Field Herp Forum

One of the odd things on this trip was the frequency of reptile activity. Days 1 & 3 were good. Day two was just slightly cooler and we saw nothing at all. This was even in the same areas. The last 4 hours of day three were outstanding. It was warmer and wetter. We saw more in this period than the t...

Outstanding stuff !!!
That Willamette Garter is gorgeous.
Herping with family is the best...
It was a great story told well.

craigb

Thanks Daniel for the identifications. I will start with your information and confirm with others as well. Jimi, My son is working at a research station about 90 minutes outside of Bangkok in the sticks/jungle. He is at The Suranaree University of Technology. He is working with Cryptelytrops macrops...

Yep my notes are kinda boring. But I document all of my sightings and locations. Both my sons do the same, but they are young and much more full of description and opinion. My other son is starting his Ph.D in Thailand working with Green tree vipers and Big eyed vipers (Trimeresurus). They both keep...

Thank you folks for the kind words. We really tried to fill every minute of our three day trip with the quest for knowledge and facts. We did an observatory tour, stopped and talked to bird researchers and insect researchers. We also covered a great deal of ground (freeway) and habitat (hiking and r...

FYI ....
This is me a few weeks ago.
My 30 year old son took the picture...

I think if you Google "old fart" you might get this pic also.

Yeah but 30 years ago I still had bought my fishing license to herp in Ca. It was considerably cheaper, but I still bought it. I turned 18 in 1975, I have not missed a year. I also used to use a film camera (35mm) that was a lot more expensive to use. But like a dumb butt I didn't buy the lifelong l...

Fire Drake for me "user pays" means just that. When I board a fishing vessel they check to make sure I have a valid fishing license... Always. When I fish in Mexican waters I board with a passport and pay for a Mexican license. Every year in December when I renew my Ca. Native Propagation Permit, I ...

There are some very cool birds there too ! Something to do while eating lunch... I have not keyed these out yet, so any help with ID would be great.... fhf2018a.JPG fhf2018b.JPG fhf2018c.JPG fhf2018d.JPG fhf2018e.JPG fhf2018f.JPG fhf2018g.JPG It has been a few decades since Ornithology class....

Yes their are some amazing animals there. We saw a Mountain Lion cross the road just in front of my headlights while returning to my car from photographing the C. atrox. I had never seen the Dung beetles rolling their ball across the road as a team. In years past I have seen Caracara, and coatimundi...

One thing mentioned above: User pays ....

I totally agree. I want that 1 in 100 option to take something that is incredible if I see it.
I buy a license to catch tuna, and the rare herp that I have not seen in the last 45 years.

Hello field herpers.... young and old. Here are some pics from a recent trip to Arizona. Please enjoy them. My skills with a camera are just average. But I had a GREAT time. The Genus and species are listed in the title of each pic. By the way I purchased my AZ combo, out of state, license online 2 ...

Comments on your second and third points: - hardly anybody walks tigers off-road, so VERY little of the population is actually hunted. Most of the people I know, photograph them and walk them off the road. This particular night was the exception to me. So I thought it note worthy. - there really are...

Just some observational input Dave. Recently while road cruising near Green Valley (several locations), I ran into three different people taking Crotalus tigris, and C. molossus. They were all from out of state. I spoke to them and they are familiar with this forum and several of the folks here. In ...

I agree with Lateralis... I have purchased a license every year, but I go fishing also. In reality Lou, you do catch the herps, photograph them and release them. I do the same thing with fish and a license is definitely required. It does very from state to state though. I just did three days in Ariz...

Thank you for "Keeping it Real" Lou.
Every one of your videos is a gem.
Craig Barnes aka alternatrivpets on You Tube.

No worries about the clothes, everything undigested would come out in the end.
Defecating buttons would be no worse than a child/human that swallows a penny or a nickel.

I am a old guy, I spend far to much time thinking about defecation....

Yes, I agree... But seeing is believing. I am talking first hand experience. When I was in my 20's I saw a red racer in the Mohave, that looked like it had swallowed a football. The snake was maybe 4 feet long, and at the middle (fattest point) it was bigger than my bicep muscle. We watched it for q...

pm sent...

Never mind, I went to the link posted.
Great stuff..

Craig

Great Stuff !
Keep them coming !

Can you give a brief description of the camera and equipment used?
Excellent photos !

Thank you,
Craig Barnes

All I can say is "Epic"...

Herping at its finest...

I cannot even fault the playlist....

Craig Barnes

Some great looking Kings....

They look like pretzels...

Ya need to put a sparrow next to it for size comparison.
Y'all got some mighty big bugs in the Razorback state...

That was a great post !!!
Never seen Thamnophis, or Rhinocheilus, there...
Let alone a cool king like that!

P.S. Much better pics than I take also !!

Great stuff

OU812..... Phonetically

It's never a bad day to get out in the field.
Being a dad I'm using this excuse with the wife to spend the afternoon flipping.

Happy day to all dads

I have to agree. Prior stories lacked credibility. This made the rounds yesterday and was picked up by several news agencies. It appears to be the most authentic evidence I have seen. I would like to hear others on this forum with more experience weigh in.

Another....

Microsoft Picture manager, edit picture resize....
If you click on the picture it enlarges to a reasonable size.

Both my adult sons belong to PARC, Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation. I have met several members in recent years while in the field. The ones I met were good folks. They have an annual meeting or conference here in the U.S. I believe it is an academic group of college students, teachers...

Ain't no Sasquatchs....

It's just Chewbacca and friends visiting. They like our big trees.

Tools that work for you, simple hide aways, and frequency. I use plastic salad tongs to pick up poo and aspen mixture. Sometimes for massive ones I use a plastic spatula. I use cereal boxes, yogurt containers, even take out food boxes as hides. If they get stinky or stained just toss them out. I spo...

That is very true. I took a field Geology class in college many years ago, and those folks were just like herpers. I have also seen folks panning for gold in streams where I was herping. Kinda similar.... But I don't think they leave as many things as most herpers do. We photograph and leave our jew...

On a positive note, in some ways captive breeding is working. Many rosy boa locales are being bred and offered for sale on common websites. I see L. pyromelana (AZ. mountain kingsnakes) frequently advertised as well. I personally breed rosy boas from two Az. locales. I purchased the adults from capt...

Good stuff... Great to see kids in on the action !!!!

Well, I have a window of opportunity Tuesday next week. I'm still deciding where I will go play...
I never even got out in the field at all last year. I injured my knee and was on crutches for 5 weeks.
It's all good now.

This is not as pretty as yours Porter. But it did impress me...

Those are gorgeous ! There are degrees of amelism, and leucism in nature... But truly only a genetics expert could do a study and figure out how it relates to the others of the same species. Porter, I like your name "Lilac" phase though. Let's just hope "they" don't build housing tracts and strip ma...

Kelly is correct. I kept a leucistic Texas ratsnake for several years before donating it to a fellow teacher. It was entirely white bodied, pink tongue, but deep blue "normal" eyes...

I think the splotches make this something else.

Well Jimi, it's a complicated issue. You provided facts and observations. Dave is an old timer, but new herpers read this forum also. I hope they can learn from it.

Jimi...
Your brevity was refreshing.
Just the facts, and observations.

Thank you

I have to agree Don. I was always concerned when herpers would bag protected species to take and photograph in a separate location then return and release. I don't need to model wild animals to enjoy the photographs. I know that there are some folks with far more skills than I, but I would rather ta...

No I have not tried video... Yet.
My daughter has a go pro. I am going to borrow it this summer... Monsoooooooooooooooooonnnn !

We will see....
Are you in California ???

Lou, the video was outstanding. I never get tired of your stuff.
The beginning and the end (with you head next to the snake) were extremely clever.

Great pics on the link ! and you have some writing talent.
I didn't get through all of it yet, but I shall return.

I have had some dealings with watersnakes and they are pretty much all irascible. But, they can be colorful and interesting. They can swallow really large fish.

Joseph have you tried a monopod? I have used one for more than a decade. I have "shooting stick" I bought at Walmart, cheap. It comes with a plastic fork on the end (I guess for supporting a rifle). That is easily removed and the remaining bolt fits to any DSLR body. It is light and compact. For abo...

Chris, I have to agree with the BAN everything statement. Being in California, for my own peace of mind I have never kept L.z. pulchra or L.z. parvaruba. I have photographed them and left them though. But I have kept and bred L. p. pyromelana, and currently keep and breed L. z. agalma, obviously (I ...

My only response from 15 years as an animal control officer/administrator in California would be whatever dog you get, take it with you every where. Show it what you want it to do, in simple repetitive ways. Show it that you care. It will return the affection. I started with local oil fields and boa...

Well, I am an old guy. I herped with Kent VanSooy and his father in the very early 70s. I met Kent in elementary school and we fished together at the local lake. Prior to 1975-76 there were virtually no regs on herps in Ca. We caught local kings (what are now called Long Beach greasers) as well as a...