San Diego County – Fall 2014 to Spring 2015

Dedicated exclusively to field herping.

Moderator: Scott Waters

Post Reply
User avatar
SurfinHerp
Posts: 653
Joined: October 18th, 2010, 8:55 pm
Location: San Diego, CA
Contact:

San Diego County – Fall 2014 to Spring 2015

Post by SurfinHerp »

Hi Everyone,

Here are a bunch of photos I've taken since last Fall. They are more or less in chronological order, beginning in Sept. 2014 and finishing in the middle of March 2015.

Hope to see many of you in SD in a few weeks!

Jeff




Granite night lizard active on the rocks near Escondido
Image


The only neonate kingsnake I saw all Fall was this one up in the mountains
Image


One of the better-looking sidewinders I've seen. I especially like its perfect rattle.
Image


This guy posed calmly for me, resulting in perhaps my best-ever side-blotched lizard photo
Image


Finally found a rosy boa on a short, local road that I cruise frequently. Nice one too!
Image


Closeup of a tightly coiled desert glossy snake
Image




Sometime in the middle of last year I decided I was going to try to find leaf-toed geckos at as many different localities as I could. It was partly because snakes were becoming too few and far between, and partly to prove a point I had made during a discussion earlier in the year. I honed my Phyllo skills and found them at almost every spot I looked.


Here's the smallest leaf-toed I've seen. I think it was probably just a few weeks old.
Image

This one was found near the above hatchling, close to a beautiful palm oasis
Image

Leaf-toed gecko habitat
Image


Coastal habitat where I hike frequently
Image

This is the first snake I've ever found in the above habitat
Image


This helleri from the foothills looks just like an Arizona Black rattler, doesn't it?
Image



October sunset in the desert
Image

Small sidewinder found with SnakeDude (Ian B.) while he was visiting SD from CO
Image


Sandy landscape in the southern part of Anza-Borrego
Image

Big red diamond rattler found crawling through the above-pictured wash in mid-November
Image



I kept finding leaf-toed geckos into mid-November.

Here's the last one of 2014
Image



Once winter weather started to arrive in late November, I decided I was going to road-cruise during every rainstorm of the season. My goals were to find good roads for arboreal salamanders, new locales for Monterey ensatinas, and hopefully a spot where CA newts can be cruised in SD County.


Chrispherp and I found this nice Monterey in a new locale in the NW part of the County
Image

We found a spot for newts as well, but it's a couple miles N. of the County line
Image


CA treefrogs are common in certain rocky streams, but I've never found one crossing a road in the rain
Image


Spadefoot toads come out in the rain, and also sometimes when it's just humid but not raining
Image

Image


One rainy night I stopped off at a convenient boardline and found this cool-looking helleri trying to stay dry under a big board
Image


NatureNate and I found a pair of kingsnakes at dusk in mid-December
Image


The first ring-necked snake I've seen at a certain AC site near the coast
Image


Garden slender salamander, as found
Image

San Diego nightsnake doing its best to look intimidating
Image



A couple of large-blotched ensatinas on another rainy night in the SD mountains..

Image

Image


Barred tiger salamanders (Ambystoma mavortium mavortium) have been introduced into a few ponds in San Diego.
This one came out right after a heavy downpour in mid-December.
Image



One perfect rainy night in mid-January, ensatinas were all over the roads and roadsides.

I ended up finding three courting pairs, including this handsome large-blotched duo
Image

This photo of a Monterey and its scat is specifically for PNW Herper - enjoy Fil :P
Image

Just a little king found at dusk in January
Image


I've found a lot of lyre snakes on roads or crawling at night, but this was the first one I've ever found during the daytime. It was discovered under a large caprock.
Image

San Diego banded gecko from an area I haven't found one before
Image


The first time I found this distinctive striper was in March 2011 when it was 10" long. This time it was under a piece of cardboard I had laid out only 3 weeks earlier about 20 yards from the board where it was originally seen. Nice to see how he's grown!
Image

Got this great photo (for me :lol: ) of a red diamond while herping with Bostonsauce for the first time
Image

We also got this voucher of a juvie granite spiny near the W. edge of their range
Image
I had a good time Chris - let's hit the field again soon!



Granite night lizard adult, found under a large caprock
Image
FYI - I got this photo by lifting the cap a few inches, then wedging my small flashlight under the edge to hold it up. No need to remove the cap all the way.

Here's what the adult looked like after it ran out of its hiding spot
Image

And this is the juvie that was there too
Image


In February I took my two sons on a desert camping trip. We had fun photographing lizards like this chuckwalla
Image

and we found a few desert night lizards as well
Image


One of the last winter storms of this season brought out a host of amphibians.
I found four slender salamanders on the road, another newt (same spot as the previous one), plus a lot of Baja CA treefrogs, western toads, and a couple arboreal salamanders....
Image

Image

Image

Image

Image

Image


Near the end of February, I tried unsuccessfully for red-sided gartersnakes.
Along the way I came across this really dark-colored juvenile coachwhip
Image

I also found a few legless lizards that day.
This is a small juvie
Image

and this is a large adult from the same sandy field laden with AC
Image



Found this large striper close to home, under a board set out by NatureNate
Image


In the first week of March, I met up with my buddy Frank T. and herped a few spots on the SD/Imperial County border.
Overall, it was a surpringly slow day, but at least Frank spotted this cool coachwhip on the crawl in a desert wash..
Image

Image



Got a decent shot of a gopher snake one evening in the middle of March
Image


I went to my favorite horned lizard hotspot on a recent bright sunny day and tried to get a good in-situ photo. I found a couple Phrynos, but my photos were washed out.
This is the best shot I got
Image


I like this shot because it shows how gophersnakes can flatten their head to imitate a rattler
Image


Here's a small striped racer found on a quick trip to the mountains
Image


Last weekend I went looking for leaf-toed geckos at a new spot and did pretty well. Found 5 geckos and a threadsnake to boot...
Image

Image

Image

One last shot of some beautiful San Diego rosy boa habitat
Image



See you in the field!


Jeff
User avatar
MarcLinsalata
Posts: 562
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 10:50 pm
Location: Los Angeles / New Jersey

Re: San Diego County – Fall 2014 to Spring 2015

Post by MarcLinsalata »

:thumb:
Zach_Lim
Posts: 1607
Joined: June 10th, 2010, 8:37 pm

Re: San Diego County – Fall 2014 to Spring 2015

Post by Zach_Lim »

Excellent end of the 2014 and start of 2015, Jeff!

All your shots are wonderful, especially that of the little 'winder!
User avatar
JAMAUGHN
Posts: 1131
Joined: May 15th, 2011, 12:16 am
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
Contact:

Re: San Diego County – Fall 2014 to Spring 2015

Post by JAMAUGHN »

Wow, that was great. That Striped racer shot really gets me. Very dynamic.

JimM
User avatar
gopher
Posts: 173
Joined: April 9th, 2013, 9:45 pm
Location: California, San Gabriel Valley

Re: San Diego County – Fall 2014 to Spring 2015

Post by gopher »

Great work again Jeff! SD has it all! Sallies and awesome desert species.
finnishserpent
Posts: 13
Joined: March 24th, 2014, 8:04 am

Re: San Diego County – Fall 2014 to Spring 2015

Post by finnishserpent »

Beautiful photos! Brings back great memories :)
RobertH
Posts: 1834
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 9:38 pm
Location: Los Angeles

Re: San Diego County – Fall 2014 to Spring 2015

Post by RobertH »

As always, great variety. I especially like the Lyre Snake. Was it rock-flipped or under AC?

Robert
User avatar
Brian Hubbs
Posts: 4735
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 11:41 am
Location: "Buy My Books"-land

Re: San Diego County – Fall 2014 to Spring 2015

Post by Brian Hubbs »

Cool pics :thumb:
User avatar
SurfinHerp
Posts: 653
Joined: October 18th, 2010, 8:55 pm
Location: San Diego, CA
Contact:

Re: San Diego County – Fall 2014 to Spring 2015

Post by SurfinHerp »

Thanks for your replies guys!


Nice to see you're still on FHF Matti. Say Hi to Santra for me! Have you found any herps in Finland yet this Spring?


Robert - I found the lyre under a cap rock. I was expecting to see granite night lizards, but maybe the lyre had already eaten them :lol:


Cheers,

Jeff
finnishserpent
Posts: 13
Joined: March 24th, 2014, 8:04 am

Re: San Diego County – Fall 2014 to Spring 2015

Post by finnishserpent »

SurfinHerp wrote: Nice to see you're still on FHF Matti. Say Hi to Santra for me! Have you found any herps in Finland yet this Spring?
I went to my fave spot today, but unfortunately it's still too cold for herps to be active (at least today was). However, when it's warmer you'll have nice chances of spotting Natrix natrix, Vipera berus, Lacerta vivipara here:

Image

You can see there's still ice in the water.

Image
RobertH
Posts: 1834
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 9:38 pm
Location: Los Angeles

Re: San Diego County – Fall 2014 to Spring 2015

Post by RobertH »

Thanks, Jeff, that's interesting. I have never heard of anyone finding a Lyre Snake, or any other snake, under a cap rock of the kind used by Granite Night Lizards.

Robert
hellihooks
Posts: 8025
Joined: June 8th, 2010, 8:12 am
Location: Hesperia, California.
Contact:

Re: San Diego County – Fall 2014 to Spring 2015

Post by hellihooks »

Zonata love capstone... :D
SnakeDude
Posts: 417
Joined: July 14th, 2011, 9:18 am
Location: Denver, CO

Re: San Diego County – Fall 2014 to Spring 2015

Post by SnakeDude »

sweet! That winder was fun :thumb: I'll be back out next monday, if you wanna meet up. I have my license too, just shoot me a txt/PM.
User avatar
El Garia
Posts: 722
Joined: October 20th, 2011, 4:39 pm
Location: Santa Clara Co. , CA

Re: San Diego County – Fall 2014 to Spring 2015

Post by El Garia »

Very nice primer post for the National Meet, Jeff! Neat variety and nice pics :beer:

-Derek
User avatar
nightdriver
Posts: 427
Joined: August 24th, 2010, 9:34 pm
Location: Los Angeles County

Re: San Diego County – Fall 2014 to Spring 2015

Post by nightdriver »

I'm gonna take you up on the offer to put me on some new herps. :beer:

- nighdriver
RobertH
Posts: 1834
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 9:38 pm
Location: Los Angeles

Re: San Diego County – Fall 2014 to Spring 2015

Post by RobertH »

Zonata love capstone... :D
Well, yes, but those cap stones are not also used by Granite Night Lizards.
User avatar
Speckled Rosy
Posts: 308
Joined: June 11th, 2010, 12:07 pm
Location: Canyon country, Ca

Re: San Diego County – Fall 2014 to Spring 2015

Post by Speckled Rosy »

Nice Post! Looks like you got around quite a bit since last year.. Loved the habi-pics.

-Dan
condyle
Posts: 206
Joined: September 25th, 2010, 3:46 pm
Location: Santa Cruz ca

Re: San Diego County – Fall 2014 to Spring 2015

Post by condyle »

Great Post. Particularly the Nightsnake shot!
Philrezin1
Posts: 87
Joined: October 11th, 2012, 2:11 pm

Re: San Diego County – Fall 2014 to Spring 2015

Post by Philrezin1 »

Wow, really impressed by the diversity! I loved the salamanders, coachwhip pics, and the rattlers!

Phil
mark buck
Posts: 102
Joined: March 30th, 2015, 11:01 am
Location: Bakersfield, CA

Re: San Diego County – Fall 2014 to Spring 2015

Post by mark buck »

that big red diamond in the wash looks intimidating!
great shot of the gopher too,
nice photos
User avatar
jonathan
Posts: 3689
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 8:39 am
Contact:

Re: San Diego County – Fall 2014 to Spring 2015

Post by jonathan »

Nice post! I like the variety of animals and the little bits of explanations about techniques and locations.

The blind snake interested me - was that one out on the crawl while you were looking for leaf-toed geckos?



"CA treefrogs are common in certain rocky streams, but I've never found one crossing a road in the rain."

As far as I can recall, I've only seen it once in the San Gabes - on a cold rainy night when I didn't find anything else. I don't road cruise in the rain very often though, so I would think that if I saw it once that it must happen more often.
User avatar
SurfinHerp
Posts: 653
Joined: October 18th, 2010, 8:55 pm
Location: San Diego, CA
Contact:

Re: San Diego County – Fall 2014 to Spring 2015

Post by SurfinHerp »

Dan, Condyle, Phil, Mark and Jonathan - Glad you guys enjoyed some of the photos! 8-)


Jonathan - Yes, I found the threadsnake poking its head into a crack on a vertical rock face while I was searching for leaf-toed geckos.
I can't think of many roads in SD County that parallel streams where CA treefrogs occur, but I know a few crossings that could produce under the right conditions. Maybe next winter I'll make it a minor goal to cruise a cadaverina.


Jeff
Post Reply