background and zooms right up the subjects nostrils as you can see. It had enough impact that I've been studying DSLM's, lenses, and plotting my move to incorporate these capabilities into my video work.

It was a bummer that you moved out of the pacific northwest as it was good fun herping with you, but I was impressed that just 2-3 weeks after arriving in Michigan you were already finding blue racers and massasaugas! I thought massasaugas were more elusive than that and that it would take you time to work up to it! Then you got out to snake road and met up with my favorite youtube herper Smetlogik (so jealous)!

Any lifers or sights on your list for 2017 you plan to chase?
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the_cw1
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Joined: April 2nd, 2015, 8:30 am
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Re: 2016 review: Oregon, Costa Rica, Idaho, Michigan, Snake

Post by the_cw1 »

Thanks man. technoendo is an awesome guy and if you make it up to the PNW anyone should look him up. Stand up dude. I hope you find the elusive ground snake one of these times. :beer:

I think the targets this year in SW Michigan are rat snakes, hognose, and ring-necked. These are all very difficult to find in this part of the state. On my last trip out to a site here near where I live I found a large shed by a field. I figure the racer had to be over 2 feet, which is quite nice. It's filled with toads and is quite sandy, so I'm hoping it delivers come April(ish). In the midwest, the winter gods have quite a bit of sway, haha.
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Will Wells
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Joined: June 18th, 2010, 5:32 am
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Re: 2016 review: Oregon, Costa Rica, Idaho, Michigan, Snake

Post by Will Wells »

Nice shots!
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