Hey Everyone!
It has been a very long time since I have made any real post here on the Forum- especially in the CA Chapter. As many of you know, I recently toured the United States (and a few stops in Canada) with my band Scalped this summer. On the road for over a month and a half, I was able to visit and enjoy most of America- from the familiar deserts of Southern California, to the hot and humid flat lands of the South, to the boisterous cities of the East Coast, the beautiful and very "American" Midwest, and my home away from home- the Pacific Northwest.
While the cross country trip was music/band oriented with all destinations based on the next venue we were playing or the next house/hotel we were crashing at, I did manage (much to the dismay of bandmates that are not the most nature-centric people) to get some herping done. I owe a lot to everyone that helped me along the way- be it meeting me in person and taking me out, or helping me with some spots- in no particular order- Ryan Sikola, Stephen, Shawn Hayes, Aron Rattlesnakecake, Lou Boyer, Tim W, The Urbaneks, and countless others who offered their help through Instagram and Tumblr.
Furthermore, thank you so much to Lawrence Calfirecap for giving me a phone call while I was buying some gas station chicken gizzards in the middle of nowhere half way through tour in regards to a potential job opening. I am now sitting here on a laptop at Tree Frog Treks where I am now the head director of Animal Care and Operations. Snakes, Lizards, Turtles, Salamanders, Frogs, Toads and Tortoises are now my coworkers- I couldn't be happier!
So, while I am waiting for the CoCo Fiber to expand and the rats to thaw, I will make a very half-assed attempt at making a post-tour post.
Southern California- thank you Stephen and Ryan
Bakersfield Legless Lizard (Kern County)
SouthWestern Speckled Rattlesnake (San Bernardino County)
Chuckwalla (San Bernardino County)
Southwest to the Midwest through the South- most of my finds were near or around the venues we were playing- just a few hours or less of me wondering around rest stops flipping junk or crashing through the fields hoping to scare something up.
House Gecko (Clark County, NV)
Praire Ringnecked Snake (Oklahoma County, Oklahoma)
Found underneath a board right outside the venue
Gulf Coast Toad (Harris County, TX)
Cottonmouth (Harris County, TX)
Rough Earth Snake - DOR on bike trail (Harris County, TX)
Southern Toad (Okaloosa County, FL)
Gopher Tortoise Egg (Alachua County, FL)
Eastern Garter Snake- DOR that I found during an early morning run [read: morning exercise to burn off my hangover] (Glynn County, GA)
The James River- one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen
Eastern Cricket Frog (Richmond, VA)
Fowler's Toad (Richmond, VA)
Eastern Garter Snake (Delaware County, PA)- thank you Aron!
One of my favorite helping experiences of tour- we spent the night at a seedy motel in the middle of nowhere in Connecticut. We arrived at around 3 AM and I was fairly tired and well, buzzed (got some decent breweries on the East Coast). I heard some frogs off in the distance near a water filled ditch. I decided to check it out in the early morning. No frogs, but I found a huge piece of tarp thrown over a rock wall....a million Eastern Garters exploded everywhere and while making grabs at sirtalis, I noticed a tiny snake coiled up....
Dekay's Brown Snake - FAVORITE find of tour! (Middlesex County, CT)
Eastern Garter Snake (Middlesex County, CT)
American Mink (Hampshire County, MA)
While solo hiking, I noticed a tiny, blackish brown critter following me. I stopped and it stopped and it looked up and started chirping at me. I reached down and pat it on the head and it continued to chirp and follow me! I filmed a video of it (on my Instagram) and it literally stayed with me until my bandmates showed up. When my friends arrived, it walked into a bush and just waited.
"Lead-back" Redbacked Salamander (Hampshire County, MA)
Five-lined Skink (Jackson County, Missouri)
Heading back to the West Coast-
Plains Garter Snake (Adams County, CO)
Herper Goldmine in Eastern Oregon
Striped Whipsnake sheds were everywhere (Baker County, OR)
Western Red-backed Salamander (Whatcom County, WA)
Northwestern Garter Snake (Pierce County, WA)- Thank you Gary!
Well, that was a brief look at what I saw on tour! I have not updated all my photos yet- habitat shots and random tourist/band photos, and will update this thread in time.
Although I really enjoyed seeing the country, nothing beats the Bay Area. I have been helping nonstop (albeit it is horrible right now in terms of weather and drought) and have tons of photos- that will be for a different post.
Thanks for looking!
-Zach
Herping the USA- post Tour reflection
Moderator: Scott Waters
- MarcLinsalata
- Posts: 562
- Joined: June 7th, 2010, 10:50 pm
- Location: Los Angeles / New Jersey
Re: Helping the USA- post Tour reflection
Cool stuff as always - I love that herper's goldmine shot!! Hopefully, you get some rain up your way because I'm thinking of taking another trip up towards SF around the holidays again so I can knock off a lot of amphibian lifers and drink some
Oh, and add HERPING to your spell checker dictionary !!!!
Marc
Oh, and add HERPING to your spell checker dictionary !!!!
Marc
- Brian Hubbs
- Posts: 4735
- Joined: June 7th, 2010, 11:41 am
- Location: "Buy My Books"-land
Re: Herping the USA- post Tour reflection
Nice finds and pics Zach...did you see Pocahontas at the James River?
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- Posts: 8025
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Re: Herping the USA- post Tour reflection
A herper herps always, no matter where he may go. very cool post...
Re: Herping the USA- post Tour reflection
Very nice....
- Calfirecap
- Posts: 638
- Joined: June 16th, 2010, 8:09 am
- Location: Santa Cruz Co. California
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Re: Herping the USA- post Tour reflection
Great post Zach, more than a few lifers for you, and congratulations on the new job. I was stoked to hear you got it.