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!
Been A While…
Wow. It’s been quite some time. A lot has happened. Initially, I was unemployed for a little bit, and anyone that has ever been there knows that priorities change. The internet had to go. Time was spent looking for a job, pounding the pavement, rather than walking the streets looking for photographs waiting to be taken. Money got tight, gas prices rose, and activity in my life ran down to a minimum.
But I’m back. I’m working, making money, and putting my camera back in hand, and priorities back in line. So by way of a re-introduction, here’s just a few random shots that have helped pass the time…
Zayne and Great Basin Gophersnake
My son and his girlfriend hunting for petroglyphs in the Volcanic Tablelands.
Goldfinch
Zayne enjoying Hot Ditch. Natural reflection from the water cured backlight shadows nicely.
Random front yard flower
1982 Shovelhead Custom Rigid. She will be mine. VERY soon…
So…yea…just a few shots to say, I’m back. And things are getting better. Thanks for stopping by!!
Cruising for Snakes
I went out last night for a short snake cruise, hoping to scare up some Sidewinders and Panamints, but alas, the rattlers didn’t want to come out and play with me. I did find a couple of other snakes, though…
California Kingsnake--Lampropeltis getula californiae
This king was absolutely gorgeous! He was about 4-4 1/2 feet in length, very healthy and crisply colored with jet black and pure white bands. This is a true “Desert Phase” California Kingsnake. Quintessential in color, size, and attitude, but he did settle down and stop trying to bite for long enough to get a few pictures…
Further down the road I found this guy…
Great Basin Gophersnake--Pituophis catenifer deserticola
I have found and played with a ton of Great Basin Gophersnakes over the years. This species is always fun to find, because you never know what kind of attitude they are going to have. Some are incredibly calm, content to be picked up, held, and moved out of the road, and others…well…not so much. This was one of the most defensive Gophersnakes I’ve ever had the pleasure of encountering. He was medium size, about 3 1/2 feet in length, but he was absolutely FULL of piss and hatred for me. He was easily one of the loudest hissers I’ve ever encountered, and he struck at me more times than I could possibly count. Not little strikes…2/3 body length, almost aerial, lunges towards me, the flashlight, the camera…anything that moved in front of him. Of course, he was determined to convince me that he was gonna kill me, but that’s what I like to see. If a snake is that angry at me, it means he will treat every other human he encounters the same way. When this dude reaches 6 feet or more in length, he will be one helluva snake to deal with. Hopefully, I will get the opportunity to meet him at that point. Think he’ll remember me? 
Here’s another shot of the same Gophersnake. Notice the similarity of pose and attitude? He didn’t stop for a second…
Even after picking him up, moving him across the road in his intended direction of travel, and calmly setting him down inches from the cover of sagebrush, he had his sights on me. What a great little snake!
Thanks for taking the time to look!
Wild Iris
Well, flowers are starting to bloom, and spring is trying to be here, but for some reason, this cold wind just doesn’t seem to want to release its grip on the valley. So rather than battle the wind and shoot fast shutter speeds, or wait for the wind (and the Iris) to die, I decided to just go with it…
Wild Iris
There was a couple of other photographers out shooting, but the color never popped, and the wind was incessant. Rather than battle the conditions, I went with it, stopped down to f/22, and even dropped a 3stop ND filter on to slow it down and really exaggerate the blur. I think it came out fairly neat!
The Victoria and Wild Rose are blooming in the front yard, too…
Victoria
Wild Rose
And this is the closest I have ever gotten to a good shot of a Whiptail lizard…
Great Basin Whiptail--Aspidocelis tigris tigris
One of these days, spring will actually get here and stay for a little while…
Thanks for looking!
Mojave Desert Sidewinder
I like Sidewinders. They are a fairly small rattlesnake, with males topping out around 2-2 1/2 feet in length, and females reaching a massive 3 feet, but what they lack in body size, they typically make up for in attitude and venom production. This little girl was fast asleep in the middle of the road. She’s lucky my daughter and I found her first…
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- Mojave Desert Sidewinder–Crotalus cerastes cerastes
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- Mojave Desert Sidewinder–Crotalus cerastes cerastes
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- Mojave Desert Sidewinder–Crotalus cerastes cerastes
Walking Around Out Back
Went for a walk through the desert out behind the house this afternoon. No snakes, but bunches of lizards and birds…
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- House Finch
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- Western Kingbird
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- Common Sideblotch-Uta stansburiana
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- Western Sagebrush–Sceloporus graciosus graciosus
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- Common Sideblotch-Uta stansburiana
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- House Finches
Birds and a Panamint
Yup…more birds, and a BEAUTIFUL Panamint I found with my daughter…
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- Panamint rattler-Crotalus stephensi
That little Panamint was awesome. He was being harassed by a Raven that was evidently trying to keep him in the road to be run over. Lucky for the snake, not so much for the Raven, we were the first car to come along, so I scared off the raven, grabbed my snake hook, and moved the little guy out of the road.
Thanks for looking!
Walk in the Desert
Well…I went in to town today to try and find some local characters to interview and photograph. I didn’t find the folks I was looking for, but I ran into a good friend of mine, and we decided to go for a quick walk in the desert to see what was moving. So we hopped in my car, head to the Volcanic Tablelands, and started hunting around the rocks…
Western Sagebrush Lizard
Barred Spiny Lizard
Great Basin Collared Lizard
Great Basin Collared Lizard
Not a bad day for a quick trip. The sun was out, the wind was relatively calm, and there were some really nice lizards that decided to come out and play. It does a body good!
Thanks for coming along!
Backyard Bird Watching
Backyard bird watching. It’s almost cliché. People are hustlin’ and bustlin’ around this great big world of ours, and not leaving anytime to enjoy the simple pleasures of life. Money is tight, job security is low, taxes and inflation continue growing… It seems the only thing we have any ability to control anymore is how we respond to the rapidly changing stimuli.
That’s why I LOVE my backyard. Let me explain… I live in the High Desert. My house is situated at about 5,000′, right on the feet of the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in eastern California. I can look out my living room window and I have an unobstructed view for close to 10 miles, all the way up the western slope of the White Mountain peaks, which is the western most border of Nevada. Now…there is a major highway running through there, and a multitude of high-power, high-tension lines zig-zagging back and forth. Views are spectacular, but these ugly lines are very destructive to landscape compositions. But the wildlife is incredible…
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- American Goldfinch
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- American Goldfinch
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- Common Sideblotch–Uta stansburiana
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- Domestic Iris
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- Male House Finch
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- Female House Finch
It’s amazing how curative a backyard like mine can be. I’m gonna tell you guys a little secret…I lost my job last week. Yea, right in the middle of my visit with my son, I found out that I was no longer employed. But it’s OK. I had an incredible week visiting with my son, and my emotional well-being has never been more positive. Even being unemployed and quickly running out of money, I can’t help but smile. I walk out back, and it just happens. Something will come through. I have a lot of experience in a lot of fields. I’ve done everything from flippin’ burgers and pouring drinks to antique restorations and hotel management. I also found out about some pretty cool job openings in my area, including backcountry habitat recovery and wildlife rehabilitation, and not only would I LOVE to have either of those jobs…I’m fairly well qualified for both. So something will come through. Just gotta ride this wave for a few days…
Thanks for taking the time to stop and look!
The Buttermilks and Mono Lake
Turkey Vulture
- Panamint Rattler–Crotalus stephensi
- Panamint Rattler–Crotalus stephensi
It was quite a lovely day…
- Kevin trying to get the shot
- Little Peak
- Buttermilk Ridgeline
Kevin’s flight back home was this afternoon, so we left the house around 5am, and headed up to Mono Lake, to get some early morning shots before he had to go. It was another spectacular day…
- Mono Lake Tufa
- Looking for a shot
- South Tufa Portrait
This has been one of the most incredible weeks of my life. I’m really glad I took a chance and reached out to my son. I’m even more thrilled that he responded positively. I think we have a good thing to build on here…
Thanks for taking the time to look!
What a Day!
So…I picked my son up at the airport on Sunday. I haven’t seen him since he was 2 years old, and he has no conscious memory of me at all. He’s a 21-year-old Army combat veteran, now. We had a 4 hour drive from the airport to the house, and we spent 99% of it talking, laughing, and getting to know each other. It really surprises me how much we have in common, both in terms of things we enjoy, and our personalities…the way we think. We share similar opinions on many subjects, and enjoy many of the same hobbies and activities.
It’s really been a nice couple of days. We went for a walk around the Buttermilk area, looking for snake and lizards, and taking pictures yesterday afternoon…
My son, Kevin, looking for snakes and lizards, camera 'round his neck
We did manage to find a few lizards, but no snakes…
Great Basin Fence Lizard--Sceloporus occidentalis longipes
And a B&W panorama of some of my favorite mountains…
2 shot pano--Paiute Crag to Mt. Humphries
Last night, Kevin and I went road cruising for snakes for a little bit. We didn’t see any snakes, but we did find a Great Basin Spadefoot toad, which is always a welcome and rare treat in Inyo County…
Great Basin Spadefoot--Spea intermontana
It’s been fantastic so far! We are going to pick up Zayne either tonight or tomorrow. These two haven’t met, yet, so I’m pretty excited to get them both together…
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!
More from The Buttermilks
Here’s a few more shots from my quick venture in the Buttermilks the other day…
Summit of Mt. Tom
Common Sideblotch
Unexpected Sighting
Thanks for taking the time to look!
Buttermilk Walkabout
I went for a walk around the granite boulders of Buttermilk Country today. It wasn’t a spectacular day to shoot, but the light was really nice for B&W, and there were a bunch of little lizards running about, so…it was worth it…
Paiute Crag, Checkered Demon, Emmerson Peak, Mount Humphries, Basin Mountain
Basin Mountain and Mt. Tom
Checkered Demon and Emmerson Peak
Common Sideblotch
Common Sideblotch
It was a good day. I was out with my friend James, who is the only son of my best friend John that just passed away. It was nice for the two of us to get out together and take some shots.
Thanks for taking the time to look!
Great Basin Gophersnakes
Found 5 or 6 Great Basin Gophersnake hatchlings this evening between sunset and moonrise. All of them were very young, probably only a few days to a couple weeks old, and all were out warming themselves on the pavement for what could very well be their first meal…
Anyhow, I got some decent pictures of a couple of them, so here they are!
Time for your closeup!
Heading for the bushes...
My favorite shot of the night...
Anyhow…it was a really nice night. I took a new Eastern Sierra Herpetology Club member out for his first roadcruise, and we were lucky enough to find several hatchlings. Not bad, if you ask me.
Thanks for taking the time to look!
Wounded Coachwhip
I got a call about 2 weeks ago. A friend of mine caught a Red Coachwhip (Masticophis flagellum piceus) in his backyard, and wanted to know if I could help it. It had a small, but fairly deep skin injury. Kind of looked like he got stuck on a thorn, and it ripped him open, and pushed the skin up underneath itself. So I brought this thing home to see if I could help. He ate a live hopper mouse straight away, so the first hurdle was past…getting him to eat.
I pulled the flapper out using tweezers, and tried to let it heal back down in place, but it didn’t work. After 3 days, it was dry, and curling back underneath, so I moistened it with some betadine, straightened out the flapper, and cut it off.
This morning, he ate a frozen and then thawed hopper mouse, which is a fantastic sign of recuperation and adapting to captivity, and the wound is showing signs of healing.
You can see the wound site there below the markings on his neck...
Closeup of the wound
You can see in the closeup that the remaining healthy skin has started to heal and form scarring where it has re-attached to the underlying flesh. You can also see signs of scale definition beginning to re-develope in the flesh, itself. Luckily, it wasn’t an injury that was deep enough to cause muscle damage, and while it will be a decent scar…he should have a complete recovery, and make a fantastic addition to the collection. It is, afterall, illegal to release them from captivity once they have been captured…
Thanks for taking the time to look!
My New Buddy
Someone called up the shop the other day, and asked if I knew anyone that rescued animals. She said she found “some kind of turtle” walking in her backyard. She described it to me, and I figured it to be a Red-eared Slider, which is a semi-aquatic turtle, popular in the pet trade, and not at all adapted to life in the hot, dry, high desert of Bishop. So I told her to bring it in the shop, and I would make some calls.
I didn’t need to make any calls, because as soon as I saw him, I knew I was just gonna have to bring him home with me. So I’d like to introduce you all to my new buddy, Rocky, relaxing comfortably in his new semi-aquarium…
Say, Buddy...Is that a camera ya' got there?
CHEESE!
This is actually my good side...
We done here? kthxbai!
He really is an entertaining little critter. I never had a turtle before, believe it or not. I have a tortoise, and loads of snakes, a couple dogs…I’ve had lizards of many varieties, hamsters, rats, and rabbits…cats, goldfish, and birds…but this is my first turtle. He’s cool!!
Thanks for taking the time to look!
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!
Very Rare Lizard
So I get a phonecall today, from an hysterical lady…”There is a lizard in my store! Can you PLEASE come get it out for me?!” I asked her what kind of lizard, and of course she had no idea. So I grabbed a fine-mesh net, and headed over…
There were several customers, mostly curious and a little freaked that a “wild animal” was in the shop. Mind you…we live in the High Desert. Lizards and snakes are literally all around us, and calls for snake removals from a house are fairly common. Needless to say, I wasn’t shocked that a lizard was in the store.
But I was shocked to see this guy…
Panamint Alligator Lizard
This is a Panamint Alligator Lizard, also known as Elgaria panamintina. They are an increasingly rare lizard that only occurs in a small area of eastern California, in Inyo and Mono counties. This is only the second one I have ever seen, and the first…I’m still not positive it was a Panamint. This one…I’m almost positive…
Elgaria panamintina
Now…I’m not a biologist, or a herpetologst, or any kind of ologist to be perfectly honest. I can’t be 100% certain that this is a Panamint Alligator lizard. It could also be a Sierra Alligator Lizard (Elgaria coerulea palmeri), but those don’t typically have distinct banding. This guy also has a distinct, white, rear border against the black bands, which is characteristic of the Panamint.
Regardless, he is a really cool lizard, and I’m stoked to have rescued him!
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!
Great Basin Gophersnake
Found an absolutely outstanding specimen of gophersnake last night. At about 4 foot long, this guy was fairly calm and posed very nicely for me in a pile of rocks. Outstanding coloration, and just a gorgeous snake in general–
Great Basin Gophersnake--Pituophis catenifer deserticola
I love these snakes. You never know what kind of attitude you are going to get with them. Some are large, angry, and ready to bite, and others, like this one, are quite gentle and content to pose. Whatever you get, it will be a wonderfully adapted desert species, and a natural beauty.
Thanks for looking!
Reptiles and Flowers
Went for a short walk in the desert behind my house, and found a few cool flowers and a neat little lizard…
Some pretty purple flowers. Anyone know?
No idea what these are. They look like octopus tentacles, to me...
Common Sideblotch--Uta stansburiana
California Kingsnake--Lampropeltis getula californiae
The Cali king was just a little thing. We found him crawling out into the road on the way home from picking up my daughter.
Thanks for taking the time to look!
Eastern Sierra Herpetology Club
The ESHC is well into it’s second year of existence, and today was one of the most exciting days for the membership, and for me, personally, as a founding member.
Some may remember last year at about this time, I posted that the club was going to ask for seasonal closures of a specific road to help protect a breeding population of the incredibly rare California Black Toad (Bufo exuls). We successful in getting a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Fish and Game. As part of that MOU, the club is obligated to volunteer time and man-hours for maintenance of the habitat in the breeding location. That’s just fine by us.
We met with a leading DFG biologist that has been working to protect these toads for a long time. We had a great day installing blockades, cleaning the area, and of course…documenting animals and flowers…
James and Ceale working to install a T-post at one of the stream crossings
The gang, observation a swarm of bees. I stayed far away from that nonsense.
Great Basin Whiptail--Aspidocelis tigris tigris
Barrel Cactus in bloom
Beavertail Cactus blossom
California Black Toad--Bufo exuls
Black Neck Hummingbird eggs
All in all it was a fantastic day! We were asked by the DFG to participate in a few studies in specific areas, looking for and documenting, various reptiles and amphibians for inclusion in a variety of environmental reports and studies. Hopefully, you will start seeing some great improvements to the habitat and conservation efforts of the reptiles and amphibians that inhabit the Eastern Sierra!
Thanks for looking!
