We did a little herping along the way to the gettin’ place. We saw a number of Eastern Collared Lizards (Crotaphytus collaris) and they were real beauties:
We also spotted a Long-Nosed Leopard Lizard (Gambelia wislizenii), a lifer for me:
When we first encountered this Desert Striped Whipsnake (Masticophis taeniatus taeniatus) it had an adult Tiger Whiptail in its jaws. The lizard escaped when the snake dove into some sagebrush, but the snake was detained for a few photos:
We stayed in SE Colorado, camping out at a bed-and-breakfast. This sweet Great Basin Gopher Snake (Pituophis catenifer deserticola) was found crawling on the grounds soon after our arrival:
We found a nice handful of deserticola during our stay, which made me happy, as I think they’re a handsome snake.
The view from my bedroll each morning:
Road cruising that night turned up a cool Mesa Verde Night Snake (Hypsiglena chlorophaea loreala):
The snake spread and flattened its head (“hands off, I’m a pit viper!”) during its formal portrait.
This New Mexican Spadefoot (Spea multiplicata) was also found on the road at night.
We did some lizard catch-and-release as part of our data collection. Thom Wilder shows off a Collared Lizard he noosed:
Being a corn-fed flatlander from the Midwest, I had no experience with lizard noosing. The guys fixed me up with an apparatus, consisting of a stick and some dental floss. Before long I was noosing with the best of them and having a whale of a time.
Closeup, Sceloporus tristichus:
We also scared up another Striped Whipsnake, this one actually having stripes:
We road cruised every evening, and we found some interesting herps in the process, including several Banded Kingsnakes (Lampropeltis getula californiae):
These snakes apparently range as far west as the Pacific Ocean.
Painted Desert Glossy Snake (Arizona elegans philipi):
We came up with a dozen Prairie Rattlers (Crotalus viridus viridus):
This specimen was walked up during a day hike in Utah:
Road cruising also turn up several Midget Faded Rattlesnakes (Crotalus oreganus concolor):
We spent a day at Mesa Verde, as tourists:
Claret Cup Cactus – awesome.
So much new and cool stuff – Field Crescent (Phyciodes campestris) nectaring on Chaetopappa ericoides (Asteraceae):
We visited the Canyon Rim Lands in Utah:
Dang.
Here’s the gang making plans for the night’s road cruising:
Cortez, CO is apparently horse-friendly:
Pan-sized Woodhouse Toad:
Obligatory tourist photo:
On the way back to Denver we stopped at a creek to look for Canyon Tree Frogs:
Hyla arenicolor were present:
One last stop yielded some Wandering Garters and a couple Great Plains Rats:
It was a great trip – beautiful country, great folks from the Rocky Mountain chapter, 11 lifers for me, and around 200 records for the NAFHA herp database.
thanks for looking! -Mike