Summer road trippin'

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NACairns
Posts: 372
Joined: December 30th, 2013, 7:27 am

Summer road trippin'

Post by NACairns »

The wife and I had a few drives this summer stretching across western and central Canada from family events in Victoria BC to home in Val Marie SK and East to Kingston were we are now based with a number of places in between. Herping was incidental or brief but was very productive.
We started way out west on Vancouver Island where we managed to stumble upon a few local favorites.
Pseudacris regilla
ImageIMGP6695 by nacairn, on Flickr
Thamnophis ordinoides
ImageIMGP6721 by nacairn, on Flickr
ImageIMGP6750 by nacairn, on Flickr
Ursus americanus
ImageIMGP6764 by nacairn, on Flickr
Next we stumbled our way into the interior we only had 4 hours of free time in the late morning early afternoon but we used them well.
Unfortunately the first find was a sad one, this boa was still writhing when we found it. They are fairly common in the south Okanogan but I had never seen one active during the day. This was unfortunately one of a number of DORs on this trip.
Charina bottae
ImageIMGP7025 by nacairn, on Flickr
Next we visited some ontathologist friends and quickly spooked up a couple of racers at one of their field sites.
Coluber constrictor mormon
ImageIMGP6855 by nacairn, on Flickr
Then back at their house a hurried search of the refuse around their place revealed a few more critters.
Pituophis catenifer deserticola
ImageIMGP6953 by nacairn, on Flickr
I could not this guy to calm down for a photo
ImageIMGP6934 by nacairn, on Flickr
Crotalus o. oreganus
ImageIMGP6901 by nacairn, on Flickr
We then ran for Val Marie SK, the rest of the BC, AB was done at night or in a very sleepy state. As usual this area was beautiful but herps were hard to track down this year. The rattlesnake, racer and bullsnake populations took a beating in 2010-11 with slumping do to a very wet winter but this year even horned lizard were hard to come by. That said, from anecdotal evidence it seems like snake populations are on the rebound, time will tell.
It was a very wet year turning fields and roads into torrents and highways into lakes. In one 24 hour period we had nearly 7 inches of precipitation.
ImageIMGP7695 by nacairn, on Flickr
ImageIMGP7699 by nacairn, on Flickr
This was good for the amphibians.
Ambystoma mavortium
ImageIMGP7234 by nacairn, on Flickr
Spea bombifrons, an unimpressive shot but this guy is a ways away from the known range of this species in Saskatchewan.
ImageIMGP7244 by nacairn, on Flickr
A couple other highlights:
Thamnophis radix
ImageIMGP7107 by nacairn, on Flickr
Buteo swainsoni with Thamnophis radix
ImageIMGP7185 by nacairn, on Flickr
Taxidea taxus
ImageIMGP8397 by nacairn, on Flickr
Lithobates pipiens
ImageIMGP8450 by nacairn, on Flickr
Pseudacris maculata
ImageIMGP8751-001 by nacairn, on Flickr
Crotalus viridis
ImageIMGP8486 by nacairn, on Flickr
Phrynosoma hernandesi
ImageIMGP8593 by nacairn, on Flickr
I’ve been very lucky to get to call this place my home.
ImageIMGP7110 by nacairn, on Flickr
We them began a massive drive from Val Marie to Kingston Ontario (3250km) with stops in Manitoba and Ontario in order to get my very pregnant wife to our new home out east. We visited with a good friends and herping buddy Neil Gushulak and spent an couple hours poking around some old study sites of ours. We found almost every species you could find in the area and had a great time. These photos are from previous trips as most of the herps escaped unphotographed this trip.
Plestiodon septentrionalis
ImageDSCF1065 by nacairn, on Flickr
Heterodon nasicus
ImageIMGP0635 by nacairn, on Flickr
And others…
And in Ontario the roads were kind
Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis (found at a subway sandwich shop)
ImageIMGP0296 by nacairn, on Flickr
Sistrurus catenatus, found on a rainy, cool day on a 20km detour off the main highway
ImageIMGP0338 by nacairn, on Flickr
Diadophis punctatus edwardsii (photographed on matte as I was tired of trying to make a tiny colubrid standout from the substrate).
ImageIMGP0411 by nacairn, on Flickr
All and all a successful series of trips. Hopefully the roads will continue to be kind this fall.
ImageIMGP0324 by nacairn, on Flickr
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Kyle from Carolina
Posts: 221
Joined: May 3rd, 2012, 8:12 pm
Location: western MA and NC

Re: Summer road trippin'

Post by Kyle from Carolina »

Good stuff Nick. I'm impressed that you found all those critters in the south okanagan in only 4 hours. It took me a lot longer and I never saw a boa, despite finding lots of other AOR and DOR snakes on the road at night. You must be a snake whisperer. The massasauaga is sweet. Looks like you're already finding some stuff in Ontario.
NACairns
Posts: 372
Joined: December 30th, 2013, 7:27 am

Re: Summer road trippin'

Post by NACairns »

Thanks Kyle but some times I can't yell up a snake, I just got lucky in an area I pretty familiar with.
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Ribbit
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Re: Summer road trippin'

Post by Ribbit »

That photo of the tiger salamander with lightning in the background is particularly great.

John
NACairns
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Joined: December 30th, 2013, 7:27 am

Re: Summer road trippin'

Post by NACairns »

Thanks very much. I am very happy with that one.
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Brian Willey
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Re: Summer road trippin'

Post by Brian Willey »

I also love the shot of the Tiger! Striking! ;)
joeysgreen
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Location: Edmonton, Alberta

Re: Summer road trippin'

Post by joeysgreen »

That's a pretty sweet array of herps all across Canada. Thanks for sharing :)

Ian
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gbeck
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Re: Summer road trippin'

Post by gbeck »

Awesome photos! I'm especially impressed by that tiger salamander with the lightning. Amazing.
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NewYorkHerper16
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Re: Summer road trippin'

Post by NewYorkHerper16 »

Great photography! It looks like you had a very successful trip. The shot with the tiger salamander and the lightning is AWESOME!!
NACairns
Posts: 372
Joined: December 30th, 2013, 7:27 am

Re: Summer road trippin'

Post by NACairns »

Thanks, I appreciate the kind comments.
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Noah M
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Re: Summer road trippin'

Post by Noah M »

I think if I had seen that bear I would have crapped myself. I have seen bear before, but never up on their hind legs staring right at me.

Yes, the tiger sally with the lightning is amazing
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orionmystery
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Re: Summer road trippin'

Post by orionmystery »

Great set!
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