Herping SE Sierras this weekend

[zeevng]

Hey All,

It's been a long time since I've posted on the forum, although I've been hanging out here as much as I can.
Work as a Chef (Greuling hours, working all nights, weekends, holidays, etc) has not been conducive to getting out in the field the last few years, nearly as much as I'd like.
I love the career, but it has come at the expense of my Herping.

So this global pandemic has been a bit of a blessing in disguise in that sense, since all of a sudden I wasn't only off weekends, but every day in between for a while!
I was lucky enough that my girlfriend's Ecommerce job was hiring for work-from-home 6am-3pm, so I managed to get off unemployment as soon as possible, and have finally had time to hit the field way more often.

I've had some great luck this Spring, with beautiful, successful trips to MNP, over the border to AZ, and lots of herping in the mountains around Santa Clarita, as well as the Los Padres forest.
I plan to write fully photographed reports of those trips soon, however, I am here for a different reason.


My girlfriend and I are planning to hit the S. Kern plateau this weekend, K meadows area and further up, with the goal of crossing off some lifers.
We're not sure yet if we plan to spend the night on Saturday and head back Sunday afternoon, or just spend all Saturday herping and head back at night, hitting the desert floor and maybe JB cyn on the way home.
The reason for this post is in multiple parts, as follows:

1) Do any erstwhile CA Nafha members have the chance to head up there with us this Saturday? I know it's last minute, but I feel like with the decently wet winter and spring we've had, and the temperatures forecast, it might be a super productive time up there. Nothing better than hitting the field with fellow herpers. If we have some interest, I can definitely offer my Chef skills (such as they are), and offer to cook us a montane outdoors feast, if we all contribute ingredients.
My favorite herping trips have been with forum members, to some of Socal's best herping areas.

2) Does anyone here know if Richard Hoyer is still a) on the forum actively, and b) still interested in C Bottae specimens from those neck of the woods? I know there were a few years where he was seeking all available specimens and samples from the area. Since I'm hoping for some Bottae's, I'd love to be able to contribute to the research.

3) If the answer to those is no, do you at least have any advice for our first time hitting the area in seriousness, in regards to checking off some lifers? (Z's, Rubber boas, maybe a Taeniatus - is this still one of your lifers, Hellihooks?)
Not asking for locations, obviously (although PM's are welcome and will be guarded with my life), just general guidelines for success.

Leaving you with a couple of tantalizing shots from MNP and beyond from this Spring.

Thank you for reading this far, and as always, Happy Herping!

[Richard F. Hoyer]

Zeevng,

As a matter of fact, I did seen Richard earlier this morning before he left to go herping. The one time I did get a brief glimpse of him was when he was shaving and I was able to see him in the mirror. He then just disappeared from view and I haven’t seen him since.

As for the research on C. bottae, one paper was published this past March in the Southwestern Naturalist describing four additional populations of the Rubber Boa that are a dwarf form of the species. The first such dwarf morph population, the S. Rubber Boa, was identified as such in 2000. I am hopeful that a second paper my be produced by one of my co-authors that addresses taxonomic considerations in the species.

As for being active on the forum, I recently replied to Porter on his thread dealing with a matrass. Of and on for the past year, I have entered a number of posts on the Board forum dealing with the issue of climate change.

As for making searches on the S. Kern Plateau, it often is warm and dry by now so herping for the boa can be labor intensive and may not produce results during day time searches. But if that area received a decent amount snow and there still occurs some subsurface moisture under cover object, you would have a better chance.

If you wish, you can send me a private message and I can give you coordinates to one decent outcrop where a few boas have been observed. And I suggest you stay over night Saturday and do some night driving as a fair number of boas have been found on the Kennedy Meadows road from just a mile or two west of the Inyo County line all the way to the far west end before the road drops down to the N. Fork, Kern River.

As for Masticophis, both lateralis and taeniatus occur on the S. Kern Plateau. Last time up there in about 2018, a taeniatus crossed the road just in front of my pickup about 4 - 5 miles east of the Inyo Co. line. Then further west, I found a well smashed taeniatus on the road, Then further west and about 1 1/2 - 2 miles east of the Kennedy Meadow store, I found a fresh DOR lateralis which I salvaged and put on ice as years earlier, I had been informed that lateralis was not known to occur on the plateau. When I got back to Oregon, I then sent Robert Hansen photographic proof of the species from the Kennedy Meadows Road.

Wish I was young enough to accompany with your searches this coming weekend.

Richard F. Hoyer (Corvallis, Oregon)

[zeevng]

Zeevng,

As a matter of fact, I did seen Richard earlier this morning before he left to go herping. The one time I did get a brief glimpse of him was when he was shaving and I was able to see him in the mirror. He then just disappeared from view and I haven’t seen him since.

As for the research on C. bottae, one paper was published this past March in the Southwestern Naturalist describing four additional populations of the Rubber Boa that are a dwarf form of the species. The first such dwarf morph population, the S. Rubber Boa, was identified as such in 2000. I am hopeful that a second paper my be produced by one of my co-authors that addresses taxonomic considerations in the species.

As for being active on the forum, I recently replied to Porter on his thread dealing with a matrass. Of and on for the past year, I have entered a number of posts on the Board forum dealing with the issue of climate change.

As for making searches on the S. Kern Plateau, it often is warm and dry by now so herping for the boa can be labor intensive and may not produce results during day time searches. But if that area received a decent amount snow and there still occurs some subsurface moisture under cover object, you would have a better chance.

If you wish, you can send me a private message and I can give you coordinates to one decent outcrop where a few boas have been observed. And I suggest you stay over night Saturday and do some night driving as a fair number of boas have been found on the Kennedy Meadows road from just a mile or two west of the Inyo County line all the way to the far west end before the road drops down to the N. Fork, Kern River.

As for Masticophis, both lateralis and taeniatus occur on the S. Kern Plateau. Last time up there in about 2018, a taeniatus crossed the road just in front of my pickup about 4 - 5 miles east of the Inyo Co. line. Then further west, I found a well smashed taeniatus on the road, Then further west and about 1 1/2 - 2 miles east of the Kennedy Meadow store, I found a fresh DOR lateralis which I salvaged and put on ice as years earlier, I had been informed that lateralis was not known to occur on the plateau. When I got back to Oregon, I then sent Robert Hansen photographic proof of the species from the Kennedy Meadows Road.

Wish I was young enough to accompany with your searches this coming weekend.

Richard F. Hoyer (Corvallis, Oregon)

Well, it's certainly great to hear Richard has been spotted, and even talked about in the third person! Hope he had a successful herping outing!

Thank you for your reply, and for the advice, I'm hoping the late wet spring we had this year will work in my favor. It's forecast to be between 31% and 45% humidity from midday to night, so hopefully I can make a miracle happen through a lot of grunt work! I will definitely take you up on your gracious offer, and send you a PM.

I will definitely stay the night then, and see what appears in my headlight beams!

I'll be on the lookout for Masticophis, and will plan to wear my best running boots as well. What has your experience with Zonata been in the area?

I wish you were able to as well, however, I definitely plan to make a trip to Oregon in the upcoming future, and will most definitely look you up when I do!

Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg



EDIT: Pm sent!