MOON PHASE observation..what DO you guys think???

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**HavasuBassMaster**
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MOON PHASE observation..what DO you guys think???

Post by **HavasuBassMaster** »

Ok..so I'll admit I've had a REALLY good last couple weeks road cruising despite my bad work schedule...Although my target species "the shovelnose" is eluding me... I have found and photo'd more colubrids in the last month then I did in the last two years !!! not to mention the DOR's I see daily in my travels.. BUT this last week on the same roads ive been seeing 15-20 snakes a night on.. Have produced NOT one single Live snake OR DOR ?.. Now..last few weeks we've had a pretty 'full moon" that was late rising ( @11:00-11:30pm) and temps in the mid to high 80's at night..from 830pm till @ 10-11pm I would find all kinds of neat stuff..once the moon was peaking out..It would cease to produce...Now we are going through a "no moon" phase correct ?...yet these same roads with very little temp difference have ceased to produce a single snake in a few days..I was going nightly without a "BLANK" night...Ive now had THREE BLANK NIGHTS in a row...?..and to top it off I see some of you lucky people have been seeing 5-8 shovelnose in a night this week WTF :P :thumb: So any opinions on this...Ive also been realy good last year and this year about keeping detailed records of everything and its not making sence to me...
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monklet
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Re: MOON PHASE observation..what DO you guys think???

Post by monklet »

I say screw it and post some of your favorite antique fishing lures over on the fishing forum.
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**HavasuBassMaster**
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Re: MOON PHASE observation..what DO you guys think???

Post by **HavasuBassMaster** »

monklet wrote:I say screw it and post some of your favorite antique fishing lures over on the fishing forum.
I dont know how to post pictures or I would for sure... Ive got thousands..But only a few Favorites :beer:
Ive been "obsessively" collecting for 17 years now....
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**HavasuBassMaster**
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Re: MOON PHASE observation..what DO you guys think???

Post by **HavasuBassMaster** »

my 'avatar' picture is a little section of my computer desk At home....
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monklet
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Re: MOON PHASE observation..what DO you guys think???

Post by monklet »

Its about time you learned how to post pics.

1. Use some sort of image s/w to resize your pics. 72 pixels per inch resolution (higher res is wasted for web publication) and 800 pixels wide is generally optimal.

2. Get a photo host like photobucket.com and upload your images.

3. Copy and paste the full image host url (ex: http://photobucket.com/somelongimagepath/someimage.jpg) of the desired image into the post edit box in the desired position relative to your text.

4. Highlight the whole url and only the url.

5. Click the "Img" button in the edit tools bar above the edit box.

6. The last action will enclose your image url in img tag markup so the it will present as an image in your post.

Hopefully that'll make sense. If not let us know what step you are getting hung up on. It might seem complicated if it's all new to you but once you have it down it is really very, very simple.

Good luck! :)
bobassetto
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Re: MOON PHASE observation..what DO you guys think???

Post by bobassetto »

i think the snakes are tired.. :lol: ....& thanks for the posting tips....i , too, am lacking puter skills. :? ..that's one of the reasons why i retired. :cry: ..the legally blind students were more skilled... :evil:
paalexan
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Re: MOON PHASE observation..what DO you guys think???

Post by paalexan »

monklet wrote:1. Use some sort of image s/w to resize your pics. 72 pixels per inch resolution (higher res is wasted for web publication) and 800 pixels wide is generally optimal.
You know that the ppi setting has absolutely no effect on viewing images online, right? If you're changing it to 72 on all your images, you're wasting your time.

Patrick
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monklet
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Re: MOON PHASE observation..what DO you guys think???

Post by monklet »

paalexan wrote:
monklet wrote:1. Use some sort of image s/w to resize your pics. 72 pixels per inch resolution (higher res is wasted for web publication) and 800 pixels wide is generally optimal.
You know that the ppi setting has absolutely no effect on viewing images online, right? If you're changing it to 72 on all your images, you're wasting your time.

Patrick
Ha! ...I just tested that by saving same size at both resolutions...no dff. What do I know? :roll: Is it that it makes a difference only if printing, e.g., inches?
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Josh Holbrook
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Re: MOON PHASE observation..what DO you guys think???

Post by Josh Holbrook »

monklet wrote:
paalexan wrote:
monklet wrote:1. Use some sort of image s/w to resize your pics. 72 pixels per inch resolution (higher res is wasted for web publication) and 800 pixels wide is generally optimal.
You know that the ppi setting has absolutely no effect on viewing images online, right? If you're changing it to 72 on all your images, you're wasting your time.

Patrick
Ha! ...I just tested that by saving same size at both resolutions...no dff. What do I know? :roll: Is it that it makes a difference only if printing, e.g., inches?

On a forum the images are just too small to notice a difference.

Getting back on subject though -

There is a definite relationship, in Florida at least, with moon phase. Snake activity is usually muted on nights with full moons - from personal experience this is probably because nocturnal predators have a much easier time seeing road-bourne prey on nights with full moons. . . For instance, every full moon night in the Everglades I'm almost guaranteed to see several barn and barred owls sitting around the roads - some of them swooping down in front of me for a serpentine snack.
chad ks
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Re: MOON PHASE observation..what DO you guys think???

Post by chad ks »

It depends on where you're at. I always plan around the dark of the moon, but it isn't always necessary. If the moonrise is after midnight or late in the night- you'll be golden. If it's overcast, you'll be golden.

The best roadcruising night, imo, are nights with high humidity trapped by thick low cloud cover with high wind...
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Josh Holbrook
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Re: MOON PHASE observation..what DO you guys think???

Post by Josh Holbrook »

chad ks wrote:The best roadcruising night, imo, are nights with high humidity trapped by thick low cloud cover with high wind...
Based on my experience it also helps if the moon is in the Seventh House, and Jupiter aligns with Mars...

:thumb:

On a serious note though, chad's right - if the ambient light is cut down via clouds or late moonrise, you're usually golden.
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Tim Borski
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Re: MOON PHASE observation..what DO you guys think???

Post by Tim Borski »

Josh Holbrook wrote:
chad ks wrote:The best roadcruising night, imo, are nights with high humidity trapped by thick low cloud cover with high wind...
Based on my experience it also helps if the moon is in the Seventh House, and Jupiter aligns with Mars...

:thumb:

On a serious note though, chad's right - if the ambient light is cut down via clouds or late moonrise, you're usually golden.
What about ambient light in and around South FL from Miami, Homestead and FL City, 24/7/365?
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Josh Holbrook
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Re: MOON PHASE observation..what DO you guys think???

Post by Josh Holbrook »

Angles - the angle of light from the megalopolis does certainly add to the light pollution, but on ground level I don't think it puts out nearly as much light as a full moon. The light from Miami doesn't let you see your own shadow at midnight...a full moon does. I'm open to other theories though if you have them. :mrgreen:
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Jeff Lemm
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Re: MOON PHASE observation..what DO you guys think???

Post by Jeff Lemm »

Where are you looking for Chionactis? I have been seeing as many as 15 in a night in the low desert. Lsst night was only 4, but its not the moon. A system is coming in and cooling things off. Even on bright moon nights, Chionactis don't seem too affected.
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Don Cascabel
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Re: MOON PHASE observation..what DO you guys think???

Post by Don Cascabel »

A lot of stuff (i.e. Crotalus/ Pituophis/ Lampropeltis) will move during the day so I doubt full moons affect them. What I have noticed is that on nights a lot of mammals (or at least rodents) move they don't seem to move as much. Weird huh? Unless they are full. Honestly the whole moon things has been pushed on and on on these forums, but I think it originated from the W. Tx. crowd. Whether or not it is consistent there I don't know, but in California & Arizona it only kind of held and in Mexico I certainly haven't seen any consistency.

What does vary both here and in the Southwestern US which I have noticed VERY conspicuously is the amount of a specific species that moves varies year by year. In se. California, I had one year where I was consistently pulling 15 - 30 leafnose snakes per night, and other years where it was like 2 or 3. Also, similar experiences, but with lesser numbers, worked for Trimorphodon, C. mitchelli, Lichanura, C. switaki and Rhinocheilus. Here in Mexico I have seen it with Loxocemus and Pseudoleptodeira uribei, among others. It may just be a bad year for Chionactis, IN YOUR AREA. Typically, Chionactis are common as hell. However, if you have never found one before, you might just be looking in the wrong area. Try the sandiest, washiest areas around.

Cheers,

Don Cascabel
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monklet
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Re: MOON PHASE observation..what DO you guys think???

Post by monklet »

Tim Borski wrote:What about ambient light in and around South FL from Miami, Homestead and FL City, 24/7/365?
You'll never see any shovel-nosed, I guarantee it...we'll though, that is Florida so???
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Re: MOON PHASE observation..what DO you guys think???

Post by Tim Borski »

monklet wrote:
Tim Borski wrote:What about ambient light in and around South FL from Miami, Homestead and FL City, 24/7/365?
You'll never see any shovel-nosed, I guarantee it...we'll though, that is Florida so???
Monklet, I understand the "never see shovelnose..." thing but didn't understand the 2nd part. Maybe I'm having a brain fart?
Tim
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Re: MOON PHASE observation..what DO you guys think???

Post by monklet »

Tim Borski wrote:
monklet wrote:
Tim Borski wrote:What about ambient light in and around South FL from Miami, Homestead and FL City, 24/7/365?
You'll never see any shovel-nosed, I guarantee it...we'll though, that is Florida so???
Monklet, I understand the "never see shovelnose..." thing but didn't understand the 2nd part. Maybe I'm having a brain fart?
Tim
Oh, just meant that just about everything else lives in FL so why not shovel-nosed snakes...which would mootify my whole bit of humor in the first place. If that makes sense Tim I might be smarter than I think :crazyeyes:
bobassetto
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Re: MOON PHASE observation..what DO you guys think???

Post by bobassetto »

if burms can make it fla....why not shovelnose???
paalexan
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Re: MOON PHASE observation..what DO you guys think???

Post by paalexan »

monklet wrote:
paalexan wrote:
monklet wrote:1. Use some sort of image s/w to resize your pics. 72 pixels per inch resolution (higher res is wasted for web publication) and 800 pixels wide is generally optimal.
You know that the ppi setting has absolutely no effect on viewing images online, right? If you're changing it to 72 on all your images, you're wasting your time.

Patrick
Ha! ...I just tested that by saving same size at both resolutions...no dff. What do I know? :roll: Is it that it makes a difference only if printing, e.g., inches?
The short version is: yes. A longer version is here:

http://www.tildefrugal.net/photo/dpi.php

Setting ppi to 72 is just a good rule of thumb for getting images to print with about the same dimensions as you'll see on-screen, although the actual ppi on your monitor may vary. Mine, FWIW, is presently at about 84, but I can set it as low as 50 (800 x 500 on a ±16 inch wide monitor) or as high as 105 (1680 x 1050)...
Josh Holbrook wrote:On a forum the images are just too small to notice a difference.
Nope, uh-uh, doesn't matter how big the images are. Use a nice big 12 megapixel image; it still doesn't make any difference for on-screen viewing. Your computer's going to display an image at the ppi you've specified in the monitor settings, not based on ppi or dpi settings in the metadata.

Patrick
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Fundad
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Re: MOON PHASE observation..what DO you guys think???

Post by Fundad »

A lot of stuff (i.e. Crotalus/ Pituophis/ Lampropeltis) will move during the day so I doubt full moons affect them
There is a difference between the two.. a "huge difference". But than again I am done helping people on this subject..

Fundad
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MHollanders
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Re: MOON PHASE observation..what DO you guys think???

Post by MHollanders »

There may be different motives for snakes to move during the day vs night. For example, during the day they may be thermoregulating, looking for shelter, etc. It is possible that at night their activities are largely affected by the moon phase. If a full moon limits their chances of success during hunting, they won't move as much. I have no data to back this up or anything, but I just want to toss the idea around.

Later, Matt
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