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Who's out in the field?

R

reptilebreeder

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Seems we've had some great weather, just about everywhere for some time. Where is everybody? where's the reports? Usually I take two "major" field trips a year, and then many day and overnighters. My first major one is coming up, going to hit Arizona. We are hitting a spot where I hope to get two of my top 10 (for whole US) lifelist checkoffs. Gila Monsters, and Coral snakes. Meantime here is a cute little bugger for you to look at. Desert Tortoise hatchling, with a quarter placed on the rock for reference.
 

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Well if you're talking other states

Kansas has been busy except for this past weekend with massive rains. Not a crusade of lookers yet but there has been normal, above normal, below normal observations and a might early for the norm from the north, east, central and west part of the state. Just haven't heard of activity south of state as of yet. Most of the state Great Plains has done did the burn off season and with temps really cooling down again and a lot of caught up rain, i see it as a very next so many days ( month > ? ) of excellent observations.
 
Im in Kansas also, except I went out last Sunday!

Wow, rocks were no good with so much rain, but Junk and tin spots were insane! I really need to get a link for my digital camera so I can share. I havent found the numbers of kings and milks that Oldguy has, but I did count 273 Ringnecks in one tin site, and flipped a car hood to find 5 Adult Black Ratsnakes under it. 3 males and 2 females. I also found 6 Brown snakes, and 13 linned snakes. Also found 5 basking banded waters in thier usual spots, but very hard to catch. Red-sided garters were abundant as well. I met the owners of Rooks Ranch out in Wabansee Kansas, and got permission for this weekend to herp their acres of land. Thats this weekends plan. There is hills and hills of limbstone to flip,so im excited. Oldguy, and any others, you are welcome to join. Ill show you guys a few good tin areas before they are gone. Somebody has been out taking my tin. Its been there for years, and now its dissapearing one peice at a time. Its right by a water snake spot and collard lizard zone. The Rooks ranch hills are all south and west facing hills, so it looks good to me. I did find another area that is prime, but im having trouble finding the owner of the land. Its miles and miles of valleys full of flippable stones. Oh, and on the road I though I saw a snake, but when I jumped out, it was a Glass lizard. Very cool and fun to find. It was in perfect condition. Well, I talk to much, Later all.
 
Well if you're talking other states
Click to expand...
Yeah anywhere and everywhere. I guess I can't speak for everybody, but being a field herper first and foremost (before herpetoculturist), I'm interested in pretty much all field herping. My primary lifelist (for now) is CA and AZ, but I also keep any records for any state I am able to do herping in, as well as the top 10 list for CA, and one for the US. I've noticed your other posts, last week or so. I think you guys are getting some more of those rains that hit us pretty hard out west. Here we've gone from daytime temps in the 60's with lots and lots of rain (our snow pack is 150-200% over normal), to 90 degrees inside of a week, looks like we won't get a "proper" spring out here.....again.
 
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John,
I just finished a day trip. Didn't see much but was able to snap some pictures of
a gopher snake. You're not to far from me. Maybe one day, you can show me those super secret spots. LOL
 
Dennis Hultman said:
John,
I just finished a day trip. Didn't see much but was able to snap some pictures of
a gopher snake. You're not to far from me. Maybe one day, you can show me those super secret spots. LOL
Click to expand...
All this time and I didn't realize you were anywhere near me. I'd be glad to, hit me up for a field trip, or even if you ever hit any shows.
 
Interesting note on the Glass Lizard

Almost ALL of my finds of the Glass Lizard species of our state has been on roadways ! Where are you hunting exactly to find those Black Rats ? This species is almost at the end of their range of distribution out here as the Prairie King. Knowing that, I wonder why no one, including myself, has found what could be a cross or intergrade of Black Rat and Emoryi ? I mean look at the Milk Snake out here, It is believed that with the overlapping of Gentilis and Syspila and believed Gentilis is and has been intergrading with Syspila by distribution range farther and farther east, it is assumed to be in the most eastern parts of Kansas and even possibly in some western parts of Missouri now. BUT this would be possibly a huge percentile of intergrades breeding intergrades. More > Another theory has been touched on that with the all years of decades or even more, that maybe there is almost no true/pure strains of Syspila true or very little, left out here. I know that there ARE counties like Leavenworth, Wyandotte, Miami, Linn, possibly Franklin ( to name a few ) and spots like the sought after milks of Perry Lake that true/pure milks can be found and counties south eastern Kansas included, but even some of the Perry Lake individuals are looking intergrade. Make me want to get some of you guys together to make a western run for true Gentilis instead of Flint Hills hunting so we know there is no integration going on ! LOL !




sppeavy said:
Wow, rocks were no good with so much rain, but Junk and tin spots were insane! I really need to get a link for my digital camera so I can share. I havent found the numbers of kings and milks that Oldguy has, but I did count 273 Ringnecks in one tin site, and flipped a car hood to find 5 Adult Black Ratsnakes under it. 3 males and 2 females. I also found 6 Brown snakes, and 13 linned snakes. Also found 5 basking banded waters in thier usual spots, but very hard to catch. Red-sided garters were abundant as well. I met the owners of Rooks Ranch out in Wabansee Kansas, and got permission for this weekend to herp their acres of land. Thats this weekends plan. There is hills and hills of limbstone to flip,so im excited. Oldguy, and any others, you are welcome to join. Ill show you guys a few good tin areas before they are gone. Somebody has been out taking my tin. Its been there for years, and now its dissapearing one peice at a time. Its right by a water snake spot and collard lizard zone. The Rooks ranch hills are all south and west facing hills, so it looks good to me. I did find another area that is prime, but im having trouble finding the owner of the land. Its miles and miles of valleys full of flippable stones. Oh, and on the road I though I saw a snake, but when I jumped out, it was a Glass lizard. Very cool and fun to find. It was in perfect condition. Well, I talk to much, Later all.
Click to expand...
 
I'm also in CA. My target species for the summer was the alligator lizard and I found one the first day out. It was in the rains that we had here about 5 weeks ago.

My next target species is the night snake. Do you have any tips?
 
Im game for western Kansas road trip!!.

I want to see some Prairie rattlers and possibly coachwhips out west also. I think we may find more hognose out there also. On the black rats... do you ever see that road of I70 thats named Deep Creek rd? There is a place to the North thats called Pillsbury Crossing. People go there to swim and fish and party. Anyways, there is some old buildings around there with tin scattered about, and thats where I see alot of black rats. Thats the farthest west I have found them, but I do know some people that found them out by Hutch. I find alot of them also, just not under stones. I agree with you on the milks, I never know what I am looking at. The two large ones I found were completly different. One had a black head and the other was orange. One had perfect bands, and the other was a intresting pattern. Same with the speckled kings, and yeah, I do find prairie kings under rocks at one spot., but mostly crossing roads. I saw a very intresting baby rat snake that could have been a cross, it was crossing a road, and it was almost light grey with black back pattern blotches. It could have been a black/emoryi. Never know. Ill call you on you cages, I am going to want to see what you have. You letting the critters go as well?
 
caliscott said:
I'm also in CA. My target species for the summer was the alligator lizard and I found one the first day out. It was in the rains that we had here about 5 weeks ago.

My next target species is the night snake. Do you have any tips?
Click to expand...
Night snake.....night driving....LOL. I have very little experience with the bay area (I think that's where your location said), so can't help you with actual areas to look, but they are fairly easy to find night driving. Just remember they can be pretty small. For me night snakes was one of those snakes where I had the hardest time finding them.....a decade, but then once I found one I've now found a gazillion. Okay maybe only hundreds of thousands, okay maybe less, but a lot. So stick in there you will find them. In the field they are harder to find, but if I'm in an area where I know they are, I seem to find them under smaller rocks than I would normally even turn. Like say a high water line around a lake, where all the driftwood and stuff collects, I find them in the rabble ? type areas.
 
Dennis Hultman said:
I am in Santa Barbara. I could be there in three hours. :)
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Use to go to Ventura quite a bit, to dive the channel islands, but haven't been out that way in quite a long while. If you do ever get up this way, and want to get some field work in, shoot me an IM/e-mail.
 
reptilebreeder said:
Use to go to Ventura quite a bit, to dive the channel islands, but haven't been out that way in quite a long while. If you do ever get up this way, and want to get some field work in, shoot me an IM/e-mail.
Click to expand...

That sounds great! Will do.
 
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