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Santa Cruz Mountains Last Week

T

tspuckler

New member
The following photo essay covers some of the reptiles and amphibians I encountered while herping California from April 2-12, 2009. The weather was mostly cool (mid 40s - mid-60s), windy and rainy. Despite less-than-ideal conditions, 16 snakes were found, consisting of: Pacific Gophers (5), Santa Cruz Garters (3), Sharptailed Snake (1), Yellowbelley Racer (1) and Pacific Ringneck Snakes (6).

This Pacific Gopher Snake was the first herp I found on the trip - and in 2009.
stgopher2.jpg


The best looking Northern Alligator Lizard I've ever seen.
northerne.jpg


I was lucky enough to find a pair of the single-striped variety of Santa Cruz Garters (male in photo below).
cruz2.jpg


The large size of adult Arboreal Salamanders make them fun to find.
qarboreal2.jpg


A large, relatively fat, Sharp-tail Snake.
sharp1-1.jpg


I witnessed my first California Newt migration, seeing 88 crossing a dirt path in a half mile stretch.
newt2.jpg


Ensatinas were a relatively common sight.
ensatina2.jpg


We found a spot in San Francisco that had an abundance of Pacific Ringnecks:
ringneck1.jpg


The only Racer found on the trip was so cold that it made a good photography subject.
yellow1-1.jpg


And last, but certainly not least, this Santa Cruz Black Salamander was a "lifer" for me.
black2.jpg


Additional Photos from this trip can be seen in the "Herping USA" section of my website:
http://www.thirdeyeherp.com/
 
Too bad it wasn't warmer, buy you did pretty good.
That's a neat garter, got any more pics of them?
 
Well if I would have known you were there, I would have waved across the valley at you. I was running around Henry Coe State park just opposite the valley from the Santa Cruz Mountains on Saturday. I was also playing with California Newts! Too cold for me to find snakes though, only newts and a scorpion.
 
RWN RWN RWN RWN RWN RWN RWN RWN RWN RWN RWN RWN RWN RWN RWN RWN RWN RWN RWN RWN RWN RWN RWN RWN RWN RWN RWN RWN RWN RWN RWN RWN RWN RWN RWN RWN RWN RWN RWN RWN
 
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