Search found 192 matches

by Jefferson
December 9th, 2024, 8:41 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: RIP Brian Hinds aka Fundad
Replies: 6
Views: 566

Re: RIP Brian Hinds aka Fundad

Wow. This is a big loss for the herping community. I never really messaged him directly but read his excellent posts religiously. My deepest condolences to his friends and family.

Jefferson
by Jefferson
November 29th, 2024, 9:16 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Arizona, August 2024
Replies: 3
Views: 637

Re: Arizona, August 2024

No problem, and thank you for reading! Where are you based out of these days?
by Jefferson
November 29th, 2024, 9:14 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Good times, Spring 2024 OREGON
Replies: 1
Views: 517

Re: Good times, Spring 2024 OREGON

Wonderful post, thank you for sharing! I really like how majestic the NorPacs look that far north, and need to see one someday (I have been to the West Coast always in winter for salamanders), and feel your pain on the Klamath Black habitat. It's like they refuse to live anywhere without poison oak....
by Jefferson
November 28th, 2024, 3:10 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: November 2024 Southeast Trip (Alabama, Georgia, Florida)
Replies: 1
Views: 532

November 2024 Southeast Trip (Alabama, Georgia, Florida)

Companion YouTube video for post: [youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgqVaFudMA8&feature=youtu.be[/youtube] My friend Hayden recently relocated from an apartment in Nashville to a new house about an hour outside the city, which combined with a desire to see my girlfriend's sister and my gr...
by Jefferson
November 28th, 2024, 1:05 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Early Fall Herping 2024-Michigan, Indiana, Missouri, Oklahoma
Replies: 0
Views: 522

Early Fall Herping 2024-Michigan, Indiana, Missouri, Oklahoma

After the Arizona trip, all was quiet for a few weeks, and I did just a slight bit of herping on a short trip home to Michigan for Labor Day to see my parents and brother. We made one stop at a beachside metropark to walk the shores of Lake Erie and saw a few nostalgic childhood species that are abu...
by Jefferson
November 28th, 2024, 12:53 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Arizona, August 2024
Replies: 3
Views: 637

Arizona, August 2024

Companion YT Video: [youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAbYf5_mgOk&feature=youtu.be[/youtube] As those of you who follow my posts know, I absolutely love Arizona. I like herping in lots of places, but the verb "love" is reserved for Southern Appalachia, California, and Arizona. L...
by Jefferson
November 28th, 2024, 12:15 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Early Summer Herping 2024-Kansas and Missouri
Replies: 0
Views: 537

Early Summer Herping 2024-Kansas and Missouri

YouTube companion for post: [youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Osx3rFambK8&feature=youtu.be[/youtube] After returning from Appalachia and Illinois, I settled back into the work and home routine for a few weeks but decided to try my hand at a Broad-banded Copperhead, the only venomous snake...
by Jefferson
November 28th, 2024, 11:47 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Spring 2024-Missouri, Appalachia, and Illinois
Replies: 0
Views: 527

Spring 2024-Missouri, Appalachia, and Illinois

YouTube companion videos for this post: Missouri: [youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbYvb55uy2k&feature=youtu.be[/youtube] [youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdZLke8IexA&feature=youtu.be[/youtube] [youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCyr84cgKoI&feature=youtu.be[/youtube...
by Jefferson
November 28th, 2024, 8:58 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: FL Everglades
Replies: 3
Views: 877

Re: FL Everglades

Great stuff! Even though they are not rare in South Florida, I love Scarlet Snakes. Living in the Midwest and Virginia my whole life, I have only ever seen one on a fluke. Great Diamondback too!
by Jefferson
November 26th, 2024, 8:35 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Batrachoseps Or Bust
Replies: 2
Views: 16158

Re: Batrachoseps Or Bust

Thanks man!
by Jefferson
August 12th, 2024, 9:32 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Italian Wall Lizard Populations
Replies: 18
Views: 27596

Re: Italian Wall Lizard Populations

I know this one has been dormant except the last post for a while, but on the topic of Topeka/KS/Heartland populations: there is a robust population of Italian Wall Lizards here in SW Missouri, in downtown Joplin, near the Joplin First Church on 4th Street. I went for a morning walk there a few June...
by Jefferson
May 22nd, 2024, 11:52 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: April Costa Rica trip
Replies: 4
Views: 14595

Re: April Costa Rica trip

Nice stuff! That coffee snake is nice, and I am glad you got it after several attempts. Apt name for a Central American species....
by Jefferson
April 27th, 2024, 1:44 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Batrachoseps Or Bust
Replies: 2
Views: 16158

Batrachoseps Or Bust

YouTube companion videos for this post (2): 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnQvmP7X-DA&feature=youtu.be 2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydB3xkBEVmE&t=45s When a young man asked legendary newspaper editor Horace Greeley in the 1800s what he should do with his life, Greeley replied, &qu...
by Jefferson
April 27th, 2024, 11:37 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: November 2023-April 2024 Herping
Replies: 0
Views: 15998

November 2023-April 2024 Herping

Hey everyone! Since my trip to Texas last November, the main herping has consisted of a 4-day weekend to California that I will post about separately, but also some cool day-outings around here in the Missouri and NW Arkansas Ozarks. Late last November, I closed up the year in salamander herping wit...
by Jefferson
March 26th, 2024, 9:46 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Transferring naherp records to iNat?
Replies: 2
Views: 15156

Re: Transferring naherp records to iNat?

I agree wholeheartedly. Any idea how to do it?
by Jefferson
February 3rd, 2024, 10:23 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Seeking Spring Break Appalachian Salamander Trip Advice
Replies: 6
Views: 13805

Re: Seeking Spring Break Appalachian Salamander Trip Advice

Not a problem; good luck down there!
Jefferson
by Jefferson
February 1st, 2024, 2:43 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Seeking Spring Break Appalachian Salamander Trip Advice
Replies: 6
Views: 13805

Re: Seeking Spring Break Appalachian Salamander Trip Advice

No worries! Mid-March is really, really early for most stuff in Appalachia in my experience. You get some early-season low-elevation Plethodon out, like P. hoffmani in Virginia/WV and Zigzags anywhere (they can even be found in January), and of course streams will have the more common desmogs in the...
by Jefferson
February 1st, 2024, 12:53 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Seeking Spring Break Appalachian Salamander Trip Advice
Replies: 6
Views: 13805

Re: Seeking Spring Break Appalachian Salamander Trip Advice

What days is your spring break?
by Jefferson
January 18th, 2024, 7:21 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: SoCal Advice for February and (possibly) May
Replies: 3
Views: 13311

Re: SoCal Advice for February and (possibly) May

Thanks for the input guys! It's very helpful. What I am gathering is that for San Gabriels, I should hope for a rain coincides with my flight out there, and if not within a few days, look for snakes instead at lower elevation or see the Rose Bowl or something rather than waste the effort.
by Jefferson
January 7th, 2024, 5:39 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: May 2023, The All-South Epic Brother Trip, Part 2/2 (Deep South and Appalahia)
Replies: 0
Views: 16873

May 2023, The All-South Epic Brother Trip, Part 2/2 (Deep South and Appalahia)

Please read Part 1 (Texas) for full context: https://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=25970 Motoring in from Texas, we crossed into Louisiana just before dusk, across the mighty Sabine River and deep into the seemingly endless pines and flooded fields off I-10 in the heart of Cajun count...
by Jefferson
January 6th, 2024, 5:35 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: May 2023, The All-South Epic Brother Trip, Part 1/2 (Texas)
Replies: 2
Views: 9728

May 2023, The All-South Epic Brother Trip, Part 1/2 (Texas)

Why do the best trips always start disastrously, the same way the best investment cycles start with horrifying corrections? For at least the past four years, that has been an ironclad rule on my major trips: the larger the calamity to start the vacation, the more stupendous the rest of the trip. So,...
by Jefferson
January 4th, 2024, 9:46 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: January-September 2022 Herping (PICTURE HEAVY)
Replies: 4
Views: 11367

Re: January-September 2022 Herping (PICTURE HEAVY)

Thank you guys much! That Oregon Slender probably was the proudest lifer of the trip, and unexpectedly beautiful for a Batrachoseps as well. Oregon may not have as many salamander species as California, North Carolina, or Tennessee, but most of the ones it does have are gorgeous, from the newts to t...
by Jefferson
January 4th, 2024, 9:43 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Texas, November 2023 Trip Report
Replies: 3
Views: 13704

Re: Texas, November 2023 Trip Report

Thanks much! I do like the old days of FHF, and reading big narratives like this instead of short blurbs with photos today. I do these partly to leave a complete, un-fragmented record of the trips for myself as much as anything, to give myself a narrative to look back at in 15 years and remember the...
by Jefferson
January 1st, 2024, 4:58 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Monsoon Season in Arizona, 2023
Replies: 3
Views: 13843

Re: Monsoon Season in Arizona, 2023

Upon re-reading this, let me make it clear that by "standard Vegas stuff," I don't mean that the Vegas leg of the trip was uneventful or just the normal touristy experience--Hayden and his associates made it a blast, and we ventured into the real Vegas off the popular touristy joints on th...
by Jefferson
January 1st, 2024, 4:52 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Texas, November 2023 Trip Report
Replies: 3
Views: 13704

Texas, November 2023 Trip Report

Sometimes the unexpected trips are the best ones. Until early October this year, I thought that the first week of November would see me in the Florida Panhandle, filming an episode for my environmental economics series with some Sunshine State researchers on Frosted Flatwoods Salamanders, but hurric...
by Jefferson
January 1st, 2024, 10:01 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Monsoon Season in Arizona, 2023
Replies: 3
Views: 13843

Monsoon Season in Arizona, 2023

For those of you who also want to watch the accompanying YT video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdhEeDmiXPg&feature=youtu.be In the classic 1964 apocalypse-comedy-thriller Dr. Strangelove (or “How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb), the Russian nuclear scientist tells Peter Sellers...
by Jefferson
December 28th, 2023, 5:49 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: A Christmas Miracle
Replies: 1
Views: 7527

Re: A Christmas Miracle

Good stuff!!
by Jefferson
December 26th, 2023, 2:54 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: SoCal Advice for February and (possibly) May
Replies: 3
Views: 13311

SoCal Advice for February and (possibly) May

Hey everyone! I am still working on getting a few trip narratives written in the next few weeks in addition to the back-logged stuff I got our in November, but am thinking about a forward-looking topic here. First, I will likely be out in SoCal doing some salamander searching in mid-February (Slende...
by Jefferson
December 8th, 2023, 5:21 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: 2023 Year in Review: Caudates
Replies: 5
Views: 11596

Re: 2023 Year in Review: Caudates

Also, did you find that Junaluska in Tennessee or NC? From what I understand, the NC populations are much declined and it is very rare to find those on the Tar Heel side of the Appalachians anymore.
by Jefferson
December 8th, 2023, 5:20 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: 2023 Year in Review: Caudates
Replies: 5
Views: 11596

Re: 2023 Year in Review: Caudates

Thanks for posting! These are some killer photos, particularly the P. shermani, the Green, and the Many-lined. Making me miss North Carolina!!
by Jefferson
November 7th, 2023, 12:25 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: January-September 2022 Herping (PICTURE HEAVY)
Replies: 4
Views: 11367

Re: January-September 2022 Herping (PICTURE HEAVY)

Apologies for two photo link misfires on that original post (put in the Streambed picture a second time instead of the Western Grotto, and same with the Rainbow Earless duplicate instead of the second Gila). Actual photos: Actual Western Grotto Salamander from Kansas: https://www.naherp.com/vouchers...
by Jefferson
November 6th, 2023, 5:47 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: January-September 2022 Herping (PICTURE HEAVY)
Replies: 4
Views: 11367

January-September 2022 Herping (PICTURE HEAVY)

A continuation of my July 2021-January 2022 post with minimal narrative but documentation of highlight finds from the long period (July 2021 until now) that I got way behind on. In early spring, I ventured south into the Piney woods of North Louisiana and Arkansas to try to see a pair of highly-cove...
by Jefferson
November 5th, 2023, 7:34 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: July 2021-January 2022 Herping (Arizona, Deep South, PICTURE HEAVY)
Replies: 1
Views: 4933

Re: July 2021-January 2022 Herping (Arizona, Deep South, PICTURE HEAVY)

For some reason the attachments I tried to place in-line are just all showing up at the end of the post (about 1/3 of the pics), but I trust you guys can match the species with the pictures at the end without issue. 'Tis a herping forum, after all. Cheers,
Jefferson
by Jefferson
November 5th, 2023, 7:33 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: July 2021-January 2022 Herping (Arizona, Deep South, PICTURE HEAVY)
Replies: 1
Views: 4933

July 2021-January 2022 Herping (Arizona, Deep South, PICTURE HEAVY)

Some very old photos that I got behind on posting here. I will not be doing huge trip write-ups like I normally do, but will be posting a brief summary and pics from this period and then from early 2022 to October of that year, where I pick up the narrative in a previous post. In early August of 202...
by Jefferson
November 4th, 2023, 3:01 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Summer Herping 2023 (late May-end of July)-BETWEEN THE EPIC TRIPS
Replies: 0
Views: 15198

Summer Herping 2023 (late May-end of July)-BETWEEN THE EPIC TRIPS

For those of you who prefer to just watch the YT video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6iw3ruMY3M&t=5s After returning from the Wild East (a MASSIVE herping trip in mid-May with my brother covering Texas, the Gulf, and Appalachia that I have yet to post an account for yet) to the prairies of S...
by Jefferson
November 4th, 2023, 2:49 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: October 2022-early May 2023 Herping
Replies: 0
Views: 15078

October 2022-early May 2023 Herping

In October and November 2022, I got a few nice opportunities to do some light herping with family, with the first instance a short outing to a series of caves and springs in urban surroundings just across the border into Northwest Arkansas, where I can usually find at least two of the three of Cave,...
by Jefferson
November 4th, 2023, 12:13 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Transferring naherp records to iNat?
Replies: 2
Views: 15156

Transferring naherp records to iNat?

Hey all, I am working on getting some old trip narratives ready to post with pics here to FHF, since it has been forever (since mid-2021) since I have posted on here, but I have also been thinking about putting my herp records on more than one database--continuing to use naherp but also utilizing iN...
by Jefferson
October 2nd, 2023, 4:56 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Rain, Rain, and More Rain in Northwest California!
Replies: 9
Views: 6592

Re: Rain, Rain, and More Rain in Northwest California!

That is really cool that you once found a gracile in August. Thanks for the tips on seasonality, and again, great post!
by Jefferson
September 18th, 2023, 7:49 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Rain, Rain, and More Rain in Northwest California!
Replies: 9
Views: 6592

Re: Rain, Rain, and More Rain in Northwest California!

Great post! Makes me nostalgic for my two visits to the Calfiornia coast for sallies (February '19 and April '22--still have to post the 2022 one). I am just curious: what time of year did you see all those gracile at Van Damme? I went in April and found a thousand Slenders, some Wandering, Ensatina...
by Jefferson
September 18th, 2023, 7:42 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: January 2023 Herping in the Southeast
Replies: 4
Views: 8812

Re: January 2023 Herping in the Southeast

What a post man, and from a YT herping legend! I love that part of the South where Piedmont and Appalachians hit the Coastal Plain--so much unique habitat and weird species assemblage mixing in that zone--you are making me miss the Southeast with this and your YT content--wish I could spend more tha...
by Jefferson
July 25th, 2021, 4:51 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: July 2020 to July 2021 Herping (Missouri, Louisiana, Michigan)
Replies: 3
Views: 4862

Re: July 2020 to July 2021 Herping (Missouri, Louisiana, Michigan)

Hey Jeff! The time-out is killer.... As for your comments, I'm glad that someone enjoys my narration style, and that the prose evoked some fond old memories (and un-fond, as in the Natchitoches motel)! The entire Rumors album is masterly, but somehow I had never heard "You Make Loving Fun"...
by Jefferson
July 16th, 2021, 5:51 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: July 2020 to July 2021 Herping (Missouri, Louisiana, Michigan)
Replies: 3
Views: 4862

July 2020 to July 2021 Herping (Missouri, Louisiana, Michigan)

Wow, it is amazing how fast time since I last posted on the forum slips away. Since last July, Bethany and I have had some great herping adventures, and I think it’s time to post some pictures and stories before the amount of unposted material becomes absolutely insurmountable. I’ve seen many of you...
by Jefferson
August 24th, 2020, 10:18 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Kansas in late August or mid September?
Replies: 11
Views: 12273

Re: Kansas in late August or mid September?

This one was larger than I expected, probably somewhere in the 20-25" range. He was roughly twice as long as my shoes from snout to rattle, and I have large feet. My first thought when we saw him stretched out across the road was, "That's about 6" too big to be a Pigmy--here comes my ...
by Jefferson
August 24th, 2020, 6:47 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Kansas in late August or mid September?
Replies: 11
Views: 12273

Re: Kansas in late August or mid September?

Jimi, Thank you for the words of encouragement on our "home road" efforts and general advice on the road-cruising schedule. I agree that it's probably not as applicable to Central KS as I originally thought, but sometimes a placebo effect or talisman-type ritual puts the mind at ease when ...
by Jefferson
August 19th, 2020, 2:51 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Kansas in late August or mid September?
Replies: 11
Views: 12273

Re: Kansas in late August or mid September?

We've actually only seen Pigs west of the Mississippi so far. Last August 15, we saw two Pigs and a DOR Copperhead in one night on a road only about a 20-minute drive from our front door but didn't have time to re-visit in Sept. last year. Now, we've been using that road since about July 20 to just ...
by Jefferson
August 18th, 2020, 11:55 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Kansas in late August or mid September?
Replies: 11
Views: 12273

Re: Kansas in late August or mid September?

Thanks for the replies guys! Jimi, I'm glad you enjoy our posts on the forum (and videos? If not, you should check them out), and yes, we're hitting herping hard early in our lives in anticipation of slowing down the pace when we have kids--we'll still herp, but nowhere near the intensity, duration,...
by Jefferson
August 17th, 2020, 7:11 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Kansas in late August or mid September?
Replies: 11
Views: 12273

Kansas in late August or mid September?

Good afternoon everyone, Bethany and I have some locales nailed down for Long-nosed snake, Prairie Rattler, W. Massasauga, Great Plains Toad, Red-spotted Toad, Glass Lizard, and Horned Lizard in West-central Kansas, along with Great Plains skink and Lined snake a little further east in the Flint Hil...
by Jefferson
August 17th, 2020, 6:52 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Early 2020 Herping, Part 2/3-An Awesome April
Replies: 2
Views: 4521

Re: Early 2020 Herping, Part 2/3-An Awesome April

They are, aren't they?! Looking for them is so different from looking for reptiles.
by Jefferson
August 9th, 2020, 1:55 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Early 2020 Herping, Part 3/3-Early Summer
Replies: 3
Views: 4149

Re: Early 2020 Herping, Part 3/3-Early Summer

Thanks! I'm glad you enjoy the writing and the pictures of our herping thus far this year. We're probably going to cruise for Sisturus tonight in the Ozarks, so here's to hoping! Also, thank you for pointing out my typo on that "Smooth" green snake--I have Michigan on the brain, where we'l...