The following photo essay covers some of the reptiles and amphibians I encountered while herping Las Vegas from May 28 to June 8, 2009. The weather was cooler than usual and often overcast with occasional wind and rain. Nine different types of snakes were found, consisting of: Great Basin Gopher, Longnose Snakes, Glossy, Night Snake, Western Blind, Ground Snake, Coachwhip, Sidewinder and Speckled Rattlesnake. Twelve types of lizards were found: Chuckwallas, a Desert Iguana, Side-blotched Lizards, Western Whiptails, Banded Geckos, Night Lizards, Collared Lizards, Horned Lizards, an Ornate Tree Lizard, Sagebrush Lizard, Spiny Lizards and Zebratails. There were also two species of toad and one Desert Tortoise encountered on this trip.
My trip started off well - I checked into my hotel at 8:00PM and then went out to do some roadhunting. I was quickly rewarded by finding my first "lifer" of the trip - a Longnose Snake. Not long afterwards I found a decent-sized Glossy Snake. I then moved to another road, where a second Longnose turned up, this one being more faded and speckled than the first.
On the way to Pahranagat Wildlife Refuge, I saw this Great Basin Gopher snake on the shoulder of the road. The speed light was 70mph and as I pulled off the road to turn around, I saw the car behind me swerve to miss it. Unfortunately there were two additional cars behind that one and the snake was fatally wounded by the time I got to it.
A trip to Red Rock Canyon was made on an overcast day. I did see one Collared Lizard, several Red-spotted Toads and the first Blind Snake I've ever encountered in Nevada.
Upon returning from Chloride, AZ and chilling in my friend from Boulder City's backyard, I noticed something crawling along a brick wall. Ground Snake - and a very pretty one too.
A roap trip to China Ranch in California turned up two Horned Lizards - here's one.
An Arizona Sidewinder found while roadhunting.
I also found this Night Snake on a relatively cool evening.
The final find was on the last full day of the trip. I was exploring the backroads of Valley of Fire Park and I came across another "lifer" - Speckled Rattlesnake.
It was one action packed trip!
Additional photos can be seen in the "Herping USA" section of my website:
Third Eye
www.thirdeyeherp.com
Tim
My trip started off well - I checked into my hotel at 8:00PM and then went out to do some roadhunting. I was quickly rewarded by finding my first "lifer" of the trip - a Longnose Snake. Not long afterwards I found a decent-sized Glossy Snake. I then moved to another road, where a second Longnose turned up, this one being more faded and speckled than the first.
On the way to Pahranagat Wildlife Refuge, I saw this Great Basin Gopher snake on the shoulder of the road. The speed light was 70mph and as I pulled off the road to turn around, I saw the car behind me swerve to miss it. Unfortunately there were two additional cars behind that one and the snake was fatally wounded by the time I got to it.
A trip to Red Rock Canyon was made on an overcast day. I did see one Collared Lizard, several Red-spotted Toads and the first Blind Snake I've ever encountered in Nevada.
Upon returning from Chloride, AZ and chilling in my friend from Boulder City's backyard, I noticed something crawling along a brick wall. Ground Snake - and a very pretty one too.
A roap trip to China Ranch in California turned up two Horned Lizards - here's one.
An Arizona Sidewinder found while roadhunting.
I also found this Night Snake on a relatively cool evening.
The final find was on the last full day of the trip. I was exploring the backroads of Valley of Fire Park and I came across another "lifer" - Speckled Rattlesnake.
It was one action packed trip!
Additional photos can be seen in the "Herping USA" section of my website:
Third Eye
www.thirdeyeherp.com
Tim
