Well, this year I didn't move around a whole lot. I was mostly confined within the borders of my own state, so most of this took place in the great state of Texas, and most of that in West Texas... Anyway... Here we go!
Starting off with the first snake of the year, a nice C. atrox hanging out by a cedar. Sorry for the washed-outness.
A nice C. f. testaceus from not long after.
Also:
T. proximus
Took a one night trip down into the Big Bend region in April and found these guys:
H. jani
T. vilkinsonii
Not long after, road cruising started getting fun in the south panhandle. These were found regularly:
R. l. tessellatus
L. g. splendida/holbrooki intergrades
S. c. tergeminus
The rains started coming in and brought out some amphibians:
A. woodhousei
G. olivacea
S. bombifrons
Along with the amphibians, a couple chelonians made it out into the daylight:
T. s. elegans
C. serpentina
Took another trip southwest and had some good luck on a night of hiking:
C. ornatus
A. c. pictigaster
C. l. lepidus
B. subocularis
On the drive home, I finally got my lifer H. nasicus, practically in my driveway.
That was about a week before my big Trans Pecos trip with my friend Saunders. Rains were ridiculous in the area while we were there, but we managed to have an excellent time!
T. vilkinsonii #1
#2
B. subocularis
C. ornatus
C. brevis
C. atrox
Habitat
T. c. cyrtopsis
T. c. cyrtopsis habitat
A. e. elegans
P. bairdi
T. m. marcianus
H. jani
Possible hypo
C. viridis
U. ornatus
R. l. tessellatus
C. l. lepidus
After that fun trip, I headed home and pulled up a few fossorials:
L. d. dulcis
S. semiannulata
T. nigriceps
This large P. c. sayi was a welcome sight:
A couple more toads also showed up:
S. couchii
A. debilis (I hate photographing these guys. They NEVER SIT STILL lol)
In the heat of the summer, lizards were everywhere to be found.
P. obsoletus
C. collaris
P. cornutum
Also managed to find several of these cool guys around the yard and on the dirt road leading from my house.
H. platirhinos
I made a few more trips down to some private land I have access to in West Texas and had some good luck with blacktails. I've found over 40 of these guys this year, whereas they were pretty scarcely found by me the past couple years.
Also happened upon this ugly thing...
L. alterna
This little P. modestum was found in a bush about 2 feet off the ground. Very interesting encounter.
In September I went to Mississippi to do a survey on some land a friend purchased. Nice getting paid to herp.
S. undulatus
C. c. priapus eating a juvenile of its own kind:
A. p. leucostoma
H. cinerea
T. c. triunguis (Uncooperative lil' bugger)
C. horridus (Lowland Form AKA CANEBRAKE)
I had a blast herping out that way. Wish I could have stayed longer.
After I got home, things started to slow down here.
C. f. testaceus
A. m. mavortium
L. blairi *Defensive posture*
And now at the last snake of the year, which was also the first:
C. atrox
Thanks for looking! I had a fun year! There was a lot of things I wanted to do this year that I never got around to doing, but there's always next year I suppose.
2013 EOY Report - Texas/Mississippi (Huge DUW, 80+ photos)
Moderator: Scott Waters
Re: 2013 EOY Report - Texas/Mississippi (Huge DUW, 80+ photo
That was a great post, the photography was top notch! An incredible amount of finds as well!
These 2 photos blew me away when I got to them, there were others that were very impressive as well but these 2 literally made my jaw drop and I had to sit there and admire for a little bit. Very well done!
These 2 photos blew me away when I got to them, there were others that were very impressive as well but these 2 literally made my jaw drop and I had to sit there and admire for a little bit. Very well done!
Whoa, I'm not sure that I have even seen 40 snakes this year!some good luck with blacktails. I've found over 40 of these guys this year,
Re: 2013 EOY Report - Texas/Mississippi (Huge DUW, 80+ photo
Thanks! Those two were posers. lol The ornatus in that photo is probably my favorite ornatus I've encountered. It was a stunner.
It was really surreal seeing so many of those guys this year, especially since it was pretty difficult to find at a lot of these locales during the worst part of the drought (2011-12). Hoping I can break that record again next year!
It was really surreal seeing so many of those guys this year, especially since it was pretty difficult to find at a lot of these locales during the worst part of the drought (2011-12). Hoping I can break that record again next year!
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Re: 2013 EOY Report - Texas/Mississippi (Huge DUW, 80+ photo
the toad you've labeled cognatus is woodhousei
Re: 2013 EOY Report - Texas/Mississippi (Huge DUW, 80+ photo
Ah, thank you. Didn't even cross my mind.troy hibbitts wrote:the toad you've labeled cognatus is woodhousei
Re: 2013 EOY Report - Texas/Mississippi (Huge DUW, 80+ photo
Great shots man, some of them bring back memories.
Can't wait to do it all again next year.
Can't wait to do it all again next year.
Re: 2013 EOY Report - Texas/Mississippi (Huge DUW, 80+ photo
Looks like you had a great year!
TD
TD
Re: 2013 EOY Report - Texas/Mississippi (Huge DUW, 80+ photo
You have some seriously impressive photo's. Looks like a great year indeed. I'm going to look this over again after I type this.
Re: 2013 EOY Report - Texas/Mississippi (Huge DUW, 80+ photo
Thanks man! We always seem to take it up a notch every year, so there's a lot to look forward to.Saunders wrote:Great shots man, some of them bring back memories.
Can't wait to do it all again next year.
Thanks Travis! It definitely was!tdimler wrote:Looks like you had a great year!
TD
Thank you Justin!justinm wrote:You have some seriously impressive photo's. Looks like a great year indeed. I'm going to look this over again after I type this.
Re: 2013 EOY Report - Texas/Mississippi (Huge DUW, 80+ photo
Ben
I have tried (with limited success) to photograph blind snakes. It never occurred to me that a couple of mesquite leaflets would get one to go into portrait mode. I'm going to have to investigate that technique next time I'm not in the swamp.
Jeff
I have tried (with limited success) to photograph blind snakes. It never occurred to me that a couple of mesquite leaflets would get one to go into portrait mode. I'm going to have to investigate that technique next time I'm not in the swamp.
Jeff
Re: 2013 EOY Report - Texas/Mississippi (Huge DUW, 80+ photo
Never underestimate the power of the mesquite. lol Unfortunately it was more patience than anything... Those guys are ridiculously squirmy. Maddeningly so.Jeff wrote:Ben
I have tried (with limited success) to photograph blind snakes. It never occurred to me that a couple of mesquite leaflets would get one to go into portrait mode. I'm going to have to investigate that technique next time I'm not in the swamp.
Jeff