A Beautiful Morning
My daughter has been begging me for a dog…specifically a Chihuahua, for the last 6 years and change. Me…I don’t like Chihuahuas. Yippy, snappy, barky, bitey, toe-biting rat dogs…I always said we would get a dog “someday”, but stressed that we would not get a Chihuahua. I’m such a sucker…
Yup…my daughter walking her 4-month old Chihuahua, Fleur…
This is them. 2 peas in a pod in only 3 days…
I went and hung out with this puppy for about an hour before I ever told Zayne anything about her. She is actually a very well-behaved puppy, and very easy to train.
Anyhow…on our little walk around the desert this morning, I took a few pics of the local Autumn wildlife…
Great Basin Fence Lizard
Common Sideblotch
All in all, it’s a beautiful morning. And yes…I know my kid is wearing 2 different shoes…
Thanks for stopping by!
Midnight Macros
I couldn’t sleep last night. Insomnia has always been an issue for me, so I’ve learned to deal with it. One of my tools is my camera…
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- Tan Praying Mantis
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- Green Praying Mantis
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- #18 Adams Soft Hackle variation
I couldn’t have created better lighting for the green Praying Mantis. It was sitting on the brass base of my porch light, glowing from the bare bulb above it, and I used a hand-held flash. I’m pretty happy with the results of all that brass and reflected lighting…
Thanks for looking!
Endangered Toads
The California Black Toad(Bufo exsul) exists only in a tiny chain of natural springs in Eastern California. They are endemic to this area, and as a founding member of the Eastern Sierra Herpetology Club, it is a privilege to be able to work with the California Department of Fish and Game to protect and maintain the habitat for these animals. Yesterday, we took a trip up there to check on the toads, and see how the breeding season was coming along…
Adults in amplex amid egg strings
Adult pair in amplex(mating)
We observed 4 or 5 pairs of adult toads in amplex, which means the male has mounted the female and breeding has begun, and we also heard several “release” calls, which is a signal that mating has finished and the male is releasing the female. We also saw millions developing egg strings, and even a few tadpoles…
Egg Strings. Each tiny, black dot is a developing tadpole. The empty areas are from recently hatched tadpoles...
2 tiny tadpoles, likely only a day or two old...
After visiting the breeding habitat, we followed the spring system to a location known to be home to several toads to see how they were progressing. We were pleasantly surprised to see a countless number of juvenile toads, likely hatched last year, hopping and swimming around, seemingly everywhere we looked. To say there were thousands would be an understatement…
Juvie Black Toad
Juvie Black Toad
It was a real treat to see so many breeding adults peacefully using the breeding habitat that we, as a club, helped to restore and protect. It was also a real treat to see that the implementation of a seasonal road closure, also initiated by the Eastern Sierra Herpetology Club, led to such a successful amount of breeding last season. We were all smiles and giggles over our short-term successes. Now we can begin long-term documentation and maintenance and hopefully watch this endangered, endemic population of toads thrive in their only native habitat.
Obviously, while out on these trips, we see other reptilian wildlife and even a few insects. So here are a couple of “bonus shots” from the day…
No idea...any guesses on species out there?
Great Basin Fence Lizard--Sceloporus occidentalis longipes
Common Sideblotch--Uta stansburiana
Northern Desert Horned Lizard--Phrynosoma platyrhinos platyrhinos
I did find a very pretty and extremely healthy Mojave Patchnose snake(Salvadora hexalepis mojavensis) on the way up to the habitat, but I didn’t get a picture of it. I got to share it with my friend Rusty who had never seen one before, though, so that’s good enough for me…
Thanks for coming along!
What a GORGEOUS Day!!
Ahh…it felt like Spring. Hell, it almost felt like summer! Woke up to a gorgeous sunrise, and had my first cup of coffee on the front porch listening to the sparrows as the sun crept up over the hills…
Sparrow at Sunrise
I got home from work and the Sphinx moths were back out, only this time they were after the freshly blossomed lilacs…
I had to go down to Big Pine to water some animals for a friend who is out of town. For giggles, I cruised up one of my favorite roads to see if by chance the snakes were awake, and wouldn’t you know it…
Panamint Rattlesnake--Crotalus stephensi
This little juvenile Panamint was very cool, chilling in the road on the way back down. So it’s official. First snake of the year means spring is officially here! I don’t care the weather thinks…
Thanks for looking!
Backyard Birding
When you haven’t got a lot of time, you work with what you got. I got a nice, big, empty desert loaded with songbirds and blossoming brush as a backyard…
Sure Signs of Spring
So I was outside this evening shortly before sunset, and I noticed my almond and peach trees were just glowing beautifully with fresh blossoms. So I grabbed my camera and my 105mm macro lens for some shots…
I have 2 peach trees. One provides LOADS of smaller, white fleshed peaches, and the other provides fewer, larger yellow fleshed ones. These are all from the white-flesh tree…
Then I saw this guy buzzing around my almond tree…
He knew he was further than I wanted him to be, so he flew down to the peach tree for a closer look…
That’s it. Just some sure signs of spring from my front yard. Thanks for looking!
Bishop Creek Canyon
I went camping with my daughter, my girlfriend, and her daughter up in Bishop Creek Canyon over the weekend. It was quite nice to get outta town and get out with a camera in hand…
Looking east
Baby Mountain Gartersnake that Annette spotted--Thamnophis elegans elegans
One of the many species of blue damselfly
Butterfly taking a morning "coffee break"
Mother Nature's Garden
Orange Mallow
Mojave Prickly Pear Blossom
Not sure on an ID for this Damselfly yet...
That’s about it for now. I took a bazillion pictures of the fire last night, too, but I haven’t processed them yet.
Anyhow…I really enjoyed the weekend. I hope you enjoyed seeing the photos!
Baby Tree Frogs
As part of our commitment to the California Department of Fish and Game, the Eastern Sierra Herpetology Club went out to survey for Northern Leopard Frogs this morning. We didn’t find any, but we weren’t really expecting to. They haven’t been seen in this area in many years. We did find some freshly metamorphosed Pacific Tree Frogs(Pseudacris regila), though. A few of us found a breeding location, and spotted 15-20 or more froglets within 3 meters of each other.
In situ froglet
Pacific Tree Frog
Pseudocris regila
These little amphibians are absolutely adorable. Given the size and number of bass and bullfrogs we found in the area, it’s really quite a testament to this tree frog’s resiliency that they are coming back and doing so well. Hopefully, we can find a population of Northern Leopard frogs that have been hiding…
We also saw a ton of dragon flies, some of which I posted earlier. Here are a few more of those, as well…
Thanks for taking the time to look!
Dragon Flies
I love dragonflies. They flit about eating insects, and look cool as hell doing it…
Thanks for looking!
Trip to San Francisco
So…anyone that’s been reading knows that I have been in the process of moving. I have been living in a small, 2 bedroom apartment with my daughter and a room-mate for the last 4 years. It wasn’t the best, but we made it work. Not long ago, my girlfriend asked if I was interested in getting a place together with her, and we jumped at the chance. So, me, my daughter, my girlfriend, and her daughter al share a really nice 4 bedroom, 2 bath house. Moving sucks ASS, and I despise the process. But the results are well worth it.
So…as a little bit of a break, my good friend John and his wife took me to San Francisco for a night. It still amazes me how easily my stress melts away with a camera in my hand…
Wild Rose growing in my new front yard
Bueatiful Swallowtail Butterfly
This guy threatened to break my camera if I took his picture. I wished him luck with that...
Awaiting the Bite
Alcatraz
The Rock
Alcatraz Guard Tower
Forbes Island
Seagull you fly across the horizon...
Telegraph Hill from The Embarcadero
The Golden Gate in B&W
Crosstown Traffic
It was a really fun, albeit short-lived trip to the Bay. I had never been there before, so it was a very worthwhile endeavor.
Thanks for coming along!
Backyard Macros
So…I’m in the process of moving out of my tiny-ass apartment, and in to a large house. For the past 4 years, my daughter and I have shared a 2-bedroom apartment with a room mate, which means I have been sleeping on the couch for longer than I care to remember. We are finally moving in to a large 4-bedroom, 2-bathroom house with my girlfriend and her daughter. What a fantastic change!
However…this leaves me very little time to go out and shoot. So…backyard “wilderness” will have to suffice…
Western Longnose-Rhinocheilus lecontei
Make A Wish
Looking at the world through a Fly's Eyes
The Nucleus
One more great aspect of our new house…PLENTY of open habitat to explore. I haven’t walked around too much to explore the property in depth, but I know there are about 1,000 acres or so of public land surrounding us. I also know that I received 3 different rattlesnake removal calls from this area last year, and all 3 were very nice Panamint Rattlers. Rarely are removal calls actually for rattlesnakes. Most of the time, they are big gophersnakes, occasionally a kingsnake, and even a few garter snakes. But in this area, they have all been actual rattlers, and that makes me very happy, contrary to what one might think, considering there are 2 young girls running around. But my daughter is well trained in identification, and my girlfriend’s daughter is quickly learning…
Thanks for taking the time to look!
Kern Valley
Went for a drive down around the Kern Valley the other day…
Frozen Fall
The water in the North Fork of the Kern River were spectacular. There are ALWAYS rapids on the Mighty Kern, but believe it or not…the flows were perfect for swimming and fishing. Unfortunately, I wasn’t prepared for either one…so I just took some pictures.
While sitting alongside a small pool on a feeder creek higher in elevation than the Kern Valley…we were surprised by the sudden intrusion of a VERY unexpected guest:
This cute little bat fell down out of a nearby tree and struggled his way up and down several logs. He kept jumping into the water, and then climbing back out. I’m not real familiar with bat behavior, but it didn’t appear to enjoy it’s time in the water, and certainly was not what I would consider a “reasonable swimmer”. It was more like flopping and flailing. I helped it get up onto a stick, and moved it back away from the water’s edge, and it just laid there…wet and visibly exhausted. We watched him for about 20 minutes, and then moved on. The reality is…it didn’t look healthy. Something was wrong. I have no idea what was wrong, but…something was. I would not be surprised if it died shortly after we left…
Finally…coming back across the mountains to the Eastern Slope…I couldn’t resist this shot of a HUGE Joshua Tree field. It was very neat, having the mountains with the J-Trees in the distance and the small feeder creek lined with Oak and Aspen in the foreground. So I asked Annette to pull over so I could get the shot…
Desert and Oasis
And that’s about it. I didn’t find any snakes, which was, as I’m sure you assumed, my ultimate goal in the trip. But I got to hang out with my friend Annette in a gorgeous river valley on the Western Slope of my beloved mountains. All in all…no snakes, but…still a wonderful way to spend a Sunday.
Thanks for coming along!
Insect Macros
Anyone that knows me, knows that I am an absolute wuss when it comes to insects. Flying, biting, stinging, crawling, ugly, big, little…I don’t like ‘em. The only ones I like are the ones that trout eat. And I only like those ’cause I like to fly fish. Can’t have one without the other, so I have learned to love damselflies, Dobson’s flies, mayflies, stoneflies, caddis, midges and the like. But everything else is fair game for the fly swatter as far as I’m concerned. But I digress…
Anyone that knows me well, also knows that I can’t pass up a cool photo opportunity if my camera is within easy walking distance. So when I went out onto the porch last night and saw a bunch of really cool looking spiders chilin’ in a web…I had to snap a couple close-ups…
The Underbelly
The Backside
I have no idea what these spiders are, but they were hanging out with 5 or 6 others that looked exactly the same, all in one giant web in the corner, underneath my porch light…like any smart spider would be… Anyone that knows what they are, feel free to let me know via comment!
I also saw this cool beetle-looking thing in the early evening, and my daughter wanted a picture of it, so…I’ll share it…
Cool looking thing...for a bug...
Well…that’s about it. Just a couple cool macro shots of some front porch wildlife. Thanks for looking!
Some Recent Finds
Found a couple of really nice snakes over the last couple nights, and thought I might share a photo or three…
Axanthic Western Longnose--Different from the Clarus Phase...VERY different...
Very Gravid Great Basin Gophersnake
Same Gophersnake
This gophersnake was incredibly gravid. Her belly was just chock full of developing eggs, and she was probably only a few days from laying. In fact…in the second picture you can see she is just covered in dirt. Just might have found her taking a break from digging a burrow to lay the eggs in…tough to say for certain. But I know she was gravid. You could see the egg shapes, and I let ehr crawl through my hand. I counted 18 eggs, but that could be off…
Mojave Desert Sidewinder
Desert Hairy Scorpion
Different Mojave Desert Sidewinder
Check out the skull-shaped head pattern. It's upside down in the photo...
We found this sidewinder twice tonight, in roughly the same location, 45 minutes apart. The only way I could positively ID it as the same ‘winder is by that very cool looking head pattern.
Anyhow…thanks again for checking out the blog and joining me on my adventures!
Las Vegas…Sorta…
I hate Las Vegas. It’s a horrible display of gaudy self-indulgence that is too loud, too fast, and WAY to bright for my taste. I avoid it at all possible costs…
Vegas Local...sorta...
But a friend invited me out to cruise some out-lying roads to hopefully find some snakes I had never seen before. Unfortunately, it was incredibly warm, and the snakes simply did not want to come out and play.
Cholla Cactus
But all was not entirely lost. We walked around in the desert in the afternoon, spotting various lizards scooting about and hiding before we could any pictures, and we did see some pretty flowers…
Some daisey...I think...
Don't remember what this is...
Desert Mallow with a resident or two...
Penstemon blooming
We did go out cruising for snakes. We did NOT fiond anything that was a lifer for me. We didn’t find very much at all. The first snake we fuond was this absolutely STUNNING California Kingsnake:
You can't get any more perfectly Black and White
The sad part is that this gorgeous fella was runned over moments before we got to him. There wasn’t a whole lot of visible damage, but he was absolutely DOR. I couldn’t resist getting his picture, though, so I picked him up and posed him. A snake this gorgeous deserves a memorium.
Further down the road, we did find a very young Nightsnake. I took a few pictures…but they weren’t very good, so I won’t share them. It was just a wee little thing.
Then we found this cute little toad:
No idea...Possibly a Great Basin Spadefoot...??
Amphibs are not my forte. I have no idea what this guy could be. Possibly a Great Basin Spadefoot, but I really don’t know. If you know…please leave a comment and tell me.
It was getting late…around 2:00am, but we decided to keep cruising. We went through Valley of Fire State Park, and found this big guy chillin’ in the road:
Giant Desert Hairy Scorpion
We saw a BUNCH of little Desert Banded Geckos, but none of my photos are worth charing. We also found this interesting character:
Locust...or another evil Alien Overlord, trying to control the universe
We kept driving, and came across an absolutely brilliant example of Western Longnose, at around 4am:
Brightest Longnose I have ever seen
We cruised straight through until sunrise, without finding anything else very interesting. We did see a small Leaf Nose snake, DOR, as we were getting on the Great Basin Highway, and heading back towards camp, but…it was fairly mangled, and posing it for a picture would have been a waste of effort. I took a picture, just as a voucher of finding him, but…well…you don’t want to see photos of a smooshed snake, do you?
Anyhow…back at camp, I decided it was safest for me to down some coffee and hit the road. It was now 9:00am Sunday, and I had been driving since 10:00am Saturday, so I was a bit bushed. I couldn’t sleep, as I had wanted to, so I figured…better to down the coffeee and stay awake, than to take my time, and fall asleep halfway home. So I hit the road.
One last cool little photo:
If you look closely at the ladyb ug’s back, you can actually see a reflection of me with my camera and the trees behind me. Pretty cool, if you ask me.
That’s it. I made it home safely, with little issue, and crashed on the couch. I had a good time, even though we didn’t find anything exciting. The places we were cruising are definitely prime habitat, and I will be going back in the fall, hopefully to find some of the elusive rattlesnakes that I know are there, and maybe even a couple new colubrids for my field log.
Thanks for taking the time to read!
Random Photos
Well…I’ve taken several photos over the last few days, and I don’t really have anywhere to place them, so…Here’s a “Random Photos” post. My gift to you… 
Glossy Snake-Arizona elegans candida
Another Prtty Sidewinder
Thde prettiest young Panamint I've ever seen
GIGANTIC Desert Hair Scorpion
And that’s about it. See? Just some random shots taken over the weekend. Hope you enjoyed!
Panamint Rattler
Went for another cruise last night. It was cool…low to mid 60′s…it was windy…about 35-45mph…and it was lightly and sporadically drizzling. Not good herping conditions, to be honest, but we went out anyhow…just for shits and giggles…just to say we did.
Storms brewing on the Eastern Slope of the Sierra Nevada
We had pretty much given up. Cruised for about an hour and a half, and the temperature was dropping. So we sped up and headed home.
Storms brewing over Death Valley
Coming around a blind corner…there he was…
Gorgeous adult Crotalus stephensi
Very Calm, he was content to let us get some pics and move on
He only gave me a quick, short buzz...just to remind me that, should he choose the option, he could inflict a very serious and very painful bite...at any moment...
We found a dead one in the middle of the road about 45 minutes later, too. Sad…but part of the game.
Saw some other pretty pictures, too…
Wooly Daisey
Cool moth and a Ladybug, hunkering down from the wind and rain
We’re going out again tonight. We’re gonna head further south, and hope for some more conducive weather for finding snakes. You’ll be the first to know if we find anything fun…
Thanks for your faithful viewing!
I need my Blankie…
God, I hate bugs. They creep me right out. Little nasty, viscious critters flying around randomly and aggressively biting and attacking complete strangers for absolutely no reason…vile little devils…
OK…I know that’s not really true, and I am not really so afraid that they make me want to cuddle up with a blankie and suck my thumb..but close. They skeeve me out…give me the creeps…the willies…any other metaphors you can come up with? Because I’m fresh out.
I don’t like insects…but they make excellent photographic subjects!!
Ugly bastard. I think he's trying to control my brain...
This ugly bitch's legs were so long I couldn't keep them in frame! Must be an alien life form...
God I hate bugs…
Thanks for looking!
Field Herping
Finally…I spent some time walking around a field, and driving on paved back roads, looking for reptiles and amphibians…a favorite hobby and past time of mine. Enjoy!
Western Fence Lizard
Not sure...Sagebrush? Fence? Didn't get a good enough look at it...
Cool Spider
Pacific Tree Frog
Pacific Tree Frog
Northern Pacific Rattlesnake
Northern Pacific Rattler cuddled into some tall grass
That’s it for the Field Herping. Thanks for looking!
More Pics from Today
Just wanted to share some more pictures I took today…
Thanks again, for taking the time to look!
