Wow! I’m amazed. I seen a hellava lot of racers and I can’t think of a single “active” afternoon sighting, ever. In the northern Central Valley of CA, I’ve only seen them crossing roads or basking in the morning and midday. I may be one of the few, if only people who has actually caught one hunting at least 10 feet from the shore, on top of floating water weeds. Displaying aquatic hunting behavior similar to a gartersnake. I’ve flipped them at night under boards. But never once active in the evening. I have seen coachwhip crossing the road in the evening, in the northern California desert habitats, though.
I found one juvenile laying on a road after sunset in the dark, back around 2016, and assumed it must’ve been chased out of a whole onto the road. However, just last night I was cruising for kingsnakes, under a full moon, and came across a DOR that must’ve came out onto the road sometime close to 23:00.
Has anyone else ever encountered a yellow-bellied racer or any other racer while night cruising? Has anyone had this similar experience with racers in California?