LA TX NM AZ CA NV - roadtrip 2014
Posted: Thu May 22, 2014 8:55 amA more touristy trip & report than my usual, but here it is...
! Full report => http://www.hylawerkgroep.be/jeroen/index.php?id=75
Since long, my dear friend Jan and I had the idea of doing a roadtrip in the States. As Jan had to attend a conference in St George, UT, a two weeks travel plan was forged. An ambitious route was put forward, stretching from Louisiana to California. As Jan is not into herpetology and our time was limited, the (literally) hundreds of species occurring along this trajectory received only limited attention. As such, this report will be notably more "touristy" than mu usual reports. I also did not bother too much in pursuing species I had seen during previous trips to the USA (see menu items CA 2011 and AZ 2012). Nevertheless, I was able to admire the targets on my subjective shortlist.
the plan
Louisiana
US herpers Armin, Eric and Kyle were very welcoming and helpful during the first few days of the trip. Main attraction for sure was Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) the next morning. With jetlag and herping excitement precluding most sleep, we got up with sleepy heads and disorientated brains. Hiking the beautiful hilly woods of Armin’s property, our local herpers succeeded in finding the target species and quite a few more species. Never having been east of Arizona in the US before, nearly all species were new to me.
Western Rat Snake (Pantherophis obsoletus)
Kingsnake (Lampropeltis (getula) nigra)
Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus)
Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus)
Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus)
Rough Green Snake (Opheodrys aestivus)
Texas
Green Tree Frog (Hyla cinerea)
Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix)
Green Anole (Anolis carolinensis)
American Alligator (Alligator mississipiensis)
American Alligator (Alligator mississipiensis)
American Alligator (Alligator mississipiensis)
white ibis
black-chinned hummingbird
scissor-tailed flycatcher
Texas River Cooter (Pseudemys texana)
Texas River Cooter (Pseudemys texana)
Ornate Tree Lizard (Urosaurus ornatus)
?Texas Spotted Whiptail (Aspidoscelis ?gularis)
Pecos River
?Texas Spotted Whiptail (Aspidoscelis ?gularis)
Trans-Pecos Striped Whiptail (Aspidoscelis inornata heptagramma)
Greater Earless Lizard (Cophosaurus texanus)
vermillion flycatcher
?Plateau Spotted Whiptail (Aspidoscelis ?scalaris)
Southwestern Fence Lizard (Sceloporus cowlesi)
Greater Earless Lizard (Cophosaurus texanus)
?Marbled Whiptail (Aspidoscelis ?marmorata)
Apalone spinifera & Trachemys gaigeae
Big Bend Slider (Trachemys gaigeae)
Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox)
proghorn
proghorn
New Mexico
In New Mexico, I finally got to see some collared lizards, after previous failures.
Eastern Collard Lizard (Crotaphytus collaris)
Urosaurus ornatus? – this one’s weird, as it has no small scales in between the enlarged dorsal/vertebral scales (which would fit for long-tailed, but out of range...)
Arizona
Late afternoon, I made a brief attempt to find the dullest of all rattlesnake species up the Chiricahua mountains, but again (cf. way too many attempst in 2012) no luck. I hate that species...
. We spent the night in Rodeo, NM.
the Chiricahuas
The next morning, we started with a visit to the charming desert museum in Rodeo and its nice reptiles collection. The reptile-themed shop particularly impressed me.
Chiricahua Desert Museum, Rodeo (NM)
Chiricahua Desert Museum, Rodeo (NM)
Chiricahua Desert Museum, Rodeo (NM)
Canyon Spotted Whiptail (Aspidoscelis burti)
roadrunner
Harris hawk
red-tailed hawk with western diamond-backed prey
Sidewinder (Crotalus cerastes)
Regal Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma solare)
Next up, a must-see destination, the Grand Canyon. We broke up the drive by avoiding Phoenix, going east through the Mogollon Rim and spending the night at high altitude. I browsed for an AZ black (Crotalus cerberus) here and there but there was just too much icy wind all the time.
rates going up
Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon
California
Death Valley NP, California.
Zebra-tailed Lizard (Callisaurus draconoides)
Nevada
We avoided Las Vegas, but spent 3 nights cruising in suboptimal conditions for 2 species of rattlers I had marked as prime targets beforehand. In the daytime, we enjoyed the scenery and hiked the desert as well as alpine habitat on Mount Charleston. To my great joy, the cruising did deliver this time, so I got to see both rattler species I had been looking forward so much, one of which had been a target during my two previous trips to the States.
Sonoran Lyresnake (Trimorphodon lambda)
Lake Mohave
Yellow-backed Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus uniformis)
Western Groundsnake (Sonora semiannulata)
Western Patch-nosed Snake (Salvadora hexalepis)
at the end of the 3rd trip with this species on the wishlist, finally success! – Speckled Rattlesnake (Crotalus mitchellii)
Speckled Rattlesnake (Crotalus mitchellii)
Speckled Rattlesnake (Crotalus mitchellii)
Speckled Rattlesnake (Crotalus mitchellii)
Speck and me
Panamint Rattlesnake (Crotalus stephensi)
Panamint Rattlesnake (Crotalus stephensi)
Western Groundsnake (Sonora semiannulata)
In conclusion, another great time in the US. A perfect roadtrip, including not so many but some fantastic herp species.
Mohave sunset
Preliminary list of observed species
! Full report => http://www.hylawerkgroep.be/jeroen/index.php?id=75
Since long, my dear friend Jan and I had the idea of doing a roadtrip in the States. As Jan had to attend a conference in St George, UT, a two weeks travel plan was forged. An ambitious route was put forward, stretching from Louisiana to California. As Jan is not into herpetology and our time was limited, the (literally) hundreds of species occurring along this trajectory received only limited attention. As such, this report will be notably more "touristy" than mu usual reports. I also did not bother too much in pursuing species I had seen during previous trips to the USA (see menu items CA 2011 and AZ 2012). Nevertheless, I was able to admire the targets on my subjective shortlist.
the plan
Louisiana
US herpers Armin, Eric and Kyle were very welcoming and helpful during the first few days of the trip. Main attraction for sure was Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus) the next morning. With jetlag and herping excitement precluding most sleep, we got up with sleepy heads and disorientated brains. Hiking the beautiful hilly woods of Armin’s property, our local herpers succeeded in finding the target species and quite a few more species. Never having been east of Arizona in the US before, nearly all species were new to me.
Western Rat Snake (Pantherophis obsoletus)
Kingsnake (Lampropeltis (getula) nigra)
Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus)
Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus)
Timber Rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus)
Rough Green Snake (Opheodrys aestivus)
Texas
Green Tree Frog (Hyla cinerea)
Copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix)
Green Anole (Anolis carolinensis)
American Alligator (Alligator mississipiensis)
American Alligator (Alligator mississipiensis)
American Alligator (Alligator mississipiensis)
white ibis
black-chinned hummingbird
scissor-tailed flycatcher
Texas River Cooter (Pseudemys texana)
Texas River Cooter (Pseudemys texana)
Ornate Tree Lizard (Urosaurus ornatus)
?Texas Spotted Whiptail (Aspidoscelis ?gularis)
Pecos River
?Texas Spotted Whiptail (Aspidoscelis ?gularis)
Trans-Pecos Striped Whiptail (Aspidoscelis inornata heptagramma)
Greater Earless Lizard (Cophosaurus texanus)
vermillion flycatcher
?Plateau Spotted Whiptail (Aspidoscelis ?scalaris)
Southwestern Fence Lizard (Sceloporus cowlesi)
Greater Earless Lizard (Cophosaurus texanus)
?Marbled Whiptail (Aspidoscelis ?marmorata)
Apalone spinifera & Trachemys gaigeae
Big Bend Slider (Trachemys gaigeae)
Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox)
proghorn
proghorn
New Mexico
In New Mexico, I finally got to see some collared lizards, after previous failures.
Eastern Collard Lizard (Crotaphytus collaris)
Urosaurus ornatus? – this one’s weird, as it has no small scales in between the enlarged dorsal/vertebral scales (which would fit for long-tailed, but out of range...)
Arizona
Late afternoon, I made a brief attempt to find the dullest of all rattlesnake species up the Chiricahua mountains, but again (cf. way too many attempst in 2012) no luck. I hate that species...
. We spent the night in Rodeo, NM. the Chiricahuas
The next morning, we started with a visit to the charming desert museum in Rodeo and its nice reptiles collection. The reptile-themed shop particularly impressed me.
Chiricahua Desert Museum, Rodeo (NM)
Chiricahua Desert Museum, Rodeo (NM)
Chiricahua Desert Museum, Rodeo (NM)
Canyon Spotted Whiptail (Aspidoscelis burti)
roadrunner
Harris hawk
red-tailed hawk with western diamond-backed prey
Sidewinder (Crotalus cerastes)
Regal Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma solare)
Next up, a must-see destination, the Grand Canyon. We broke up the drive by avoiding Phoenix, going east through the Mogollon Rim and spending the night at high altitude. I browsed for an AZ black (Crotalus cerberus) here and there but there was just too much icy wind all the time.
rates going up
Grand Canyon
Grand Canyon
California
Death Valley NP, California.
Zebra-tailed Lizard (Callisaurus draconoides)
Nevada
We avoided Las Vegas, but spent 3 nights cruising in suboptimal conditions for 2 species of rattlers I had marked as prime targets beforehand. In the daytime, we enjoyed the scenery and hiked the desert as well as alpine habitat on Mount Charleston. To my great joy, the cruising did deliver this time, so I got to see both rattler species I had been looking forward so much, one of which had been a target during my two previous trips to the States.
Sonoran Lyresnake (Trimorphodon lambda)
Lake Mohave
Yellow-backed Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus uniformis)
Western Groundsnake (Sonora semiannulata)
Western Patch-nosed Snake (Salvadora hexalepis)
at the end of the 3rd trip with this species on the wishlist, finally success! – Speckled Rattlesnake (Crotalus mitchellii)
Speckled Rattlesnake (Crotalus mitchellii)
Speckled Rattlesnake (Crotalus mitchellii)
Speckled Rattlesnake (Crotalus mitchellii)
Speck and me
Panamint Rattlesnake (Crotalus stephensi)
Panamint Rattlesnake (Crotalus stephensi)
Western Groundsnake (Sonora semiannulata)
In conclusion, another great time in the US. A perfect roadtrip, including not so many but some fantastic herp species.
Mohave sunset
Preliminary list of observed species
