Desert bighorn sheep battling one another conveniently in front of my trail camera!
Mammillaria grahamii
Lyre snake (Trimorphodon lambda)
Tantilla hobartsmithii
Buck mule deer
Rosy boa (Lichanura roseofusca)
Ground snake (Sonora semiannulata)
Ram skull
First AZ rattlesnake of the year: blacktail
Desert collared lizard (Crotaphytus bictintores)
Echinocereus arizonicus
Lampropeltis californiae
Family came to visit me at the beginning of May. We had a fantastic time enjoying some of the natural landscapes of Arizona and as well as some of the good local eateries. I was very excited to be able to share some of the exceptionally cool spring reptiles with the family. Nathaniel, Ali and I had an awesome hike in the white tank mountains. We saw a number of really colorful adult chuckwallas.
Lampropeltis californiae
Common chuckwalla (Sauromalus ater)
Common chuckwalla (Sauromalus ater)
Common chuckwalla (Sauromalus ater)
We attempted a hike near Sedona on a pleasant overcast day. We underestimated the difficulty of the trail; only three of the four of us made it to the top of the trail. A black-tail rattlesnake also enjoyed the view from the red rock cathedral.
Nick, Fran and I shared a fantastic weekend of spring herping. We headed up to the higher elevations of central Arizona to search for some of the most exciting spring specialties. We were rewarded finely with an awesome diversity of black rattlesnakes and mountain kingsnakes from two unique ranges.
I was fortunate to be invited by AZGFD to go along for a mark-recapture desert tortoise survey. They gave me the privilege of working up the tortoise I found. Hopefully will be the first of many.
The following weekend I headed for Organ Pipe. I found my first Mexican three-lined boas (Lichanura trivirgata).
