Time for a February in Review Post

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Nicholas
Posts: 45
Joined: February 16th, 2017, 7:19 pm

Time for a February in Review Post

Post by Nicholas »

Well this one is a bit more on time than the last. February was pretty sweet. I found a good number of snakes and other cool stuff. The rain has made the grass really lush and green.
February started off strong, early in the month I headed out to Riverside and within fifteen minutes of exiting the car, I fipped my first snake of the year for me.

ImageCoastal Rosy Boa (Lichanura trivirgata roseofusca) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageCoastal Rosy Boa (Lichanura trivirgata roseofusca) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageCoastal Rosy Boa (Lichanura trivirgata roseofusca) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageCoastal Rosy Boa (Lichanura trivirgata roseofusca) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageCoastal Rosy Boa (Lichanura trivirgata roseofusca) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

I also found a few ruber visually, as well as a nightsnake under a rock.

ImageRed Diamond Rattlesnake (Crotalus ruber) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageRed Diamond Rattlesnake (Crotalus ruber) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageRed Diamond Rattlesnake (Crotalus ruber) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageRed Diamond Rattlesnake (Crotalus ruber) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageSan Diego Nightsnake (Hypsiglena ochrorhyncha klauberi) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageSan Diego Nightsnake (Hypsiglena ochrorhyncha klauberi) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageSan Diego Nightsnake (Hypsiglena ochrorhyncha klauberi) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageSan Diego Nightsnake (Hypsiglena ochrorhyncha klauberi) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageSan Diego Nightsnake (Hypsiglena ochrorhyncha klauberi) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageSan Diego Nightsnake (Hypsiglena ochrorhyncha klauberi) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

A couple days later I got to see this legless lizard.

ImageSouthern California Legless Lizard (Aniella stebbinsi) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageSouthern California Legless Lizard (Aniella stebbinsi) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageSouthern California Legless Lizard (Aniella stebbinsi) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

The following weekend, we headed back to Riverside County with Jeremy where I found a couple more rosies as well as some other critters.

ImageCoastal Rosy Boa (Lichanura trivirgata roseofusca) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageCoastal Rosy Boa (Lichanura trivirgata roseofusca) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageCoastal Rosy Boa (Lichanura trivirgata roseofusca) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageCoastal Rosy Boa (Lichanura trivirgata roseofusca) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

Jeremy flipped this gorgeous gecko.
ImageSan Diego Banded Gecko (Coleonyx abbotti) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageSan Diego Banded Gecko (Coleonyx abbotti) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

That evening we spontaneously decided to search for Spadefoots with Daniel Smith.
We found a lot of eggs which seemed like a good sign.

ImageWestern Spadefoot (Spea hammondii) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

At last Jeremy spotted this little guy.
ImageWestern Spadefoot (Spea hammondii) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageWestern Spadefoot (Spea hammondii) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageWestern Spadefoot (Spea hammondii) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageWestern Spadefoot (Spea hammondii) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageWestern Spadefoot (Spea hammondii) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

On the drive out Daniel spotted a second lighter one on the road.

ImageWestern Spadefoot (Spea hammondii) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageWestern Spadefoot (Spea hammondii) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

After school midweek I found a nice arboreal under an unexpected log as it was situated in the sun. Just goes to show how much rain we've been getting.

I would like this shot if it wasn't for the ring flash reflection in the eye.
ImageArboreal Salamander (Aneides lugubris) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageArboreal Salamander (Aneides lugubris) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

I flipped another unexpected whiptail. This time I had a better camera.

ImageCoastal Whiptail (Aspidoscelis tigris stejnegri) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

In the later part of the month, I hit the field with Greg Litiatco (Gopher) and we headed to Riverside yet again where I flipped another two rosies.

I thought this one was very orange, at least for me.
ImageCoastal Rosy Boa (Lichanura trivirgata roseofusca) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageCoastal Rosy Boa (Lichanura trivirgata roseofusca) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageCoastal Rosy Boa (Lichanura trivirgata roseofusca) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageCoastal Rosy Boa (Lichanura trivirgata roseofusca) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageCoastal Rosy Boa (Lichanura trivirgata roseofusca) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

#2
ImageCoastal Rosy Boa (Lichanura trivirgata roseofusca) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageSan Diego Banded Gecko (Coleonyx abbotti) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

On the last weekend of February, Jeremy and I went down to SD county to check some ac in a couple different spots. We actually flipped between twenty and thirty snakes, mostly ringnecks but also some other species.

ImageSan Diego Ringnecked Snake (Diadophis punctatus similis) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageSan Diego Ringnecked Snake (Diadophis punctatus similis) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageSan Diego Ringnecked Snake (Diadophis punctatus similis) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageSan Diego Ringnecked Snake (Diadophis punctatus similis) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageSan Diego Ringnecked Snake (Diadophis punctatus similis) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageSan Diego Ringnecked Snake (Diadophis punctatus similis) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageSouthern Pacific Rattlesnake (Crotalus organus helleri) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageSouthern Pacific Rattlesnake (Crotalus organus helleri) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageSouthern Pacific Rattlesnake (Crotalus organus helleri) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageSouthern Pacific Rattlesnake (Crotalus organus helleri) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageSouthern Pacific Rattlesnake (Crotalus organus helleri) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageCalifornia Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula californiae) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageCalifornia Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula californiae) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageCalifornia Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula californiae) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

The highlight of the day was this striped king that Jeremy flipped. It was both of our first live striper. It proved to be a difficult snake to photograph, but I squeezed a couple nice shots out of it.

ImageBall python by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageCalifornia Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula californiae) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageCalifornia Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula californiae) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageCalifornia Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula californiae) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageCalifornia Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula californiae) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageCalifornia Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula californiae) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

That's all herp wise, here are some non-herps.

ImageFiddle-necks by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageTurkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

Can anyone ID this birdy?
ImageBirdy by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageWestern Black Widow (Latrodectus hesperus) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageWild Mustard and European honey bee (Apis mellifera) by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageMustard and Fiddle-necks by NicholasHess, on Flickr

ImageCloudy Sunset by NicholasHess, on Flickr

So it's safe to say February was a pretty great month for me. Unfortunately it appears that the rains have died down a bit, but hopefully it'll pick up again in March.
I hope you enjoyed!
Nicholas
daniel
Posts: 110
Joined: July 2nd, 2013, 10:29 am
Location: California

Re: Time for a February in Review Post

Post by daniel »

Nice post Nicholas, it was fun hanging out with you guys!
Can anyone ID this birdy?
Yellow-rumped warbler
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Speckled Rosy
Posts: 308
Joined: June 11th, 2010, 12:07 pm
Location: Canyon country, Ca

Re: Time for a February in Review Post

Post by Speckled Rosy »

:thumb: Awesome! I enjoyed the post..
NACairns
Posts: 372
Joined: December 30th, 2013, 7:27 am

Re: Time for a February in Review Post

Post by NACairns »

Great post, as always lovely photos. I agree on Daniel's bird ID.
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JAMAUGHN
Posts: 1131
Joined: May 15th, 2011, 12:16 am
Location: Santa Cruz, CA
Contact:

Re: Time for a February in Review Post

Post by JAMAUGHN »

Excellent, Nick. Very, very excellent.

JimM
Nicholas
Posts: 45
Joined: February 16th, 2017, 7:19 pm

Re: Time for a February in Review Post

Post by Nicholas »

Thanks for taking the time to respond everyone, I appreciate it! And also thanks Daniel and Ncairns for the ID!

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

Re: Time for a February in Review Post

Post by mark buck »

Boa fever!

Dig the spadefoots too
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huck
Posts: 29
Joined: July 25th, 2016, 7:26 pm
Location: Los Angeles

Re: Time for a February in Review Post

Post by huck »

wow! Great post! Love the rosys and striper
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Brian Hubbs
Posts: 4735
Joined: June 7th, 2010, 11:41 am
Location: "Buy My Books"-land

Re: Time for a February in Review Post

Post by Brian Hubbs »

Nice pics as usual. The birdie is a Yellow-rumped Warbler.
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