Long time no post, some shots

[Zach_Lim]

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[Porter]

Zach, this is my new comment for all photographers who have taken a step past just taking a photo and capturing some artistic quality. It relieves me of the stress that my critiquing comments aren't taken in the wrong tone (serious vs. sarcastic, ect...) It's the same on all the other photographer posts I happen to see so far in 2017. Just a heads up in case you didn't see my comment on the other posts... Porter one step closer and advancing in defeating the ghostly demon that is the Internetal-zone-of-confusing- misconceptionous-hate-kindling



Field Herping Medallion of Artistic Quality by California Reptile & Amphibian Appreciation, on Flickr


The vibe and tone of this medallion in unmistakably captured in this rendition of the original Zelda theme performed by one of my favorite guitarist. You should hear this music in your head and feel this vibe anytime anyone receives this California Reptile & Amphibian Appreciation medallion of appreciation. Herp on brothers and sisters

[mark buck]

Great post Zach!

Gotta love the red coach...

[yolodave]

Great close ups Zach!


Dave

[Calfirecap]

I see all that practice taking photos sure paid off. Your images are incredible!

[Zach_Lim]

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[Porter]

Wow Photography's lookin great man I'd hit ya with another medallion but I've already posted one here lol (and I'm done with that shit anyway;it took on an unintentional obnoxiousness that doesn't settle well with me). Nice lifer king! Hoping you took some full body shots for the end-of-year post. I really like those close ups of the rhino. Seems like that painting of them never gets appreciated due to how messy they look from a distance. Amazing art Zach

This isn't a question for Zach (but he can if he wants), but for some old-timer veteran herpers.... Without giving away locations, what is the deal with black-bellies in Alameda? Have they historically been found there? When I was cruising the infamous road with Chad out near there (where I ran into Zach one night. Popular road. Most of you may know) Chad mentioned that blackbellies could be found there. I was always under the impression that BB's were a delta thing and it was hard for me to believe that they naturally occurred there. Reason being, there's no reason for the mutation. It goes against the environment there... Chad said (if I remember correctly) that they come up from San Joaquin delta area. That just doesn't seem right to me... so, I took the standpoint that if they were found there, it was because someone released them... what is the experienced veteran take on that? I'm not familiar with that area, never studied the creek systems that flow in and out, and although there are cow pasture out there, that doesn't look like habitat that would influence a morphological change like that. From my understanding of the Sacramento-ish population, they are pretty much just established in one area and I've never seen them in the Roseville foothills or Folsom Foothills. Seems to be too clean there for a brown muddy adaptation. School me!

[Brian Hubbs]

Well, even though I am supposed to be the Cal King guru, I have not seen one of those north of Stanislaus county, and none that were that dark anywhere. That morph is my nemesis, but I did include a portion of Alameda county on the range map in my book. The more we learn about the distribution of the black-bellied and brown-bellied morphs in the central valley the more questions are raised. We need more exploration and reports to really define what is going on with the Eiseni and Delta morphs. Eiseni have a black-belly and lighter interbands, while the Delta's are brownish with tan, or darker brown interbands and a brownish belly. Porter, I don't know if you have my Common Kingsnake book or not, but the range map shown in it has been modified since publication. It now includes a larger range for both morphs, but I haven't published the new info yet.

Here's an unusual Delta-ish morph I found DOR in extreme SE Fresno county, where they should have looked like Eiseni's...go figure...



Here's a typical Eiseni aberrant morph from Merced county, out in the marshlands:



And, here's an apparent intermediate Delta/Eiseni morph from Stanislaus county, which is where intermediates SHOULD be found. However, both Eiseni and Delta morphs have been found in that area too. So, there's a lot of blending of not only morphs, but also of habitats within the range of the black-bellies and brown-bellies. Does that help a little?

[Brian Hubbs]

Zach: Nice shots as always. Congrats on the Delta morph!

[Porter]

Yeah Brian, that helps. I did buy the book but I don't have access to it right now. It's buried in a storage unit. Also, I'm not much of a reader and have only thumbed through it. Is the Alameda habitat (original, not updated), delta or clean flowing foothills? The expansion makes sense. If it's delta habitat that was developed, I can understand the snakes being pushed further up into the foothills. The thing is, I posted some pics of me holding my lifer lateralis's as a kid, on one of these other posts recently. That was in Placer co (Roseville, before development) foothills. We wanted to keep those snakes because of how cool they looked, but my dad was convinced they were giant gartersnakes and wouldn't let us bring them home. He worked for Fish & Game years before that (office job, no field time) and isn't a herper. So, he was aware of them but didn't know what they looked like. He saw a large black snake with yellow stripes, a lot bigger than the gartersnakes I found before that... giant garter. One thing I notice about giant gartersankes is that they have that same brownish color that the Delta kingsnakes have. (what I call 'toasted'. like lemon meringue pie lol Chad hates that lol) I figure that's a Delta adaptation (although, I've never seen brown on the valley garters of that area. But they do occasionally have very deep enriched orange as opposed to yellow dorsal stripe). I've never seen 'toasted' snakes in the foothills... I (and my friends) knew that Roseville area pretty damn good before development and we never came across one. Have they ever been found in the foothills of Roseville or Folsom/El Dorado Hills? I was surprised to hear from Hanna (I think it was her) that Giant Garters were (or used to be) that high up stream in Folsom where the Nerodia eradication was going on. Still, I've never seen a gigas that high up. I do see plenty of typical brown/crème Kings in that Folsom foothills area where I usually go to see rattlesnakes. And there was a guy named Johnny who I talked to on Facebook, who found a small gigas somewhere in the zone between Roseville and Natomas Basin. Lower part of Roseville, maybe... Is it possible to find a blackbelly out by Areojet? I've seen some nice looking Brown ones out there, but they did not display Delta color or patterning. What's your take on Foothill Blackbellies, Brian? Without disclosing too much in your book or anything you wouldn't feel comfortable mentioning

Zach, was your's found in delta or foothills hab? If you want to keep that private, no worries

[Zach_Lim]

Busy at work, so I'll reply longer to both Brian and Porter when I can.

I guess the habitat is foothills? From what I see there its all rolling hills and not a lot of water? I'm not too sure :/

[Porter]

Busy at work, so I'll reply longer to both Brian and Porter when I can.

I guess the habitat is foothills? From what I see there its all rolling hills and not a lot of water? I'm not too sure :/

Thanks for the quick and simple, Zach. Looking forward to it. Was it by chance found on that same stretch of road where we bumped into each other that one night I was looking for rhino?

[Porter]

I am supposed to be the Cal King guru

Brian, dude you ARE the guru! I still haven't found a zonata of any kind In my defense, I have only looked 4 (maybe 5) times tho.... AND That place I told you about where I spent hours resetting all the flat rocks on the boulders. Chad took Marissa there the following year and said she got one. So, I'm counting that as a team score on my part

[Brian Hubbs]

The alameda range on my map is from the original book. Nothing has changed there. A little valley floor and a small portion of the foothills. I don't want to discuss exact habitat of Zach's snake, so we'll leave it at that...

[Porter]

The alameda range on my map is from the original book. Nothing has changed there. A little valley floor and a small portion of the foothills. I don't want to discuss exact habitat of Zach's snake, so we'll leave it at that...

Cool, no worries. Do you know when (year) the first record of a BB was recorded for that particular population? If it was in your original edition, is it safe to say they've been there for the last 10 to 20 years (or longer)? Because of it's connection to the foothills, does that make Zach's find and even more rare occurrence than coming across one in the usual muddy Delta habitats? what do you think my chances are of finding one out near aerojet or in the Roseville and/or Folsom / El Dorado Foothills?

[Brian Hubbs]

I think they have been in that area of alameda, and possibly more of alameda, for longer than 20 years... I do not know who found it or when the first one was found there though. I color maps based on locality records and appropriate habitat. Some of my newest additions are from areas I would not have suspected. So, I don't know what to tell you about folsom. Go lay out 2,000 boards and find out next year...that's what a lot of us had to do to know what we know.

[Porter]

...cool. Looks like I'm gonna have to let the chadster win this round. I've flipped a lotta roadside debris out there, back around 2010-ish-ness. Only interesting variations I've seen out there were a red-phase YBR and a gopher snake lacking all yellow pigment. Really beautiful pink and orange gophers out there tho, among your typical yellow and browns. I tried to get access to Arojet back then talked to the guard about obtaining a one day pass... cant remember what happened with that. I think I was given a number and didnt follow thru... boy it looks nice out there now! I didn't a short evening cruise this when the conditions were right earlier this yr year. 5 buzztail, 4 aligator lizards, 1 unidentified garter (could be either, crawling to fast to see from my truck, other that the undeniable frantic garter crawl) and 1 gopher. I think I could have cruised a king that night as well but I didn't stay long enough. my cruising hours are pretty limited because of my leg. I keep hoping to see a night snake out there! they aren't as common as the Bay Area and would definitely be a treat to see. I can see a lot of water through the fences close to the road for the first time because of the rains, and I'm sure they have to be out there, so who knows maybe this year will be the year... I flipped one last year under some tin out near Lake Berryessa which was kind of cool. first night snake for me in that area. I've only herped out there a few times though so I don't know how common they are...

I still like my original 'toasties' obsevation tho... so, as much as Chad stays loyal to the common king snakes Hubb herpers Bible, he's just going to have to deal with it No offense Hubbs