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Documenting my Life List

Posted: June 21st, 2017, 12:07 am
by FunkyRes
I haven't been very good at entering records last few years in NAHERP.

After my recent trip to AZ / Joshua Tree, I'm inspired to try to do a better job.

I don't drive (Epilepsy) so herping outside of Redding is difficult, but I think if I make a goal to try and document every herp I've seen in the wild that I haven't documented in NAHERP and plan a few camping trips every year, I can reduce this list considerably and pick up some more lifers along the way.

My Lifelist not in NAHERP:

LIZARDS

Northwestern Alligator Lizard
Shasta Alligator Lizard
-- do have Jackson County, OR that I think are integrades with E. c. principis
San Francisco Alligator Lizard
Sierra Alligator Lizard
San Diego Alligator Lizard
San Joaquin Fence Lizard
Northern Brown Skink
Mediterranean Gecko (several Outside East Bay Vivarium when it was in Emeryville, doubt breeding pop)
Green Anole (Daytona Beach)

SNAKES

Coast Range Gartersnake
California Red-sided Gartersnake
Santa Cruz Gartersnake
Western Aquatic integrade (Russian River)
Eastern Gartersnake (PA and NY)
Wandering Gartesnake (CO and MT)
Northern Rubber Boa (Contra Costa)
California Striped Racer (seen few times in Shasta County, always eluded photos)
Great Basin Gophersnake
Northern Watersnake (MI and NY)
Diamondback Watersnake (KS)

TURTLES
Southwestern Pond Turtle
Common Snapping Turtle (MI and NY)
* saw several in MI and FL that I couldn't identify

FROGS

Columbia Spotted Frog (Yellowstone)
Sierra Yellow-legged Frog (Near Truckee in 80s)
Green Frog (PA)
Wood Frog (NY)
Northern Leopard Frog (NY)
American Toad (MI)
Northern Pacific Treefrog (WA)
Baja California Treefrog

SALAMANDERS

Sierra Nevada Ensatina
Sierra Newt
Eastern Newt (NY)
Spotted Salamander (NY)

Re: Documenting my Life List

Posted: June 21st, 2017, 12:26 am
by FunkyRes
Oh - there's a Racerunner and Eastern Fence Lizard from CO - I have pictures at home and can get geolocation so I can enter those if I didn't already.

Re: Documenting my Life List

Posted: June 21st, 2017, 9:29 am
by mtratcliffe
Maintaining a lifelist is a great way to keep track of your finds. I break out my herp lifelist just like yours - by type of herp (Snakes, Turtles, Frogs, etc.). I have columns for Scientific name (I count recognized subspecies as separate lifers), common name, month/year/state it was first observed, and then general notes (such as specific location, or no photo voucher exists).

I maintain my lifelist in Excel. Nothing too fancy. I also have lifelists for birds, dragonflies, and butterflies. The bird one is complicated since there are so many "types" of birds, which is how I have it organized (hawks, finches, herons, sparrows, etc.).

Re: Documenting my Life List

Posted: June 23rd, 2017, 5:54 pm
by herper1
My question is this... why do herpers not talk about their life list or life list number as much as birders? I know herpers are more secretive, but I've always wondered what the record is for seeing herps?

Re: Documenting my Life List

Posted: June 23rd, 2017, 7:23 pm
by Coluber Constrictor
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Re: Documenting my Life List

Posted: June 23rd, 2017, 11:36 pm
by Brian Hubbs
We note lifers, but few of us walk around telling people how many species and subspecies we have photographed (you gotta take a photo or it don't count). If you contribute to naherp.com all your species and subspecies are listed for you, as well as your total number of species. There is even a listing for counties you have entered data from. My total for herp species in naherp is 260, after 40+ years of herping. This does not include subspecies. Total for only U.S. species is 259.

Now, birds are a different story, as most birders will count a species even if they just hear it. I count bird species differently. I only count at the species level, and only if I get a recognizable photo. My bird species list is currently at 341, after 18 months of taking pics of birds. Still, it's not enough for real birders to even talk to me yet... :lol:

Re: Documenting my Life List

Posted: June 24th, 2017, 6:00 am
by Jeff
you gotta take a photo or it don't count
Brian seems to have missed the gold standard - you gotta pickle it for it to count.

Most of the folks that I know, casual field types to academics, don't think about life lists. Most of the field-oriented folks focus on finding certain taxa, such as snakes that bear red rings, or have caudal appendages.

I enjoy working on a life list, and it keeps me looking for new things in new places, and can be rewarding when some hard-won species is uncovered.

Jeff

Re: Documenting my Life List

Posted: June 24th, 2017, 6:57 pm
by Brian Hubbs
Brian seems to have missed the gold standard - you gotta pickle it for it to count.
Sweet or dill?

Re: Documenting my Life List

Posted: June 27th, 2017, 7:37 pm
by FunkyRes
Jeff wrote:
you gotta take a photo or it don't count
Brian seems to have missed the gold standard - you gotta pickle it for it to count.
That's kind of what I'm looking for, I want photo vouchers no reasonable person would challenge as a correct ID for every species / subspecies I've encountered.

Some on that list, like green anole, should be pretty easy to voucher if I travel to the right state. Some may not be. The Sierra Yellow-legged Frog population I found in scouts in the 80s is long gone, for example - though I hear they are trying to increase the population at Yosemite so maybe I can hike and photo one there.

Re: Documenting my Life List

Posted: July 1st, 2017, 1:08 am
by herper1
And still only two people posted their life totals, which is my point. I also photograph and it only "counts" if you the photo is clear enough to tell exactly what species. "funky res" I think that is a pretty impressive list for someone who doesn't get around on their own. I live in NJ and would love to see some of those herps you listed. If I ever make it out there I would be glad to take you out!

Re: Documenting my Life List

Posted: July 1st, 2017, 11:30 am
by Jeff
And still only two people posted their life totals
Sorry, 459 U.S. species, natives only, first one logged in 1964.

Jeff

Re: Documenting my Life List

Posted: July 1st, 2017, 11:56 am
by nightdriver
I don't know if "listing" with herpers will ever catch on like with birders, but entering data into the HERP database has revived my herping enthusiasm. I think one of the problems is that it can be very hard to find certain herps period. I've been herping for over 40 years and it wasn't until a couple years ago that I finally found my first ground snake in California. Personal goals of one kind or another are great, but I don't think we'll ever see it elevate to the birding level.

For the database it may not "count" if it doesn't have a photo, but if your going to tell me I can't count a herp on my lifelist(if I kept one) if I didn't get a photo, I'd tell you you're full of poop :P .

Anyway, one of my herp related goals which has been inspired by entering finds into the database, is to do a Herp "Big Year"....of sorts. I plan on trying to find at least one herp in every county in California in a calendar year. I had considered trying to find one of a single species in every county, but I'm pretty sure that would fall painfully short of succeeding. Then maybe a "true" state big year and try to find as many species in the state as I could. Of course we all kind of do that anyway, don't we??

On a final note. My ABA area lifelist is somewhere around 740, and I don't have near that many photo vouchers. :beer:

-nightdriver

Re: Documenting my Life List

Posted: July 2nd, 2017, 3:12 pm
by Curtis Hart
Since this has turned into sharing numbers and detailing what you count, I'll join in. North American herps 227 with an additional 31 subspecies. My world reptile list is around 310, and amphibians are around 130.

I certainly don't need a picture to count something. I've always found that requirement a bit much, but to each their own. For other taxa,

Birds ABA 560 World 1814

Mammals ABA 213 World 598

I've started a fish list, but it is no where near ready to guess at how many species I've seen.

Curtis

Re: Documenting my Life List

Posted: July 2nd, 2017, 5:38 pm
by Brian Hubbs
Jeff wrote:
And still only two people posted their life totals
Sorry, 459 U.S. species, natives only, first one logged in 1964.

Jeff
459 native U.S. herps? or does that count invasives and or subspecies? If that is just species, and the first one is from 1964...then YOU are an old fart... :lol:

and yeah, nightdriver, you gotta have a pic...I've got many more species that aren't on my list because i didn't get a pic... 8-)

Species 341...Red-wiskered Bulbul
Image

Re: Documenting my Life List

Posted: July 3rd, 2017, 6:11 pm
by nightdriver
Nice photo Hubbs :thumb:

Huntington Gardens or Arboretum?

I should have known you were in town when all the Kingsnakes were hiding... :lol:

-nightdriver, Herp species # unknown... I'll have to work on figuring it out.

Re: Documenting my Life List

Posted: July 3rd, 2017, 7:22 pm
by Brian Hubbs
thanks...L.A. arboretum...

Re: Documenting my Life List

Posted: July 3rd, 2017, 8:23 pm
by kevin h
I might as well boost my ego. I'm at roughly 246 US species that I have logged on a word document. I have a private Flickr album of my 101 salamander lifers with my best photo of each and a description of habitat and locality for my reference. I'm afraid I spend way too much time just staring at it.

Re: Documenting my Life List

Posted: July 5th, 2017, 8:11 pm
by herpseeker1978
Here is my life list of herps, don't have a number, but here it is on a blog as of Thursday, October 20, 2011, just a tad out of date.

http://joshemms.blogspot.com/2011/10/my ... elist.html

Josh

Re: Documenting my Life List

Posted: July 6th, 2017, 4:53 pm
by Brian Hubbs
That's a nice list Josh, but you need to total it up...I ain't counting all them animals... :lol:

Re: Documenting my Life List

Posted: July 6th, 2017, 5:09 pm
by stlouisdude
Have any of you guys ever picked up a lady by embellishing your life list?

Re: Documenting my Life List

Posted: July 6th, 2017, 6:38 pm
by Jeff
Have any of you guys ever picked up a lady by embellishing your life list?
Just checked with my wife of 28 years -- was not the big life list.....

Re: Documenting my Life List

Posted: July 6th, 2017, 10:04 pm
by herpseeker1978
Brian Hubbs wrote:That's a nice list Josh, but you need to total it up...I ain't counting all them animals... :lol:
It's not about the numbers man..... :beer: