Category: Herps

Back at Camp

I left Pierre last week and headed for my quiet spot, near Jewel Cave. It is much cooler here and I have shade now, a big plus! It has been a very hot summer so far. I’ve just been up to my usual activities, birding, hiking, photography.

While still in Pierre, I spent a morning watching Caspian Terns fishing on the river. I’ve tried to get a good shot of one in a dive but so far, I’ve had no luck with that.

It is easy enough to catch them after the dive though!

Also while still at Pierre, I got into a few Buff-breasted Sandpipers. I never got very close to them, this is about as good as the photography gets. It is nice to have a Killdeer in the frame for a size comparison. Species number 333 for the year, it is getting harder to find new ones!

While photographing birds at Baldwin Spring, I saw this Common Gartersnake at the water. Some still call this the Red-sided Gartersnake. It appeared to be waiting for some prey to show up but I never saw any action like that.

A Red-shafted (Northern) Flicker at Baldwin Spring. This is my favorite spring to sit at for bird photography!

A female Spotted Towhee in for a drink, right where the gartersnake was. It was a big gartersnake but I don’t know if it could have taken a bird of this size.

A Black-capped Chickadee tossing down some kind of insect.

It’s that time of year, when the Common Wood-Nymphs come out and fly around.

And the Robber Flies too. This is a species known as the Hanging Thieves, known for hanging from a perch instead of landing on it.

Birding Flowers and Plants Herps Insects

Snakes and Birds

I was looking around the area by the camper when I found two Vesper Sparrows obviously agitated about something other than me. I searched the ground near where they seemed to be focusing their attention.

And this is what I found. An Eastern Racer had captured one of their nestlings and was in the process of swallowing it. Although the Latin name for this species is *Coluber constrictor*, Eastern Racers are not a true constrictor, usually swallowing their prey alive. In this case, I think the bird was suffocated first. I watched it for a long time but it finally took the bird into some tall grass where I couldn’t get photos.

One afternoon I found this Rufous Hummingbird at the feeder, two days later it is still here and another one has joined it. I took a hike in Hell Canyon this morning and saw two more! This one is an immature female.

Here’s one of the Rufous Hummingbirds in Hell Canyon, an immature male.

And now a few flowers and butterflies: Richardson’s Geranium, in Hell Canyon.

And another Juniper Hairstreak, also on Dalea.

Birding Flowers and Plants Herps

More Birds and Few Other Things

Post author By Doug Backlund
Post date June 6, 2024
2 Comments on More Birds and Few Other Things

My 2024 year bird list keeps growing, but more slowly. I’m up to 310 species now. Perhaps the most exciting was a Scarlet Tanager on LaFramboise Island. Scarlet Tanagers are not very common in this part of the world. A Dunlin was another good find but I had already seen one in Arizona this year so it didn’t add to my species list.

I got this male Scarlet Tanager yesterday. This morning, Rick and Susan went back with me and we found the male and this time a female. I didn’t get any photos better than this one though.

Susan spotted a patch of Meadow Anemones, I haven’t seen this plant in flower for a long time so I had to take a photo.

A Blue Grosbeak in the shelterbelt behind the house. I had spotted this bird a few days before but this is the first chance I’ve had to photograph it.

I made another trip to the Fort Pierre National Grasslands to pick up a few new species. I got some Greater Prairie Chickens and some Chestnut-collared Longspurs. I found a pair of longspurs that were on a prairie dog mound, this female was preening and fluffing out enough to reveal a brood patch.

Here’s the male in flight, not the best photo but not too bad either. In the same area, I got 5 Greater Prairie Chickens but they all flushed at a distance so no photos.

An Upland Sandpiper walking through the grass, the yellow flowers are buttercups.

Another nice find, a Dunlin at the same wetland the Red Knot was found at a couple of weeks ago. There are only two other records in eBird of a Dunlin on the FPNG.

Another first for the year, a Field Sparrow.

Here’s a Prairie Rattlesnake I came across in the prairie dog colony. I wanted to get it in better light but it went down a hole before I could get it to move.

Nothing special, a Common Yellowthroat, but I really like this sharp image as it clings sideways on a cattail stalk.

Birding Herps

Bosque del Apache NWR

I’m in the Bosque del Apache Birders RV park again. I paid for two nights. I’m doing pretty good on the birds I wanted to get here. I investigated a new place, Water Canyon in the Cibola National Forest about 15 miles west of Socorro. I’ve always wanted to check it out but I’m always towing the camper when I go by and I never want to explore strange Forest Service roads with the Scamp following me. It is actually OK for small campers, there is a campground and there are several dispersed camping sites. Located fairly high in the Magdalena Mountains (almost 7000 ft. elevation), it would be cool place to spend the summer sometime. It is pine forest with some spruce, and lower down juniper and pinyon pine. A small stream runs in the canyon.

Here’s a bird I’ve been hunting for, a Rufous-crowned Sparrow. I found two in The Box Recreation Area, west of Socorro.

I got several Mountain Chickadees in Water Canyon.

Also in The Box, a colorful Greater Earless Lizard. I haven’t seen one this vivid since my trip to Big Bend National Park.

I got a Whimbrel at Bosque del Apache, along with a lot of other birds. Here’s my eBird checklist with more photos. I’ve added 13 species to my year list since arriving here. Now at 245, compared to 154 at this time last year. My best birds were White-tailed Kites and this Whimbrel, both are species I’m not too likely to see again this year.

A 1st spring male Bullock’s Oriole at the visitor center.

Also at the visitor center, a Twin-spotted Spiny Lizard. I saw one of these last spring at Valley of Fire, but this is a much better photo.

I found this female Painted Bunting just across the highway from the visitor center. Not the best photo but good enough for eBird, which declares it rare here.

A flock of Phalaropes, there are two Red-necked Phalarope in the
bunch, can you pick them out? The answer is in my eBird checklist media notes.

Flowers and Plants Herps

Texas Horned Lizard

After all the miles of hiking around Granite Gap area, looking for lizards (and especially lifer herps!) I have never found a Texas Horned Lizard. This morning, I went to Lordsburg for groceries and gas and on the return trip took the road to Animas from I-10. About ten miles down the road, there was an odd looking lizard on the road, so I turned around and slowly approached it. It was a Texas Horned Lizard! Fortunately, State Highway 338 has very little traffic and I was able to take photos from the truck. I wanted to take more photos in a natural setting but when I parked the truck on the side of the road and started walking toward it, the lizard scooted off into some thick brush and I lost it.

And here it is. The light stripe down the center of the back is diagnostic, as is the arrangement of the occipital horns. There are also two rows of abdominal fringe scales.

Another angle. Over its range, Texas Horned Lizards are not doing well. The species has disappeared from nearly half of its original range.

Also along that road, I found several of these plants, Davis Mountains Mock Vervain, *Glandularia pubera*. Since the Davis Mountains are in Texas, it seems to fit with a Texas Horned Lizard. I can find no interesting facts about this plant.

Birding Herps Insects

Some More Photos

I’m still at Granite Gap. I’ve been making trips down to Cave Creek and the Paradise area. My bird list for 2024 keeps growing, now at 225, compared to 155 at this time last year. I’ve been doing some astro too, I’m working on a very faint planetary nebula called Abell 35. It is not ready to show just yet.

An Elegant Trogon I found in the South Fork of Cave Creek. I could hear it calling in a grove of oaks but couldn’t see it. Suddenly it flew out and landed right in front of me.

A female Arizona Woodpecker at the George Walker House in Paradise. I also got a Juniper Titmouse and a Band-tailed Pigeon, both of which were new for the year.

An Olive-sided Flycatcher that I got on my walk this morning, also new for the year. This was at Granite Gap.

Also from my walk this morning, a Round-tailed Horned Lizard. I’m still looking for the Texas Horned Lizard. I got pretty excited at first when I found this one, but it turned out to be a Round-tailed.

A Striped Plateau Lizard. These are common in the Chiricahua Mountains and Peloncillo Mountains, but are not found anywhere else in the United States.

Butterflies have been hard to find, other than the usual Checkered Whites and a few other species. This morning I got this Elada Checkerspot, I haven’t seen this species for a long time.

Birding Flowers and Plants Herps

On the Road Again

I left Ajo last Monday and drove to the Empire Ranch, also known as Las Cienegas National Conservation Area. It has been several years since I’ve stopped there. I spent 3 days birding in the Empire Gulch, Box Canyon, Madera Canyon, and the Patagonia area. I picked up a lot of birds that I haven’t seen for years, but the photography wasn’t very good. Some of the best birds were Thick-billed Kingbird, Berylline Hummingbird, Violet-crowned Hummingbird, many Gray Hawks, several Zone-tailed Hawks, and an Arizona Woodpecker, among many other species. Here are a few eBird checklists: Box Canyon, Santa Rita Lodge in Madera Canyon, Madera Kubo Lodge, Patagonia Blue Haven Rd., Pattons, and Empire Gulch. I’m trying to live up to my New Year’s Resolution, to pick up as many species as I can this year. So far, I’m at 191 species, compared to 145 at this time last year. Now, I’m at Granite Gap. I plan to continue birding in as many places as I can get to for the next few days, then focus on astrophotography.

Just before leaving Ajo, I got this photo of a pair of Western Screech-Owls, one with a Western Banded Gecko.

A Sidewinder I found by my camper one night after returning from owling, still in Ajo.

A male Wilson’s Warbler in Empire Gulch.

A Chihuahuan Meadowlark at Empire Ranch. Formerly considered a race of the Eastern Meadowlark, now it is a full species.

Cliff Fendlerbush, *Fendlera rupicola*. Whole hillsides displayed this shrub in flower in Box Canyon.

I had just drove though the gate into Granite Gap when this Gila Monster crossed the road in front of me. My first one this spring.

Herps

Return of the Long-tailed Brush Lizards

Post author By Doug Backlund
Post date April 20, 2024
4 Comments on Return of the Long-tailed Brush Lizards

Readers may remember my first encounter with a Long-tailed Brush Lizard, about this time last spring. The story is at this LINK. I have been sort of looking around for more the last week or so but could not find any. Yesterday, I decided to take a better look around. After an hour of searching creosote bushes in vain, I switched to looking at some of the larger trees along the washes. Finally, after over two hours of searching I found one in a Cat’s Claw Acacia. It was immobile and perfectly blended into the bark. After taking a bunch of so-so photos (the lizard was almost inaccessible due the thorns), I tried again this morning. With a search image and a better idea of where to look, I started finding more, ending up with four.

My favorite, a displaying male. There was a female nearby. Too bad that one stick got in front of it.

The female, mouth open. To get the entire tail in the image results in this. I rotated it to horizontal.

I took over 100 images this morning! To avoid the effects of the harsh sunlight, I used flash and stopped down to f19.

A good view of the dorsal scales, there are six rows of enlarged scales running down the center of the back, diagnostic of Long-tailed Brush Lizard.

Last one, for now. It is very difficult to get a catchlight in the eye of lizards in general. Flash helps but they have to turn their head just right to get it. A catch light brings the eye to life.

Birding Herps

More Elf Owls and a Mohave Rattlesnake

Post author By Doug Backlund
Post date April 16, 2024
1 Comment on More Elf Owls and a Mohave Rattlesnake

Last night, Vikki and Mark went out looking for owls with me. It sure helps to have someone along who can hear! They can hear Elf Owls far beyond my range of hearing. We ended up hearing four and seeing three. I got perhaps one of my best photos ever of an Elf Owl. Sometimes I think maybe my favorite is simply the most recent, it is hard to pick. At any rate, I’m already thinking about next years photo show here in Ajo!

Here’s the best one I got. These little owls aren’t really that difficult to photograph if one uses a good flash on manual exposure. They usually sit still long enough to get focus and shoot. They are only about 6 inches long. We located one pair that appear to be using a cavity in a Saguaro.

A Mohave Rattlesnake I saw on the road near my camper this morning. First Mohave I’ve seen this spring.

Although very similar to a Western Diamondback, Mohaves are generally more greenish yellow in color. The supraoculars (the large uplifted scale over each eye) are separated by two scales, diagnostic of Mohave Rattlesnakes. This species has large venom yields and very potent neurotoxins, making it one of the more dangerous rattlesnakes.

Astrophotography Birding Flowers and Plants Herps Photography

April in the Sonoran Desert

Post author By Doug Backlund
Post date April 6, 2024
2 Comments on April in the Sonoran Desert

It has been a very cool spring. I actually had frost on the truck this morning! Normally by now we would be seeing highs in the low 90’s. It looks like that will be coming next week. The Ajo area got another inch of rain too. Birding is starting to pick up, just in the last few days, Franklin’s Gulls, Vaux’s Swift, Swainson’s Hawk, and lots of White-faced Ibis have been showing up. I have a lot of new photos to post.