We saw cool wildlife, had incredible meals, met with friends old and new, and got to lend a helping hand with some science activities, too!
It was a very successful trip, and we found almost every lizard species out there (except for Gilas...
), some snakes, and a bunch of other wildlife.We first met up with Dr. Emily Taylor's herpetology class where they were collecting data from some dune-dwelling lizards, on a hot spring morning for Savannah Weaver's study.
Dr. Taylor's herp class by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on FlickrThe class checking out a desert iguana in Dr. Taylor's hand
Dr. Taylor's herp class by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on FlickrThe desert iguana in question, looking none-too-pleased at how their day is going.
Iggy in hand by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on FlickrThis zebra-tail was keeping a watchful eye on the proceedings.
Zebratail by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on FlickrThis Mojave Fringe toed lizard was the only one I could get a shot of all weekend.
Uma by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on FlickrIn-situ long-nosed leopard lizard that let us get real close to him.
Leopard in situ by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on FlickrWhen I say he let us get close, I mean he let us walk right up and pick him up. What survival instincts?
Leopard in hand by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on FlickrNext up was this Long-tailed brush lizard from one of the Lava flow areas in San Bernardino county, not the one everyone goes to, though. We spent some time here seeing a bunch of other lizards too.
Long tailed brush lizard by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on FlickrReally other-worldly habitat to herp in.
Lava habitat by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on FlickrThis stunning Chuckwalla was probably the nicest one we saw all weekend. This large male was hanging around Savannah Weaver's study area, evading all attempts to capture him.
Handsome chuck by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on FlickrThe same male taunting us from another rock nearby.
Chuckwalla by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on FlickrMy wife Elly with one of the study chucks. Gotta love these large, chunky desert lizards.
Lizards that were part of Savannah's study were all handled under permit.
Chuck in hand by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on FlickrWe headed out to cruise a mountain range a little north of us, counting on the cloudy skies and Blood Moon eclipse to give us some cover from the full moon and bring the snakes out.
Sunset by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on FlickrFirst up was this Longnosed snake
Longnosed by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on FlickrReally pretty individual!
Rhino by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on FlickrThe only other snake that night was this Mojave Sidewinder, sadly.
Winder by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on FlickrWe also saw a few of these little guys as always. Desert Banded geckos.
Gecko by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on FlickrEven though it wasn't a very snakey night, who cares when this is what you're surrounded by?
Mojave sunset by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on FlickrNext morning, we happened upon this longnosed snake basking in the open, which one doesn't see very often.
Daytime rhino by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on FlickrReally really pretty, almost speckled individual, digesting a nice meal.
Daytime rhino by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on FlickrSuch cool snakes!
Daytime rhino by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on FlickrWe cruised this subadult desert tortoise a few minutes later on the same road. This is always a big goal when we're out there, so it was great to find this little guy!
Tort by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on FlickrElly and Aaron checking out the tortoise from a distance (The angle makes them look pretty close, but we give any wild tortoises a wide berth at all times.)
Tort stop by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on FlickrWe ended up at a spot with a lot of wood and debris to flip through, and quickly turned up this adorable little desert night lizard with a regenerating tail.
Baby night lizard by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on FlickrNice little Side-blotched lizard turned up as well.
Uta by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on FlickrFlipped this gorgeous coachwhip under a large board. Unfortunately she wouldn't sit still, so all I have is this in-hand shot before she was released.
'Whip by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on FlickrThat afternoon we walked up on this stunning little Southern Desert Horned Lizard.
Phryno by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on FlickrAs you an see by Sean's tattoo and Elly's hat, we like horned lizards.
Phryno Tat by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on Flickr
Phryno hat by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on FlickrNext stop was a secret little area of mine that's only a square mile or two, but is just absolutely loaded with herps, mostly lizards. This desert iguana greeted us on the long dirt road in.
Desert iggy by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on FlickrNot only herps, but we got to watch a battle between a raven and this horned owl. They eventually called a truce and went their own ways.
Bird battle by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on Flickr
Bird battle by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on Flickr
Bird battle by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on Flickr
Bird battle by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on FlickrAnother desert iguana, this one with some striking reds. Mini-dinosaurs!
Desert iggy by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on FlickrVibrant, stunning Great Basin Collared lizard that let us pull the truck up alongside him to photograph him, but the moment we opened the doors he took off on us.
Collared by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on FlickrLuckily he simply dived down under the nearest rock, and we were able to lift it and take a closer look at this beauty.
Collared lizard by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on FlickrThis big male chuckwalla was foraging in this bush and also let us pull up alongside him.
Foraging chuck by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on FlickrSame chuck
Big ol chuck by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on FlickrAnother horned lizard was next. I love these perfect little pancakes.
Phryno by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on Flickr
Phryno by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on FlickrThis juvenile chuckwalla was hanging out in these rocks. We walked up from the truck to check him out, unknowingly walking past what would be one of our favorite finds of the trip, until Elly spotted something from the car a few minutes later.
Baby chuck by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on FlickrThis little speck was hanging out outside in the middle of the day, when the air temp was hovering around 98*, can't imagine what the rocks were!
Speck by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on FlickrStunning little specimen that wanted nothing to do with us. One of our favorite species to find out here, and an excellent way to wrap up the trip!
Speck by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on FlickrThis other juvenile chuckwalla was in shed as we drove out. We'll never get enough of these guys.
Baby chuck in shed by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on FlickrA couple of other non-herp shots:
This maniac out here handling scorpions like it's nothing.
Not a one off experience that weekend, either.
Sean and Scorp by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on FlickrAgain. This small, dark, unknown species was found in the lava field while we were searching for specks.
Unknwn scorp by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on FlickrThe remnants of an old mining camp; hundreds of cans surrounding the Joshua trees.
Joshua tree cans by Zeev Nitzan Ginsburg, on FlickrAll in all a successful weekend considering how dry and hot it was out there!
Species found:
Desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii)
Chuckwalla (Sauromalus ater)
Long-nosed leopard lizard (Gambelia wislizenii)
Desert night lizard (Xantusia vigilis)
Great Basin whiptail (Aspidoscelis tigris tigris)
Western banded gecko (Coleonyx variegatus)
Desert iguana (Dipsosaurus dorsalis)
Zebra-tailed lizard (Callisaurus draconoides)
Desert horned lizard (Phrynosoma platyrhinos)
Desert spiny lizard (Sceloporus magister)
Mojave fringe-toed lizard (Uma scoparia)
Side-blotched lizard (Uta stansburiana)
Long-tailed brush lizard (Urosaurus graciosus)
Great Basin Collared Lizard (Crotaphytus bicinctores)
Great Basin Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis longipes)
Gilbert's skink (Plestiodon gilberti rubricaudatus)
Longnosed Snake (Rhinocheilus lecontei)
Great Basin Gophersnake (Pituophis catenifer deserticola)
Coachwhip (Coluber/Masticophis flagellum)
Mojave Sidewinder (Crotalus cerastes cerastes)
Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake (Crotalus pyrrhus)
And so so many incredible birds, mammals, invertebrates, plants, and nature in general.
Here's to lots of great herping the rest of the year, and a long, wet winter!
Happy Herping!
