Search found 2251 matches

by BillMcGighan
October 17th, 2018, 12:45 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: California Waters: Part 5 with Giant Garters, Oregon Spotted Frogs, and the future of California's herps
Replies: 12
Views: 27840

Re: California Waters

Okay, Jonathan, That article is first class. :thumb: :thumb: Without knowing exactly where you were, you took us along and succinctly explained the plight of the two primary amphibs. I know euthanizing individual invasives is futile and probably only makes a conservationist feel righteous, but do yo...
by BillMcGighan
October 13th, 2018, 6:43 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: U.S. field guides
Replies: 13
Views: 22655

Re: U.S. field guides

I preordered the latest and have used it since it came out. The newest has the most up-to-date taxonomy accepted by CNAH and SSAR, and some more real photos mixed in the text, so it is pretty good. I've been using that series since the 1958 edition and each release gets better. My issue was with a f...
by BillMcGighan
October 13th, 2018, 5:52 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: U.S. field guides
Replies: 13
Views: 22655

Re: U.S. field guides

Another vote for the Peterson Guide for the East, especially in the field. I'm not as pleased with the newest edition because he must have done range maps from preserved specimens only. There are several incidents of minor range differences with our own data base. Still it's the most comprehensive a...
by BillMcGighan
October 7th, 2018, 5:24 am
Forum: News
Topic: double post - ignore
Replies: 0
Views: 13845

double post - ignore

double post for some reason????
by BillMcGighan
September 28th, 2018, 6:02 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Range extensions in Marin?
Replies: 28
Views: 34801

Re: Range extensions in Marin?

OP (I can't bring myself to call you "Kook" :lol: :lol: ) Documenting range extensions is a really noble cause and many of us encourage you. Good on you. :thumb: Looking back at 50+ years of field guides, the range maps generally get better and better and drift away from political boundari...
by BillMcGighan
September 21st, 2018, 4:19 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: The East Coast Turtles of LA County
Replies: 7
Views: 17262

Re: The East Coast Turtles of LA County

Quick shot Jonathan: Let me guess. This was a public park?? 1 Yellow Belly Slider ( Trachemys scripta scripta ) 2 Yellow Belly Slider ( Trachemys scripta scripta ) 3 Red-eared slider ( Trachemys scripta elegans ) 4 Red-eared slider ( Trachemys scripta elegans ) (often dark when old) 5 Red-eared slid...
by BillMcGighan
September 20th, 2018, 2:06 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Baby rattlesnakes basking at their den (Video)
Replies: 5
Views: 9078

Re: Baby rattlesnakes basking at thier den (Video)

:thumb: :thumb:
Excellent....

Finding a den first is special. Your not being very intrusive was more so...

Finish was the best.

RESPECT PROTECT PRESERVE
by BillMcGighan
September 4th, 2018, 4:06 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: trip report Corsica 2018
Replies: 7
Views: 16346

Re: trip report Corsica 2018

That is some awesome habitat, Jeroen.
I saw the stream and moss covered trees. Were the salamander areas as moist as our southern Appalachians?

Thanks for that one!
by BillMcGighan
September 2nd, 2018, 9:23 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Black/Yellow Rat Snake Intergrade?
Replies: 2
Views: 5150

Re: Black/Yellow Rat Snake Intergrade?

That's typical of the yellow/black variant integration area of the Eastern Ratsnake (Pantherophis alleghaniensis). Go south or to the coast, they tend to lighten to a light green. Go inland and by Raleigh or north by Virginia and they're already pretty black.
by BillMcGighan
September 2nd, 2018, 7:45 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: ANF in fall
Replies: 1
Views: 4394

Re: ANF in fall

PM sent Mike.
by BillMcGighan
August 31st, 2018, 5:12 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Nice time back in Oregon
Replies: 7
Views: 8767

Re: Nice time back in Oregon

Good post, Jonathan. That was a great welcome home bunch of outings!! Are you going to be back in the states now? Of course, the kid pics are always the best to me. This one was special because it was both a nice-sized adult and in an area I'd already searched hard twice but kept coming back because...
by BillMcGighan
August 28th, 2018, 11:10 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Law Enforcement Showed Up
Replies: 38
Views: 31758

Re: Law Enforcement Showed Up

Now that we all do have some agreement on some issues (to license or not), and we've scaled down confrontations, I just am curious how other folks in the US (and elsewhere) view confrontation with wildlife LEOs. (FD, tell your father "semper fi" for me.) . My opinion seems to be at odds wi...
by BillMcGighan
August 27th, 2018, 8:18 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Arizona 2018: Good times
Replies: 16
Views: 16217

Re: Arizona 2018: Good times

After thought.
One of the strangest southern mammals to us is the Mexican long-tongued bat (Choeronycteris mexicana).
by BillMcGighan
August 27th, 2018, 8:09 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Arizona 2018: Good times
Replies: 16
Views: 16217

Re: Arizona 2018: Good times

That's great.
Seeing a whole troop of Coatis foraging in the Chiricahuas was a special treat for my wife and I last year.
We heard them coming before we saw them.
by BillMcGighan
August 27th, 2018, 5:56 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Arizona 2018: Good times
Replies: 16
Views: 16217

Re: Arizona 2018: Good times

Good stuff, Craig.
Thanks for that post.

AZ, especially on the southern border, has always been magic to me, especially all the animals that primarily range from further south.
Of course, to us easterners, every herp, bird, and some mammals are species we don't see back here.
by BillMcGighan
August 23rd, 2018, 10:02 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Law Enforcement Showed Up
Replies: 38
Views: 31758

Re: Law Enforcement Showed Up

Just an afterthought on this issue: Many of us may choose to speed through states that do not have traffic ticket reciprocity like Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Tennessee, and Wisconsin, knowing that we may pay a stiff fine for a speeding ticket, but not get points assessed to our driver’s licen...
by BillMcGighan
August 22nd, 2018, 7:27 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Law Enforcement Showed Up
Replies: 38
Views: 31758

Re: Law Enforcement Showed Up

Lots of good stuff. I side with Jimi's statements linking this to fishing, even catch and release. It's always best to get a license. The concept in most states is that fish and game (and even non-game) belong to all the people in the state. To do anything with those resources, you follow management...
by BillMcGighan
August 14th, 2018, 11:05 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Alien Lizard Identification Needed
Replies: 13
Views: 10510

Re: Alien Lizard Identification Needed

Whole post is great. :lol: :lol: I think as long as there have been herpers, there have been prank, fake herps! Every time I hear of one left on a popular herping area I smile. Interesting subset of this is when a neighborhood boy, a friend of my son, +25 years ago, threw a rubber snake up in a tree...
by BillMcGighan
August 11th, 2018, 4:39 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) progression from la
Replies: 9
Views: 9913

Re: Spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) progression fro

Thanks, Tamara,
Hope you and Ray are doing great, especially after the past few years of active weather systems.

Now you need to to do a similar progression of Rainbow Snakes! :lol: ;)
by BillMcGighan
August 6th, 2018, 7:37 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) progression from la
Replies: 9
Views: 9913

Re: Spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) progression fro

Thanks Justin,
Hope all is well with you and yours.

I stared at each photo for a long time.
I do that allot with sun! ;) :lol:
by BillMcGighan
August 5th, 2018, 4:52 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) progression from la
Replies: 9
Views: 9913

Re: Spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) progression fro

FH, Thanks B. I hope it's useful to someone in the field. Carl, Thanks. I was inspired to do these little projects from your Pseudotriton larvae paper that was such a help to me defining P. ruber from P. montanus larvae. Hey Josh, Hope all is going well on your side of the mountains. I'm going to ma...
by BillMcGighan
August 4th, 2018, 5:41 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Back to Borneo, part 3: Lowlands of Sabah
Replies: 9
Views: 13058

Re: Back to Borneo, part 3: Lowlands of Sabah

Another good one.
Great comments.

The "two frogs" pic was amazing.
by BillMcGighan
August 2nd, 2018, 12:36 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Back to Borneo, part 2: Mulu National Park
Replies: 12
Views: 11738

Re: Back to Borneo, part 2: Mulu National Park

Wow...... Just Wow
Love the short scripts with the pics.


Planthopper/troll doll hybrid
:lol: :lol:

I think I have some parchute flies that look like that in my fly fishing vest!!!
by BillMcGighan
August 1st, 2018, 9:36 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) progression from la
Replies: 9
Views: 9913

Spotted salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) progression from la

Spotted salamander ( Ambystoma maculatum ) progression from larvae to adult. If this can help in field identification, this is another one of those “for what it’s worth” posts for anyone interested, or would like to add more. This is similar to “Marbled salamander ( Ambystoma opacum ) progression fr...
by BillMcGighan
July 28th, 2018, 8:34 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Borneo Herping Trip June/July 2018 (lots of pics!)
Replies: 9
Views: 7296

Re: Borneo Herping Trip June/July 2018

As always... first class
Thanks for posting
by BillMcGighan
July 14th, 2018, 7:35 pm
Forum: Invertebrate Forum
Topic: black lighting
Replies: 4
Views: 20150

Re: black lighting

Thanks for this post.
That's absolutely spectacular, Gordon

You could title the pic with the female Dobson Fly and the beetles "Jaws"... :thumb:
by BillMcGighan
July 10th, 2018, 2:18 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: rarest snake in Northeastern US?
Replies: 8
Views: 6472

Re: rarest snake in Northeastern US?

I'd vote for the South Florida Rainbow Snake (Farancia erytrogramma seminola) . Last one seen in the field was 1952. Florida State Museum says it may be extinct. Just a note about the word "rare". To some it means rarely found by herpers. To some it means in need of protection because popu...
by BillMcGighan
July 10th, 2018, 6:32 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Smoky Mountain Snakes
Replies: 6
Views: 6294

Re: Smoky Mountain Snakes

Spend a 1/2 day Trout fishing and you'll likely see Waters and Queens.
by BillMcGighan
July 5th, 2018, 1:09 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Smoky Mountain Snakes
Replies: 6
Views: 6294

Re: Smoky Mountain Snakes

Have any of you had much luck finding snakes in the smoky mountains? I'm assuming you mean the GSMNP. We've regularly found Waters, Queens, Ringnecks, black Gray Ratsnakes, Garters, Copperheads, and an occasional Eastern Milk, Worm Snake, Timbers, and Brown Snake inside the park, but your probabili...
by BillMcGighan
July 2nd, 2018, 2:33 pm
Forum: News
Topic: ... florida iguanas ...4 the crockpot ...
Replies: 3
Views: 13731

Re: ... florida iguanas ...4 the crockpot ...

I'm surprized it took this long for the news to catch it.

It's common place in latin america.

PS
The meat is really good, if prepared well.



PPS
The way I always prepared them was to tell them "calm down, this isn't going to hurt." ;)
by BillMcGighan
June 30th, 2018, 5:24 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Rainbow Snake
Replies: 4
Views: 6321

Re: Rainbow Snake

Congrats, Zach.
Alweays a special find nowadays.
by BillMcGighan
June 26th, 2018, 6:37 am
Forum: Herpetoculture Forum
Topic: Holtville locality Cal king
Replies: 6
Views: 23489

Re: Holtville locality Cal king

Thanks. It's really nice to see the incidence of locality breeders may be on its way back. Locality breeders seem to be generally more knowledgable. I've never been so disappointed at deli cup shows in the past 5 years with the overwhelming amount of ball Pythons coupled with the general feeling tha...
by BillMcGighan
June 26th, 2018, 6:25 am
Forum: News
Topic: I wasn't convinced this was possible [Graphic]
Replies: 27
Views: 37807

Re: I wasn't convinced this was possible [Graphic]

Bryan, Headland and Greene's paper ( http://www.pnas.org/content/108/52/E1470 ) is fascinating. Maybe I missed it in the paper, but they couldn’t address a member of the Agta folks just vanishing. It seems probable that when a community member just disappears, it may well have been a predation incid...
by BillMcGighan
June 23rd, 2018, 2:44 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Bullfrog call causing ripples in the water
Replies: 4
Views: 5629

Re: Bullfrog call causing ripples in the water

Come on, Michael, that's a male alligator booming!!
:lol: :roll:

Seriously, I don't think I've ever seen that in a Bullfrog... Very good... :thumb:
by BillMcGighan
June 20th, 2018, 3:57 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Road cruising Roanoke for Timbers
Replies: 3
Views: 7039

Re: Road cruising Roanoke for Timbers

This is certainly the type of behavior you don't regularly expect from average law enforcement.
I sent an email "ATABOY" to the Roanoke Police Department.

If you would like to do so as a gesture of support, here's the email:

[email protected]
by BillMcGighan
June 19th, 2018, 6:18 am
Forum: News
Topic: I wasn't convinced this was possible [Graphic]
Replies: 27
Views: 37807

Re: I wasn't convinced this was possible [Graphic]

I’ve seen many hoaxes but this one looks authentic.

If you ever travel to SE Asia you’ll appreciate that the average sizes and statures of these good folks are dramatically different than European and northern Asian decedents.
by BillMcGighan
June 19th, 2018, 5:34 am
Forum: Herpetoculture Forum
Topic: Is a supertank possible?
Replies: 20
Views: 39308

Re: Is a supertank possible?

Jimi I like a drain and a sump. More years ago than I care to mention, I made extremely low maintenance, low cost system for a small, indoor turtle pond with 3 screened overflow drains (for level control and triple redundancy for blockage) and one bottom drain for total draining, if necessary. The u...
by BillMcGighan
June 12th, 2018, 8:32 am
Forum: Herpetoculture Forum
Topic: Is a supertank possible?
Replies: 20
Views: 39308

Re: Is a supertank possible?

I think with much thought and consideration, this sounds like a great project. Good luck with it. . . . . As an aside: Chris And of course, don't put lizards which eat other lizards, with other lizards you want to keep more than a few days! :lol: :lol: :lol: Old guy story; quit reading while you can...
by BillMcGighan
June 2nd, 2018, 4:03 pm
Forum: Herpetoculture Forum
Topic: Tips for cleaning snake cages
Replies: 20
Views: 33770

Re: Tips for cleaning snake cages

intesting stuff, thanks.
by BillMcGighan
June 2nd, 2018, 4:01 pm
Forum: The Forum
Topic: ... ancient hairy reptile ... oh my
Replies: 3
Views: 6340

Re: ... ancient hairy reptile ... oh my

They like our big trees. :thumb: ;)
Now that makes me wonder if they find agatized Ents, like a petrified Ent forest. :?: :o
by BillMcGighan
June 2nd, 2018, 10:59 am
Forum: Herpetoculture Forum
Topic: Tips for cleaning snake cages
Replies: 20
Views: 33770

Re: Tips for cleaning snake cages

Anyone have any strong oppinions on "nolvasan s" (chlorhexidine diacetate) when used as directed as a cage surface disinfectant?
by BillMcGighan
May 30th, 2018, 7:35 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: ... ancient hairy reptile ... oh my
Replies: 3
Views: 6340

Re: ... ancient hairy reptile ... oh my

:lol: :lol: :lol:
dat tricky debil b try'n 2 fool us agin
:lol: :lol: :lol:


Really a neat find.

I'm waiting for paleontologists to find Sasquatch tracks in that same area! :?
by BillMcGighan
May 29th, 2018, 6:24 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: The Mystery of the granted green Pseudacris
Replies: 8
Views: 8465

Re: The Mystery of the granted green Pseudacris

Though these two reads are about H. (A.) regilla , there’s a high probability A. sierra does the same. Someone with access to JSTOR may have more. “Previous investigators have generally assumed that the green and brown body colors represent a “fixed” polymorphism and that seasonal changes in the pro...
by BillMcGighan
May 29th, 2018, 5:58 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: Costa Rica the pacific coast from Panama to Nicaragua!
Replies: 16
Views: 18754

Re: Costa Rica the pacific coast from Panama to Nicaragua!

Wonderful post... Took us right along with you.... Too many highlights to mention.

The real question is did you have the lucky knife with you? ;)
by BillMcGighan
May 27th, 2018, 2:57 pm
Forum: Herpetoculture Forum
Topic: Tips for cleaning snake cages
Replies: 20
Views: 33770

Re: Tips for cleaning snake cages

The ozonater sounds good, Bryan, and I'm asking out of ignorance, but isn't 03 possibly harmful to pets and humans?
by BillMcGighan
May 27th, 2018, 5:50 am
Forum: The Forum
Topic: The Mystery of the granted green Pseudacris
Replies: 8
Views: 8465

Re: The Mystery of the granted green Pseudacris

Here's the more specific point to my question... the green treefrogs look dark green when they're flipped and when they warm up, they're still green. Just a lighter/brighter shade of green. Green frogs don't ever look tan or gray or red. (however there are multi colored gray frogs that display gree...