REPOST: My winter in Norcal...homesick from crummy Florida.

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liucommajames
Posts: 98
Joined: June 8th, 2010, 11:46 am

REPOST: My winter in Norcal...homesick from crummy Florida.

Post by liucommajames »

So i moved to florida to help out with a friend's research project and while anoles and ratsnakes are a nice distraction, i'm starting to get homesick for bay area herps. in remembrance of those awesome animals, here's a set of pics from my winter in the south bay. And for the record, CA >>>> FL.

So being from norcal, i find it sad i've never photographed animals from my own backyard. I grew up with them and i guess i just took them for granted. anyway, i was psyched this season to revisit my old stomping grounds and look for all the animals i used to call my friends.

I recently moved back from LA and first things first, took a buddy up to a local lake for his first ever herping adventure. think we got some rain?

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habitat pics

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the usual suspects were out…

taricha torso, the tetrodotoxin terror. (alliteration is fun! i mean…alliterations are awesome!)

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(Which reminds me...Have you heard the one about the guy who walks into a bar with a newt on his shoulder?

He asks the bartender for a drink and the bartender quickly shoots back, "hey no wild animals allowed in here!"

The guy calmly replies, "he's no wild animal, he's my pet newt "Tiny.""

The bar tender then asks, "why'd you name your newt Tiny?"

and the guy plainly answers, "because he's MINUTE!")


MI-NUTE. MYYYY-NEWTTTT. get it?!?! bah, forget it.

Back to herps...the yellow-eyes, looking as adorable as ever were under every log.

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this one in particular loved all the attention and decided to pose

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my buddy finding his first newt. probably a bigger test of manhood than his barmitzvah, in my opinion. i welcomed him to the herping club by showing him the secret herper's handshake and knighting him with my snakehook.

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look how happy he is. a quick side note…I usually take first timers to see photogenic, cute herpes like CA newts. it makes them get close and feel less grossed out i find. plus, no one can complain about a newt migration experience.

triple flip!

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a real big guy

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random bird torn to shreds. must've been a big newt. ...a big NEWT. ...i'll be here all week.

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first slender of the year!

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my friend thought mule deer are as cool as herpes…lame.

Next trip was to the santa cruz mountains on the valley side. more slenders and ensatina which i didn't stop to photograph. here are habitat pics.

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lots of ladybugs

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but then the target species...

dicamps! here's a 3 legged larve i found.

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and here's a huge adult i found, but anyone know what's wrong with it? obviously sick and dying, but can anyone tell what it is?

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decent trip for late december…

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on the way back home we stopped at safeway for some maple bars and flipped this guy

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another reason i love the bay area is because it has great riding weather. took the old toy out for a spin. hard to fit a snake hook on 2 wheels though…

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lots of invasives.

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here's a pleasant sight though.

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and here's a sight that never gets old.

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and i think i woke this guy up.

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it must be my birthday. another dicamp.

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snake food, but no snakes…

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then the last trip of the season, before i took off for florida for a research project, i met up with owen from the forum and he showed me and a friend around his stomping grounds. My target was a CA tiger, but i wasn't holding my breath.

cue the sharptails…

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california poppies to stage center….

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While it was overcast and chilly, we managed to flip white a few lizards

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I love seeing the variability of pacific chorus frogs

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It was nearing the afternoon after this haul and by this time i was starting to get pretty hungry. This guy had the right idea.

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And here was a nice garnish to top off lunch. some oregano under some AC.

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Then my friend flipped his first snake. IT WAS ENORMOUS.






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some pond turtles thought they'd have some fun at my expense. the ol' "hang out and dive in just as you get close enough for a decent shot." i wasn't amused.

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and just as i was about to give up hope for finding any traces of tigers (amongst the gallons of "black sperm things" as my friend so aptly described...)

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and just because it's not often you have someone out there with you to take herping "action" shots here's one i kinda liked my friend took.

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as is becoming one of my favorite herping traditions, a jumping photo to celebrate the day's haul.

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soulsurvivor
Posts: 530
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 9:09 am
Location: NE Florida
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Re: REPOST: My winter in Norcal...homesick from crummy Flori

Post by soulsurvivor »

Very nice post, and awesome animals! Although I must say I have the opposite problem as you.......I'm stuck in crummy norcal and homesick for my native territory of northeast Florida. :roll:
reako45
Posts: 542
Joined: June 12th, 2010, 9:38 am

Re: REPOST: My winter in Norcal...homesick from crummy Flori

Post by reako45 »

Great post. Always wanted to herp NorCal.

reako45
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BenIsAlive
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Re: REPOST: My winter in Norcal...homesick from crummy Flori

Post by BenIsAlive »

wow. I don't see pictures of most of that stuff much. Awesome!
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