Trip Summary, June 18-25, 2016

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Misenus
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Trip Summary, June 18-25, 2016

Post by Misenus »

I'm pleased to report that even though this trip coincided with a record heat wave and a full moon, I was able to find some good stuff. I slept 3-4 hours a night the entire week, and hiked later in the day than it was probably smart to do (in Tubac, where I stayed, highs were between 105 and 115 every day). With one exception, night cruising was a total bust; if I'd known, I would have gotten a lot more sleep. The one dubious positive in this is that I wasn't competing with any other herpers. Only Border Patrol on the roads, and only a couple other foolish souls in the mountains with me.

Areas covered were Santa Cruz, Pima, and Cochise Counties. Thanks to everyone who gave advice before I left, especially Robert-- I was undoubtedly more successful because of the information you shared.

I got into Tubac in the afternoon of the eighteenth and didn't try to do much because it was around 110. I walked around the property a bit and flipped this Smith's Black-headed Snake under a log. It was the only herp I flipped the entire time; it was bone dry, and there was no moisture trapped under anything lying on the surface.

ImageSmith's Black-headed Snake, Tantilla hobartsmithi Taylor, 1936 by Patrick Randall, on Flickr

The next morning (Day 2) I got up early (correction: the kids, who were on Eastern time, got up at 3 am and woke me up too) and headed to the mountains, but the spot I Google mapped turned out not to be great, and it was already really hot by 10 am, so I headed back. Lying perfectly still on the dirt road I found this Sonoran Whipsnake. I moved him to the edge and got a couple pics. A little further down the road was a fresh DOR Gopher Snake.

ImageSonoran Whipsnake, Masticophis bilineatus Jan, 1863 by Patrick Randall, on Flickr

When I got back to the house, I walked around the property as long as I could stand the heat. The birds and lizards didn't seem to mind.

Ornate Tree Lizard:
ImageOrnate Tree Lizard, Urosaurus ornatus Baird & Girard, 1852 by Patrick Randall, on Flickr

That night I road cruised for a few hours and turned up nothing. The next morning (Day 3) I walked some more nearby the house to get some shots of common lizards.

Clark's Spiny Lizard:
ImageClark's Spiny Lizard, Sceloporus clarkii Baird and Girard, 1852 ♂ by Patrick Randall, on Flickr

ImageClark's Spiny Lizard, Sceloporus clarkii Baird and Girard, 1852 ♂ by Patrick Randall, on Flickr

Elegant Earless Lizard:
ImageElegant Earless Lizard, Holbrookia elegans Bocourt, 1874 ♂ by Patrick Randall, on Flickr

Later in the morning, we left to take the kids to the Children's Museum in Tucson. As we were driving through the small downtown of Tubac, I saw a Roadrunner perched on a sign next to the road. It spooked when I stopped to take a pic and ran off a ways, and I only had my crappy Sony point-and-shoot with me, so I took a few shots and then we drove the 5 min. back to the house to grab the Nikon. When we returned, the Roadrunner was almost out of sight, and I wasn't able to get any good pics. But out of the corner of my eye, I saw a Coachwhip crossing someone's driveway. I jumped out and grabbed it, and we took it back to the house to take some pics before letting it go (the kids eventually got to the museum, I promise).

While photographing it, I learned that the whole "2/3 body length" rule for striking distance doesn't apply to Coachwhips; I'm 6' tall, and the 5' snake nailed me on the hand, which was next to my cheek, as I stood over it taking pictures.

ImageSonoran Coachwhip, Masticophis flagellum cingulum Lowe & Woodin, 1954 by Patrick Randall, on Flickr

ImageSonoran Coachwhip, Masticophis flagellum cingulum Lowe & Woodin, 1954 by Patrick Randall, on Flickr

Later, my wife was looking through pics on the Sony and discovered that Coachwhip had been there all along, and I never realized it. I guess the Roadrunner decided it wasn't worth making a meal out of it.

ImageGreater Roadrunner, Geococcyx californianus (Lesson, 1829) stalking Coachwhip snake by Patrick Randall, on Flickr

That night I road cruised for many hours, logging my only [night] cruised finds for the entire trip: two Western Diamondbacks, plus a DOR Sonoran Whipsnake. I guess the atrox didn't mind the bright moon.

ImageWestern Diamondback Rattlesnake, Crotalus atrox Baird & Girard, 1853 by Patrick Randall, on Flickr

ImageWestern Diamondback Rattlesnake, Crotalus atrox Baird & Girard, 1853 by Patrick Randall, on Flickr

The morning of Day 4 I went to the mountains and hiked for 8 hours without finding a single herp except the ubiquitous Whiptails. Road cruised again that night and got skunked.

Day 5 I decided to do some hiking at lower elevations, where I had good luck with lizards. I also found the fresh shed of a 7-ft. Gopher Snake (but unfortunately not its owner).

There were lots of Greater Earless Lizards:
ImageGreater Earless Lizard, Cophosaurus texanus Troschel, 1852 by Patrick Randall, on Flickr

ImageGreater Earless Lizard, Cophosaurus texanus Troschel, 1852 by Patrick Randall, on Flickr

ImageGreater Earless Lizard, Cophosaurus texanus Troschel, 1852 by Patrick Randall, on Flickr

Tiger Whiptail:
ImageTiger Whiptail, Aspidoscelis tigris (Baird & Girard, 1852) by Patrick Randall, on Flickr

Sonoran Spotted Whiptail:
ImageSonoran Spotted Whiptail, Aspidoscelis sonorae (Lowe & Wright, 1964) by Patrick Randall, on Flickr

Canyon Spotted Whiptail:
ImageCanyon Spotted Whiptail, Aspidoscelis burti (Taylor, 1938) by Patrick Randall, on Flickr

That night, I went back to the same spot to look for snakes. All I found was another DOR Sonoran Whipsnake and a Western Banded Gecko (which got away), but after a couple hours of hiking, I finally found a Gila Monster, one of my top targets for the trip.

ImageGila Monster, Heloderma suspectum Cope, 1869 by Patrick Randall, on Flickr

ImageGila Monster, Heloderma suspectum Cope, 1869 by Patrick Randall, on Flickr

The next morning (Day 6) I went back to the mountains for one more shot at montane rattlers. I didn't have any specific tips for where to look, so I picked a canyon and started hiking. After 6 hours, I spotted a Slevin's Bunchgrass Lizard and grabbed him. I walked a few meters up the trail to look for a good spot to photograph him, when I saw something else on the edge of the trail: a Twin-spotted Rattler! This was a surprise, since I wasn't expecting to find any pricei in that particular range or at that elevation (7,850 ft.). I put the lizard in my pocket and hoped he wouldn't get out while I photographed the snake (of course he did).

ImageTwin-spotted Rattlesnake, Crotalus pricei pricei Van Denburgh, 1895 by Patrick Randall, on Flickr

A little further up the trail I found a couple Madrean Alligator Lizards:
ImageMadrean Alligator Lizard, Elgaria kingii Gray, 1838 by Patrick Randall, on Flickr

ImageMadrean Alligator Lizard, Elgaria kingii Gray, 1838 by Patrick Randall, on Flickr

And a bunch of Yarrow's Spiny Lizards:
ImageYarrow's Spiny Lizard, Sceloporus jarrovii Cope in Yarrow, 1875 by Patrick Randall, on Flickr

By the early afternoon, I was at 8,500 ft. and decided to head back down. At a lower elevation than the first, I found a second pricei! This tiny guy was curled up right in the trail catching some sun.

ImageTwin-spotted Rattlesnake, Crotalus pricei pricei Van Denburgh, 1895 by Patrick Randall, on Flickr

The next morning, Day 7 (my last full day), I spent a couple hours looking for Oxybelis with no luck. It actually rained for a couple hours in the afternoon, so that night I went road cruising hoping for one last snake. No luck. I did find my only amphibians of the trip at the edge of a small pond, including a Great Basin Toad that escaped before I could get a shot.

Sonoran Desert Toad:
ImageSonoran Desert Toad, Incilius alvarius (Girard in Baird, 1859) by Patrick Randall, on Flickr

There were lots of Chiricahua Leopard Frogs:
ImageChiricahua Leopard Frog, Lithobates chiricahuensis (Platz and Mecham, 1979) by Patrick Randall, on Flickr

The next morning (Day 8) we packed up and drove to Phoenix for our return flight. It was an exhausting vacation, and I wish I had more to show for the amount of effort I expended, but I'm still happy with the results. Arizona is awesome and I'm already itching to get back. Please let me know if I've misidentified anything, and feel free to check out all my pics from the trip (including non-herps) on my Flickr photostream: https://www.flickr.com/photos/animaliaproject/

Pat
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Fieldherper
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Re: Trip Summary, June 18-25, 2016

Post by Fieldherper »

I think you did well for June! Very nice photos. I love the whipsnake/coachwhip!! Very pretty pricei too. Repeat exactly what you did after rains and you'll kill it.

FH
Knormal
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Re: Trip Summary, June 18-25, 2016

Post by Knormal »

That's a beautiful coachwhip, all I ever seem to see when I'm in Arizona are the black morphs around Tucson. And congrats on the Gila, they're always awesome.
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Jeremy Wright
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Re: Trip Summary, June 18-25, 2016

Post by Jeremy Wright »

Awesome job with the coachwhip, and also the pricei! Definitely cool snakes and I really like your photography.
Jimi
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Re: Trip Summary, June 18-25, 2016

Post by Jimi »

Major congrats, and I second the "come back in prime time and - with how hard you're obviously willing to work - prepare to be impressed!". Really, you did well considering the terrible conditions. I'm particularly amazed you flipped a Tantilla at a dry 110F. My God. Nobody does that. Nobody even tries (which may contribute to the results, ha ha ha).

Lovely pricei you got, oftentimes (and further east...) they're not very attractive. And that's my fave morph coachwhip too, I call it the "Egyptian cobra morph" 'cause of the wide bands.

Thanks for following up with the report. Nice pics too BTW.

cheers
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Jeroen Speybroeck
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Re: Trip Summary, June 18-25, 2016

Post by Jeroen Speybroeck »

Jimi wrote:Lovely pricei you got
Yes! We didn't manage to find one, but it always looked as dull as Coronella austriaca (a dirt common European species) to me, until I saw this one.
Jimi wrote:Thanks for following up with the report.
Yes!!!
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Brian Hubbs
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Re: Trip Summary, June 18-25, 2016

Post by Brian Hubbs »

Really nice finds and really nice pics...so refreshing to see all those cool herps. :thumb: The Leopard frog is intriguing...I've never seen a Chiricauhua with a spot on it's snout. Are you sure of the ID? It could be that populations vary...I don't know...

here's some i just saw last weekend at a well-known location:

Image
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canderson
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Re: Trip Summary, June 18-25, 2016

Post by canderson »

Hi Pat,

Nice job on your trip. Glad you had some good luck and survived the heat, looks like it was a wicked scorcher! It certainly was hot here as well.

Take care,
Chris :beer:
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Misenus
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Re: Trip Summary, June 18-25, 2016

Post by Misenus »

Thanks everyone.
Brian Hubbs wrote:Really nice finds and really nice pics...so refreshing to see all those cool herps. :thumb: The Leopard frog is intriguing...I've never seen a Chiricauhua with a spot on it's snout. Are you sure of the ID? It could be that populations vary...I don't know...
Brian, I'm not positive about the ID, but what else could it be? Here's another shot of one I saw at the same spot:

ImageChiricahua Leopard Frog, Lithobates chiricahuensis (Platz and Mecham, 1979) by Patrick Randall, on Flickr
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ThamnElegans24
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Re: Trip Summary, June 18-25, 2016

Post by ThamnElegans24 »

Congrats on a good trip. It look like you were truely able to make the best of the terrible conditions we had at that time.

In regards to the frog, it's possibly a Lowlands Leopard Frog.
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Misenus
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Re: Trip Summary, June 18-25, 2016

Post by Misenus »

I'm still leaning toward the Chiricahua Leopard Frog. reptilesofaz.org says that the Lowland Leopard Frog usually has no spots on the snout (mine do) and that it's typically brown (mine are green). I know, it's "usually" and "typically." But the site also says that the Chiricahua Leopard Frog has eyes that are "relatively high and upturned" (mine look more upturned than the pics of the Lowland). Mine also have more spots than the example pics of the Lowland.

Here's a photo of a Chiricahua Leopard Frog from Santa Cruz County that looks an awful lot like mine: http://www.reptilesofaz.org/Graphics/Tu ... rach-c.jpg

I welcome any other opinions! I hate to leave an ID unsettled, but I also don't want to rush to conclusions.

Pat
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Jeremy Wright
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Re: Trip Summary, June 18-25, 2016

Post by Jeremy Wright »

What's interesting is that the snout and facial markings seem to match a plain's leopard frog very closely. However, they are further east in Cochise county, and according to the range maps at least on Reptiles of Arizona are not very close to the Santa Cruz county line. I saw a couple Chiricahua leopard frogs a few years ago in Santa Cruz county and pattern wise they were a little different, but not really that dissimilar. Beautiful shots though. Hopefully we can get the id locked down!
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ThamnElegans24
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Re: Trip Summary, June 18-25, 2016

Post by ThamnElegans24 »

After taking a good second look at your photos, I believe them both to be Chiricahuas. The color on the second one is a little unusual compared to what I'm used to seeing, but everything else matches up.
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ZantiMissKnit
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Re: Trip Summary, June 18-25, 2016

Post by ZantiMissKnit »

Wow, these are amazing pictures! I looked through your photo stream, and with the birds, mammals, and inverts added, you really did well on the trip!
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Brian Hubbs
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Re: Trip Summary, June 18-25, 2016

Post by Brian Hubbs »

I guess all Leopard Frogs are a little variable across their ranges. I also have pics of Lowland Leopard Frogs that have spots on their snouts...but based on where I found them they could not be anything else... Oh, and BTW, the Brennan & Holycross field guide is not 100% accurate, either on descriptions or ranges...but no book is 100% accurate. Not even mine... :lol: BUT, (and I say this very humbly) my snake books are the MOST ACCURATE of any snake book out there... :thumb: 8-)
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ratsnakehaven
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Re: Trip Summary, June 18-25, 2016

Post by ratsnakehaven »

Nice variety of herps. I really liked the canyon spotted whiptail.

TC
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