My End-Of-The-Year report...DU go make dinner

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ChrisNM
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My End-Of-The-Year report...DU go make dinner

Post by ChrisNM »

I've hemmed and hawwed over doing this for much longer, but in light of desertwalker's thread, I too have chosen to come out of the woodwork and participate in the end-of-the-year reports. Furthermore, aside from my standard adding of species, county, state, and date to my photographs I will also mention that all animals were found at 2 locations at the following UTM coords: 35 K 726621 E 7896037 S and 36 M 468771 E 9859322 S. Anyone with Google Earth can find these exact localities. To also add to the angst, all these photos are from 2010...that's twenty-ten, two thousand ten, dos mil diez, or MMX.

So let's start with May 2010.

May 2010: Early May I went out with a local friend with the hopes of possibly finding a milksnake, but no such luck.

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June 2010: Mid-June the same local friend and I headed down to the southeast corner of the state for some critters.

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July 2010: July 4th weekend my fiancée and I did a repeat of the prior month's southeast trip, only for us to be rained out. A few days later we'd head over to the Silver city area to attend the NMDG&F Commission Meeting with regards to NM's asinine law pertaining to importation of "exotic" species into the state. After being laid off (company went 4 mil into red) mid-month, my best friend took me out to one of his box turtle research plots utilized for his PhD work. A few days after I'd meet up with a lurker from the Midwest for some hoggie hunting.

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August 2010: Around mid-August I'd meet up with Pierson Hill and his father in an attempt to get Pierson his lifer prairie, something we'd knock out minutes after we split up to cover ground road cruising. Again, days later I'd depart for another, new in this instance, location with my best friend and my new found free time compliments of the previous month in tow.

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September 2010: Climbing the walls still unemployed, September started a week long trip to the southwest corner of NM, with a side jaunt into southeast AZ. I'd start out with meeting up with Crazins (Marisa) where I'd find her her lifer mexican hoggie, we'd shortly be joined up with my best friend (Ian) on his way out to desert tort research plots in AZ. The 3 of us would feebly strike out on an obscure animal. Marisa would leave us as she had to head back north for work for a few days. Ian and I would tool around in NM, where he and I would be accompanied with TimCo (Tim Warfel) and ErikNM (Erik McCormick) before Ian left for AZ. Tim, Erik, and myself would wind up hitting our target species (found by Tim) the morning Ian left for AZ. Having hit our NM target species, we'd book it for a wonderful mexican restaurant for horchatas and then north to spend the night a currently blazed SE AZ mountain range. From there we'd head up to Silver City to meet up with Marisa in hopes of scoring her a klauberi. I'd cut the fun short as I had to get back home to do some job searching/applying to meet my requirements of unemployment (I was at week 3 of it and though I know others have had it worse, I'd go to 10 weeks, over 50 jobs applied nationally [tough market for people with BS in Bio...and anyone for that matter], and only have 1 interview).

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EDIT: typos
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Kevin Messenger
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Re: My End-Of-The-Year report...DU go make dinner

Post by Kevin Messenger »

Awesome post! "Love" the DOR suboc. I don't think I've ever seen any pics of them other than TX animals. I also LOVE the last obscurus shot - the bifurcated button looks really cool
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Jason B
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Re: My End-Of-The-Year report...DU go make dinner

Post by Jason B »

Excellent variety and neat shots too. The luteola chowing down and the Aneides are my favorites.
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Re: My End-Of-The-Year report...DU go make dinner

Post by mikemike »

Great shots, Chris.
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Mike Rochford
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Re: My End-Of-The-Year report...DU go make dinner

Post by Mike Rochford »

Great stuff man. I enjoyed seeing the salamanders. Those are some critters I want to try for but haven't had time yet. I hear the Plethodon are tough (but I have no idea) so congrats on that if they are. Nice job on waiting so long to post! Maybe I'll post some 2009 stuff to one-up you!

Mike
Paul White
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Re: My End-Of-The-Year report...DU go make dinner

Post by Paul White »

some stunning photos. Still wish we'd found Hyla at the Mills Canyon trip.

C. willardi...oh man. And Senticolis, holy crap!
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Norman D
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Re: My End-Of-The-Year report...DU go make dinner

Post by Norman D »

Great photography! I love the obscurus & edwardsi shots! I love the head & tail on that baby obscurus! Also enjoyed the modestum, hoggies, & other crote shots!
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herpseeker1978
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Re: My End-Of-The-Year report...DU go make dinner

Post by herpseeker1978 »

Great post Chris! That is so awesome that you were able to get all 3 sallies in one long weekend! I need to find a Jemez next year. I live an hour from them and still have yet to turn one up! I'd also like to find a smooth green and a treefrog from that general area as well! Awesome shots man! Oh, my wife wanted me to remind you about the talus slope incident! I think her exact words were, "you suck!" :lol:

Later man,

Josh
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Cole Grover
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Re: My End-Of-The-Year report...DU go make dinner

Post by Cole Grover »

Un-friggin'-real photography. I sit here, coffee in hand, utterly shocked by the quality of your post. Nice stuff, Chris. I also enjoy your sarcasm - getting a bit of a writer's personality in a post can make a world of difference. Thanks for posting this (... and I don't give a shit if it's a year or ten years late).

-Cole
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monklet
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Re: My End-Of-The-Year report...DU go make dinner

Post by monklet »

Good as it gets :thumb: :thumb: :thumb: Love the southwest and your pics don't do anything to solve that problem. ;)
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Will Wells
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Re: My End-Of-The-Year report...DU go make dinner

Post by Will Wells »

Very nice photography of some cool herps! Keep up the great work!!!!
bgorum
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Re: My End-Of-The-Year report...DU go make dinner

Post by bgorum »

Great post Chris! There are so many beautiful shots in here. I am curious, did you hike the Bernalillio co Sistrurus?
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VanAR
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Re: My End-Of-The-Year report...DU go make dinner

Post by VanAR »

Great post, Chris!

Am I the only nerd who tried to input the GPS coordinates in GE? Couldn't get UTMs to work so I converted to Lat/Long and found myself in the middle of the North Atlantic/Arctic Ocean. I appreciate that the coordinates are a joke poking fun at an earlier thread, but the UTM readout on GE's positioning system didn't match the numbers Chris gave. Was that the correct location, and does anyone know how to put UTMs straight into google earth?

Van
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cayrip
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Re: My End-Of-The-Year report...DU go make dinner

Post by cayrip »

Awesome post! I am not a thamnophis fan but your shots of the reufipunctatuc are my favorites. Thanks for sharing!

Cameron
RobK

Re: My End-Of-The-Year report...DU go make dinner

Post by RobK »

Nice representation of NM, liked that habitat shot right before the first obscurus.
Sweet looking rufi's too!
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Dell Despain
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Re: My End-Of-The-Year report...DU go make dinner

Post by Dell Despain »

I can't believe no one has said anything about this, but it's unacceptable! Putting lipstick on a Variable Skink, and a ♂ at that, I do not find funny or humorous. Skinks deserve respect and shouldn't be used as props for your comical entertainment. :evil: Talk about herping ethics, you sir need to read the sticky thread at the top of the forum.
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Other then that I loved your post. Well, the dead Hognose kind of grossed me out, I hope you buried it.

The Ridge-nose close up is awesome, nice shot. Thanks for a great post. :beer:

-Dell
JDM
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Re: My End-Of-The-Year report...DU go make dinner

Post by JDM »

Excellent work!! Thanks for sharing this!
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ChrisNM
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Re: My End-Of-The-Year report...DU go make dinner

Post by ChrisNM »

Thanks all for the kind words. Many of those photos wouldn't have happened, nor been what they are to me if it weren't for either friends helping me or being present when finding them. Those friends hopefully know who they are, with one somewhat in particular given the wrong foot her and I seem to have gotten on to.
herpseeker1978 wrote:Oh, my wife wanted me to remind you about the talus slope incident! I think her exact words were, "you suck!" :lol:

Later man,

Josh
LMAO...I don't normally take bad lines hiking, though they make for adventures. However, I must have been on something to have subjected all of us to climbing that talus and all to only have an awesome arenicolor escape in it. If you Nikki, and Bill are up to it we can go hike that slope again. :shock: :P
bgorum wrote:Great post Chris! There are so many beautiful shots in here. I am curious, did you hike the Bernalillio co Sistrurus?
Thanks Bills, you're no slouch either; especially with some of those Mills Canyon shots you got at ground level...you and your tripod/70-180 micro combo.
VanAR wrote:Great post, Chris!

Am I the only nerd who tried to input the GPS coordinates in GE? Couldn't get UTMs to work so I converted to Lat/Long and found myself in the middle of the North Atlantic/Arctic Ocean. I appreciate that the coordinates are a joke poking fun at an earlier thread, but the UTM readout on GE's positioning system didn't match the numbers Chris gave. Was that the correct location, and does anyone know how to put UTMs straight into google earth?

Van
I may have my GE askew...the first coord should have taken you to Zimbabwe and the 2nd to the center of Lake Victoria. :D
Speaking of great posts, you'd better have some from Oz. Avoid thetwinkie (Timmy) down there (hey Tim! LOL) as he's just some crazy aussie that takes photos of desert kings in hotel rooms while hitching a ride to IHS with John Hollister.

Dell,

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This young'n wouldn't hold still so he/she got lipstick on their head and body.
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ChrisNM
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Re: My End-Of-The-Year report...DU go make dinner

Post by ChrisNM »

Paul White wrote:some stunning photos. Still wish we'd found Hyla at the Mills Canyon trip.

C. willardi...oh man. And Senticolis, holy crap!

I think someone scored a Hyla towards the end. I believe it was someone from the NM Herp Society.

The willardi credit is all TimCo. The rat goes to Tim and Erik, as the 3 of us cruised in Erik's truck. I think I was day dreaming, picking my nose, staring farther up the road, something from the back seat when Erik hit the brakes.
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ChrisNM
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Re: My End-Of-The-Year report...DU go make dinner

Post by ChrisNM »

Will Wells wrote:Very nice photography of some cool herps! Keep up the great work!!!!
Hard to when ya gotta compete with Mr. SW-Desert-Lizard-Guru and your 12 halloween geckos, holy crap man! And quite a few of yours made my NM critter look like a turd.
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Dell Despain
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Re: My End-Of-The-Year report...DU go make dinner

Post by Dell Despain »

ChrisNM wrote:This young'n wouldn't hold still so he/she got lipstick on their head and body.
The color on that/those Skinks is gorgeous, neat to see.

-Dell
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Daryl Eby
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Re: My End-Of-The-Year report...DU go make dinner

Post by Daryl Eby »

Thanks for sharing the great photos of all those incredible animals Chris. Love the first molossus and obscurus shots. I'm guessing you tossed that dead K-rat to the molossus -every cool. I occasionally pick up DOR rodents and offer them to any hungry snakes I see. This year, they've been much more interested in water.
Dell Despain wrote:I can't believe no one has said anything about this, but it's unacceptable! Putting lipstick on a Variable Skink, and a ♂ at that, I do not find funny or humorous. Skinks deserve respect and shouldn't be used as props for your comical entertainment. :evil: Talk about herping ethics, you sir need to read the sticky thread at the top of the forum.
Frankly, that's the funniest comment in weeks.
bgorum
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Re: My End-Of-The-Year report...DU go make dinner

Post by bgorum »

ChrisNM wrote:
Paul White wrote:some stunning photos. Still wish we'd found Hyla at the Mills Canyon trip.

C. willardi...oh man. And Senticolis, holy crap!

I think someone scored a Hyla towards the end. I believe it was someone from the NM Herp Society.

The willardi credit is all TimCo. The rat goes to Tim and Erik, as the 3 of us cruised in Erik's truck. I think I was day dreaming, picking my nose, staring farther up the road, something from the back seat when Erik hit the brakes.
Actually Travis and I got a Hyla the first morning we were there at a spring fed pool near the canyon rim. It’s in Travis’s video. As I watched Travis video taping it I noticed he was surrounded by a plant with three leaflet leaves that I am all to familiar with, so I wimped out and did not get any good photos of the frog. I entered it in the data base.
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herpseeker1978
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Re: My End-Of-The-Year report...DU go make dinner

Post by herpseeker1978 »

Dell Despain wrote:I can't believe no one has said anything about this, but it's unacceptable! Putting lipstick on a Variable Skink, and a ♂ at that, I do not find funny or humorous. Skinks deserve respect and shouldn't be used as props for your comical entertainment. :evil: Talk about herping ethics, you sir need to read the sticky thread at the top of the forum.
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Looks like he fed it cheetos to me!

Josh
Paul White
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Re: My End-Of-The-Year report...DU go make dinner

Post by Paul White »

yeah but at least you saw them. I've seen willardi in zoos and i've never seen a senticolis in person, just photos. Love thier head shape. Glad you had a good year :)
Y.Morgan
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Re: My End-Of-The-Year report...DU go make dinner

Post by Y.Morgan »

It looks like you had a good year despite the horrific drought - nice job! That 3 or 4 day stretch in September must've been a real blast. A Gila in NM is a great find! Nice baby scure too. Thanks for the post.
York
ErikNM
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Re: My End-Of-The-Year report...DU go make dinner

Post by ErikNM »

Damn, tons of awesome photos and awesome animals. It was great to be a part of a lot of the finds on here, definitely brings back memories. Good stuff Chris!
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