May 2022 - Part 2: California

[mark buck]

Well I'm back (:

In June of last year I put together a post highlighting a fantastic trip to Oregon where a nice assortment of Reptiles were seen thanks to my good friend Richard Hoyer. In that narrative I promised to follow up with another post highlighting a few days in the month of May, a "Part 2".... well here it is!
Although these images are roughly 8 months old I hope you'll enjoy reviewing them as much as I have.


May 15th

I got back from Oregon on May 6th, but it wasn't long before it was time to hit the field again. This time around the plan was to head into the mountains of Ventura County with my good friend John Lauermann and his wife. We were hoping to check in on a population of Mountain Kingsnakes that we started studying back in 2018. Conditions were optimal and we were confident in turning up something. That said, snakes of any species are not particularly abundant at this locale. About an hour into the search, I turned up this adult Zonata under a rock. It was in the middle of digesting a large meal.



Later we moved over to a different location and I was able to turn up a nice looking Ring-necked snake.



Shortly afterwards, John turned up an additional Mountain King, this one a juvenile...



Two Zonata in one afternoon at this locality is pretty good... safe to say we had some big grins on our faces when it was time to head home.


May 21st

A week later it was time for a Garter snake survey at Tejon Ranch. Weather was looking nice yet again and I was looking forward to catching up with my good friends Chris Patnaude and Todd Battey. Chris had driven up from San Diego and was ready for a long weekend in the field. We met up at the un-godly hour of 8AM ready for a Garter hunt. The main goal (albeit hopes weren't very high), was to voucher a Common garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis) at Tejon Reservoir No. 2... along El Paso Creek. Robert Hansen observed one here in May of 1979.

Although the seasonal grasses had since dried out, the habitat at the reservoir was beautiful.



It wasn't long before our docent Dan spotted a N. Pacific Rattlesnake basking at the entrance of a large burrow.



Soon after Chris turned up a Sierra garter snake near the water.



A pulled back shot of the reservoir.



We stumbled around for a few more hours and spotted one more Sierra Garter at a different location.
By around 2pm temperatures had rose sharply and we decided to call it. No Common garters but at least we gave it a shot... better luck next time.
After parting ways with Todd and Dan, I mentioned to Chris that today seemed like a perfect day for a Zonata hunt in the local Kern County moutnains. Chris has found Zonata at a few different localities in SoCal and up in the bay area but still hadn't found one of the Sierran subspecies (multicincta). We made a quick stop at my place for a sandwich and to ditch some of our fox-tail ridden field clothes.

The drive up was actually pretty eventful, with a California Condor sighting (large adult flew right over the hood of my car!) and this attractive little Gopher snake crossing the road.



By around 5pm we were in some prime habitat for Sierra Mountain Kingsnakes. I had decided to take Chris to a locale where I had turned up a few kingsnakes in 2021. Maybe 10 minutes into the search I turned up this massive N. Pacific Rattlesnake under a rock, unfortunately I only managed a few crappy photos that certainly don't do it justice. This thing was a rabbit-eating BEAST and certainly humbling to observe.



A few minutes later Chris turned "the right rock" and un-veiled 2 Mountain Kingsnakes snuggled up together. The first photo is in-situ as one of the Zonata began to move. Second shot posed.





We were stoked, not 30 minutes into the hunt and we had two Z's under our belt. Unfortunately a Striped Racer turned up by Chris is all we would see from that point on. A great day nonetheless.


May 22nd

Since we had gotten our Zonata fix on Saturday, I suggested a Rubber Boa hunt Sunday. Temps were a bit hotter today so we'd have to go even higher in elevation. Instead of visiting a location where I've seen them before we decided to do some exploring and head up into the Piute Mountains, a range I had been meaning to visit for a while now. That said I knew we were in for a challenge, the Piute's are a very dry range... receiving much less annual rainfall than other sky islands in Kern County.

First find was a Gopher snake on our way up, stretched out across the road...



I might look a little haggard in this photo, but at least there's some pretty scenery to balance things out... LOL



As we gained in elevation, the dry nature of the range was becoming apparent. After stopping to hunt a roadside rock outcrop, a portrait of my trusty 4-wheel drive was in order. Nearing 300,000 miles and running strong. (FYI, 4 wheel drive is a must to access the Piute Mtns.)



Finally we got into some nice habitat and stumbled onto a particularly nice outcrop. As we approached the outcrop strewn with platter-like rocks, I told Chris we were sure to find something here. A few moments later I turned up a young male Rubber Boa. We were ecstatic.



To the best of my knowledge, this is only the 2nd photo vouchered Rubber Boa from the Piute Mtns. The first was found sometime in the early 2000's by Brad Alexander, or one of his buddies, Charlie H??? (Information courtesy of Richard Hoyer.)

We searched for quite a few hours after that but found no additional snakes, a few Western skinks were seen however.
Some habitat...



Road cruising was somewhat productive on our way down to the valley floor, we found 2 Rattlesnakes and a bummer roadkilled California Kingsnake.




May 29th

Still buzzing from a great weekend in the mountains the week prior, I decided I still hadn't had enough lol. Temps were much cooler and seemed perfect for another Rubber Boa hunt. This time I decided to take a solo-trip to the Central Sierra in Fresno County. Planning to check out a well known locale I had been meaning to search for years.

Temperatures were cool, in the low 50's. Upon arriving it didn't take long to find some great habitat, and soon after I began to turn up some Boas (:
I managed to find 5 Boas in around 4 hours of rock turning, each one about 45 minutes apart. The following photos are all in-situ. Boas 1-5.











As you can see the last one was partially buried in soil underneath the rock, Boas are often found this way. Easy to overlook if you are hasty. I also turned up this Mountain Garter snake amongst all the Boa action.



The habitat was a pleasure to be in...



The time was now around 4:30pm and I was feeling pretty satisfied/ready to head home. That said all the Boa's I had found were small juveniles, I needed to see a full-size adult. I decided to check out one more stretch of habitat before heading home, with hopes of turning up an adult. Sure glad I did!

I had just walked up on a nice outcrop and right away noticed a grouping of large flat rocks very close to each other. The first one was a bit too heavy to lift and I carefully set it back down. Next to it was a something a little more manageable, a quick turn unveiled a small Boa. I slipped him into my shirt pocket and moved on to the next rock over. This one housed an adult male! I was very excited at this point and had a bit of adrenaline going I guess, I decided to return to the large rock I wasn't able to lift before. Putting a bit more effort in this time, I pulled back the stone and revealed 3 additional Boa's.
Now I was really reeling! 5 more Boas! And this time all found within 6 feet of each other and in a 5 minute search! As the ball of Boa's wriggled in my shirt pocket, I knew a group shot was in order...



One final stop unveiled two Sierra Garters under the same rock.



10 Rubber Boas and 3 Garter snakes. Not bad for a last minute trip to the Central Sierra, safe to say I drove home with a smile.


Hope you enjoyed the post! Thank you to John, Chris, and Todd for joining me on some great days in the field.


Here's a link to Part 1 if you missed it https://www.fieldherpforum.com/forum/vi ... hp?t=25874

[Jeff]

Mark
This is a great post! For any of the three people left on FHF, I repeat that I'm from California, mostly San Jose, and had an unending fascination with the herpetofauna of the state. Trips to the southern Sierra and Tejon/Cuyama regions were uncommon but always a blessing. What fascinated me about the region were the many questions on geographic distribution: how far up the eastern slope did desert species reach, and how far downhill did the coastal species go. For example I found at a particular reservoir in the coastal slope typical Red Coachwhips, but downhill were typical San Joaquin Coachwhips. Coast Horned Lizards were on the east slope of Walker Pass, and Desert Night Lizards were in ponderosa pines on the east side of the Scodie Mountains. There are records of Patch-nosed Snakes near Bakersfield, but are they still there?
Well, I have been in Louisiana for 30 years. My wife and I planned to return to California after my PhD, but I suppose it's too expensive anymore (median house prices back in San Jose around $1 million+).
So, I have to live my California life vicariously from the swamp.
Thanks again Mark for keeping the blood flowing,
Jeff

[Xabier Zarate]

Great post. I loved all the Zonata that you found as well as the boas. I will be going to California specifically San Francisco in March and I hope to make a post as well.
Xabi

[mark buck]

Jeff,

So glad you enjoyed the post! Happy I could take you on a trip down memory lane. Although un-related to species distribution… California’s diverse geography is without a doubt one of my favorite features of our home state. On just about any given day of the year, there is somewhere you can hike about. Cold day in the dead of winter? Check out the low desert. Sweltering summer heat? Head to the high Sierra. On the more pleasant days you have all the areas in-between. And as you stated, discovering different species in all these transition zones is a great deal of fun.
I’m beginning to think housing prices are a better reason for referring to CA as “the golden state”, as opposed to the abundant sunshine.


Xabier,

Thanks for the feedback! March is a great month for exploring SF. Last year I was able to turn up a bay area Zonata in late February…
Best of luck to you on your trip, would love to see any finds posted here.

[yoloherper]

Hell yeah, Mark!
Love the variability in those ventura z's, really want to get down and see some down that way. Crazy how thick the black is on that first one. As someone who doesn't target or see many Sierran boas, 9/10 as tiny juveniles seems like a crazy ratio! Was that just random or is that typical in late may up there?
-Elliot

[mark buck]

Haha yes! Mr. Schoenig out from the woodwork to post.
9/10 juveniles definitely seemed strange to me and I would guess that is not a normal ratio. I hate to say it but I think with the ongoing drought a lot of adult snakes are way less surface active. Staying underground doing their best to retain moisture and what weight they have, only moving about on the most optimal days of the year. Juveniles don’t have fat preserves built up like the adults and as a result are forced to be more active looking for food etc. Anyway that’s just an idea, something I’ve discussed with John L. quite a bit. All said my sample size of Sierran Boa’s isn’t very big(less than 20), maybe someone else can chime in… where’s Hoyer at? Haha.
But stoked U enjoyed the post. We’ll have to plan an outing this spring!

[Richard F. Hoyer]

Mark,
I am still around. But during this time of year, I am mainly involved in falconry activities as was the case today. I was able to help an apprentice falconer have his immature female Red-tail snag its first quarry, a Dusky-footed Wood Rat.

It was Brad Alexander and Charlie Heim (sp?) that found the boa in the Piute Mts. After recording data on the specimen, I accompanied Charlie to where they found the boa so it could be released where found. Besides that one boa, I believe I recorded information on one vouchered boas from the Piute Mts. on deposit in one of the institutional collections.

From the size of the leaf above the boa’s head (perhaps a live oak leaf), it looks as if the boas is a small adult male. Males of the dwarf form can reach mature status at around 13 1/4 to 13 1/2 inches.

I didn’t bother to look for boas locally during December or January but just Sharp-tailed Snakes. I did encounter a hatchling size Common Sharp-tailed Snake on Dec. 27th and another one on January 7th. Temperatures were ein thee mid 40's.

Yesterday’s high was in the upper 40s and later in the day, the sun came out from between the clouds. The forecast for today was sunny or partly sunny with a high of 59. It was foggy when I helped flush quarry for the immature female Red-tailed Hawk but then by near noon, the sun had pretty much dissipated the fog.

At near 3:30 PM, I headed out to the boonies with my two beagles so they could get some exercise and sniffing. At the time I made searches, it was then 54 – 55 degrees but sunny. Ended up encountering one hatching size Common Sharp-tailed Snake at one site in southern Polk County 17 mile north of Corvallis (we visited that site last May), and two adult male boas at a different site in Benton County where last May, we encountered some boas. So I had a good day!

Richard FH

[mark buck]

Richard,

Glad to hear you've been keeping up with your falconry.
Yea that Boa from the Piute's was around 10" in length, so most likely not in reproductive condition yet. That's nice that you've been able to see a few snake species locally! I haven't had a chance to make any searches yet this year, that said there have been a few days with nice conditions especially further south. Hoping to make it out soon. We had a very wet start to the year in early January but the rain machine has slowed down significantly. Hoping it picks up again in the coming weeks.

Mark