Well this one is a bit more on time than the last. February was pretty sweet. I found a good number of snakes and other cool stuff. The rain has made the grass really lush and green.
February started off strong, early in the month I headed out to Riverside and within fifteen minutes of exiting the car, I fipped my first snake of the year for me.
Coastal Rosy Boa (Lichanura trivirgata roseofusca) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
Coastal Rosy Boa (Lichanura trivirgata roseofusca) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
Coastal Rosy Boa (Lichanura trivirgata roseofusca) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
Coastal Rosy Boa (Lichanura trivirgata roseofusca) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
Coastal Rosy Boa (Lichanura trivirgata roseofusca) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
I also found a few ruber visually, as well as a nightsnake under a rock.
Red Diamond Rattlesnake (Crotalus ruber) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
Red Diamond Rattlesnake (Crotalus ruber) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
Red Diamond Rattlesnake (Crotalus ruber) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
Red Diamond Rattlesnake (Crotalus ruber) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
San Diego Nightsnake (Hypsiglena ochrorhyncha klauberi) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
San Diego Nightsnake (Hypsiglena ochrorhyncha klauberi) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
San Diego Nightsnake (Hypsiglena ochrorhyncha klauberi) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
San Diego Nightsnake (Hypsiglena ochrorhyncha klauberi) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
San Diego Nightsnake (Hypsiglena ochrorhyncha klauberi) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
San Diego Nightsnake (Hypsiglena ochrorhyncha klauberi) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
A couple days later I got to see this legless lizard.
Southern California Legless Lizard (Aniella stebbinsi) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
Southern California Legless Lizard (Aniella stebbinsi) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
Southern California Legless Lizard (Aniella stebbinsi) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
The following weekend, we headed back to Riverside County with Jeremy where I found a couple more rosies as well as some other critters.
Coastal Rosy Boa (Lichanura trivirgata roseofusca) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
Coastal Rosy Boa (Lichanura trivirgata roseofusca) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
Coastal Rosy Boa (Lichanura trivirgata roseofusca) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
Coastal Rosy Boa (Lichanura trivirgata roseofusca) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
Jeremy flipped this gorgeous gecko.
San Diego Banded Gecko (Coleonyx abbotti) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
San Diego Banded Gecko (Coleonyx abbotti) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
That evening we spontaneously decided to search for Spadefoots with Daniel Smith.
We found a lot of eggs which seemed like a good sign.
Western Spadefoot (Spea hammondii) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
At last Jeremy spotted this little guy.
Western Spadefoot (Spea hammondii) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
Western Spadefoot (Spea hammondii) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
Western Spadefoot (Spea hammondii) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
Western Spadefoot (Spea hammondii) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
Western Spadefoot (Spea hammondii) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
On the drive out Daniel spotted a second lighter one on the road.
Western Spadefoot (Spea hammondii) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
Western Spadefoot (Spea hammondii) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
After school midweek I found a nice arboreal under an unexpected log as it was situated in the sun. Just goes to show how much rain we've been getting.
I would like this shot if it wasn't for the ring flash reflection in the eye.
Arboreal Salamander (Aneides lugubris) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
Arboreal Salamander (Aneides lugubris) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
I flipped another unexpected whiptail. This time I had a better camera.
Coastal Whiptail (Aspidoscelis tigris stejnegri) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
In the later part of the month, I hit the field with Greg Litiatco (Gopher) and we headed to Riverside yet again where I flipped another two rosies.
I thought this one was very orange, at least for me.
Coastal Rosy Boa (Lichanura trivirgata roseofusca) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
Coastal Rosy Boa (Lichanura trivirgata roseofusca) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
Coastal Rosy Boa (Lichanura trivirgata roseofusca) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
Coastal Rosy Boa (Lichanura trivirgata roseofusca) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
Coastal Rosy Boa (Lichanura trivirgata roseofusca) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
#2
Coastal Rosy Boa (Lichanura trivirgata roseofusca) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
San Diego Banded Gecko (Coleonyx abbotti) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
On the last weekend of February, Jeremy and I went down to SD county to check some ac in a couple different spots. We actually flipped between twenty and thirty snakes, mostly ringnecks but also some other species.
San Diego Ringnecked Snake (Diadophis punctatus similis) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
San Diego Ringnecked Snake (Diadophis punctatus similis) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
San Diego Ringnecked Snake (Diadophis punctatus similis) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
San Diego Ringnecked Snake (Diadophis punctatus similis) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
San Diego Ringnecked Snake (Diadophis punctatus similis) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
San Diego Ringnecked Snake (Diadophis punctatus similis) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
Southern Pacific Rattlesnake (Crotalus organus helleri) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
Southern Pacific Rattlesnake (Crotalus organus helleri) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
Southern Pacific Rattlesnake (Crotalus organus helleri) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
Southern Pacific Rattlesnake (Crotalus organus helleri) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
Southern Pacific Rattlesnake (Crotalus organus helleri) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
California Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula californiae) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
California Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula californiae) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
California Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula californiae) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
The highlight of the day was this striped king that Jeremy flipped. It was both of our first live striper. It proved to be a difficult snake to photograph, but I squeezed a couple nice shots out of it.
Ball python by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
California Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula californiae) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
California Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula californiae) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
California Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula californiae) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
California Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula californiae) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
California Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula californiae) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
That's all herp wise, here are some non-herps.
Fiddle-necks by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
Can anyone ID this birdy?
Birdy by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
Western Black Widow (Latrodectus hesperus) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
Wild Mustard and European honey bee (Apis mellifera) by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
Mustard and Fiddle-necks by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
Cloudy Sunset by
NicholasHess, on Flickr
So it's safe to say February was a pretty great month for me. Unfortunately it appears that the rains have died down a bit, but hopefully it'll pick up again in March.
I hope you enjoyed!
Nicholas