#79 - "Herping with Friends" - Rodeo, New Mexico

I often wonder who reads this blog. My earlier versions saw more frequent commenting and when they were part of the Blogger network I would get readership data. However, since I integrated it here on my new website powered by Squarespace, I haven't had any sense of who is reading and why. Imagine my surprise when I discovered today that it was read by law enforcement. I'll save that story for the end, but those who know me know that I am a law-abiding man, a former firearms instructor and the son of a police chief. I've spent decades looking for critters in nature and have always taken nothing but photos, and left nothing but footprints (and sometimes blood). I've traveled the world over the last decade and seen rare and coveted creatures and never once removed them from their habitat. So I am glad that I finally had an encounter with a wildlife officer protecting the organisms I adore. But we'll come back to that.

I've been on the road all year and have spent most of my time alone. That is my preference, but it was nice to feign a bit of gregariousness during the two conferences that took place over the past two weeks. Yesterday I had three visitors come down from Albuquerque, but it wasn't until this morning that I actually met them.

I met Candace online when she wanted to get her first tarantula. Her fiancé Brandon worked at a pet store where they had a big Lasiodora parahybana (Salmon Pink Bird-eating Tarantula) and she was doing research prior to getting it as a gift. We began to correspond via email and I learned that she was from upstate New York and had only been in New Mexico for a year. She told me that she was interested in venomous snakes and had a stint working at the Rattlesnake Museum in Albuquerque. We had intended to hook up prior to my brief return to Chicago, but that never worked out. However, yesterday she and Brandon drove down to the boot heel with their business partner Tom who was Candace's mentor in learning how to handle venomous snakes. The three of them have a new enterprise called HD Reptile, which will involve itself in various activities including education, but which seeks to provide snake abatement services to film and TV productions in the greater Albuquerque region.

This trio of snake lovers came down yesterday and checked in to a hotel in Lordsburg, New Mexico fifty minutes northeast of here. That's the closest chain motel style lodging. I thought I would see them yesterday, but they chose to do some road cruising in New Mexico alone and that was complicated by darkening skies and incoming rain. The monsoons are tricky. Earlier in the day only a 15-30% chance of rain was predicted, but by afternoon when Candace and I were texting each other it became predicted that at sunset there would be a 60% chance. I could look outside and get better info. We definitely would get a bit of a deluge.

I wished them luck on their cruising and texted Candace a bunch of info on which roads were best for which species. I became increasingly worried that my own sunset drive and road cruising after dark would be rained out, and texted Candy to tell her that I was going to head out early and perhaps I would come across their vehicle later. I drove south on 80 and then turned at Portal Road to cross into Arizona and head into the Chiricahuas. As I've stated before, I often don't know where I am going until the last second. I rarely plan and just go wherever on whim and fancy. Instead of turning into Cave Creek Canyon I decided I wanted to do some scenic four-wheeling and went toward Paradise. As I've described before, this is a particularly rugged road and it did not disappoint. The torrential rains had flooded dips in the road and created rock slides that had dumped boulders at some crossings. No car could have driven my path. I enjoyed the drive and how my truck handled the road. This is the stretch where I had seen a cinnamon Black Bear over a month ago, but it was much rougher going than it had been then. When the winding road met back up with Forest Road 42, which is in the heart of the Chiris south of Barfoot and Rustler Parks, I turned left and descended the mountain road toward Cave Creek. This is where I had recently seen a gorgeous Black-tailed Rattlesnake and I had hoped maybe I would see something interesting. Maybe even another cool mammal. The previous night's road cruising I had seen a skunk and a kit fox with a kangaroo rat in its maw. But all I saw was gorgeous scenery and the dust my truck stirred up.

When I got back down to Cave Creek Canyon I don't know why I turned into South Fork Road. I've mentioned this birding mecca before, but some weird instinct told me to check it out. It may be that I had overheard some people at the Biology of Snakes conference say that they had photographed a gila monster there after it had been noticed by some birders. But I just turned into the side road and within 100 yards slammed on the brakes. I first thought it might be a stick as it was laying perfectly stretched out, but instinct told me it was a snake. I lept out of my truck wondering if I was crazy and then looked upon a bucket list snake. There on South Fork Road was a Northern Green Ratsnake (Senticolis triaspis intermedia). It was a little over two feet long and was transitioning from young pattern and color to that of the adult. This is a rare and protected snake and I couldn't believe my good fortune.

Senticolis triaspis intermedia (Northern Green Ratsnake)

By the letter of the law, you are not allowed to "harass" or "molest" these snakes at all, and that even includes pursuing them for a photo or moving them off the road to safety. We'll come back to this, but I did use a stick to move it to a roadside rock where I captured this image, and then I did enjoy watching it slither away into the forest away from truck wheels. I only photograph, but I'm not going to leave a magnificent snake like this in harm's way.

I was pretty excited and all of a sudden very awake. This was a bucket list snake and it was completely serendipitous that I was in the Chiris at that time at all, and being on South Fork Road was unusual and completely random. I wondered what the trio from Albuquerque was up to then, and wished they had been with to see the snake, but I was alone without cell signal and just pumped my fist and moved on.

On the road out of Cave Creek Canyon I came across a mature male Aphonopelma gabeli tarantula crossing the road. I photographed him and moved him roadside and then continued to State Line Road. Sadly, I doubt anyone cares what you do to a spider. I stopped to evaluate the skies. I had picked up cell signal and Candace was discouraged by the rain. I could see that the clouds were ominous to the north and east so I decided to head south. Instead of turning into New Mexico, I took State Line Rd. down to Hwy. 80 south of Rodeo and continued southwest for about twenty miles. The skies ahead were fairly clear and sunset quickly turned to dark. The ABQ Crew had hoped to find Mohave Rattlesnakes and I had told them that Highway 80 was the place for that species. They should drive north and south of Rodeo on 80 after dark. However, they had come down a bit early, wandered east toward Animas and then, tired from the drive down from ABQ, had headed back to Lordsburg when the rains fell. But I was south of Rodeo and there wasn't a single rain drop. After driving into Arizona for a ways I turned around and headed northeast toward Rodeo. As luck would have it, just on the southern outskirts of town, I found a beautiful Mohave Rattlesnake on the road. This snake species in infamous due to its particularly virulent venom, which contains something aptly called Mojave-toxin that causes both neurotoxic and haemotoxic effects. It is the snake in North America I would least like to be envenomed by and what I consider the most dangerous. I exercised extra caution, but this gorgeous boy was very cooperative and never struck as I moved it from harm's way for a roadside photo shoot. 

Crotalus scutulatus (Mohave Rattlesnake)

But that was last night, and certainly doesn't qualify as "Herping with Friends". I was alone and wished they had been there to see both the Green Ratsnake and this gorgeous and dangerous Mohave rattler. I texted what I had found and later sent images.

This morning they ABQ Crew from HD Reptile came down to Rusty's and I finally met them. My plan was to take them into the Chiricahuas for a scenic drive that would end at the high elevation locality of the Twin-spotted Rattlesnake (Crotalus pricei) I had observed and reported on over a week ago. I knew that Dave the researcher had done his survey the previous week and I hoped maybe we could make a quick visit so the ABQ trio could see this amazing montane species. We had the site to ourselves and they scrambled the talus slope. I stayed down around the bottom of the great rockslide as my injuries from my falls during the last visit still bother me a great deal. They marveled at the abundant spiny lizards including many young, which is what these dwarf mountain rattlesnakes feed upon. They shouted down that they had seen a treefrog that I presume is the Canyon species Hyla arenicolor. Then they shouted that they had finally seen an adult disappear into the rocks and were able to get a photo of just its tail. Brandon heard a few others rattle, but they weren't able to see any others as they stumbled across the treacherous slope. I had been flipping rocks in the adjacent meadow hoping to see an Arizona Mountain Kingsnake or something like that and returned to discover a neonate Twin-spotted Rattlesnake crawl beneath a rock at the very bottom of the talus slope. I yelled up what I had observed and told them it was likely to still be there if they came down. Although most of the slope is maybe six feet or more of rock pile, the bottom edge where it was was firm ground beneath and when they finally descended I just flipped the rock and we got our images. The little baby was very cooperative and climbed up a big rock and then a bit of vertical wood and seemed unperturbed by the camera flashes going off.

Crotalus pricei (Twin-spotted Rattlesnake)

We left the area and headed back down the mountain. On the way we passed a vehicle that was unmarked but looked like law enforcement. After a little while I noticed the vehicle behind me and pulled over so it might pass, but fully expected that it would pull behind me and "light up". Sure enough, flashing blue and red lights had me putting my truck in park. The officer first explained that I had been driving left of center, which seemed odd to me as most of the road is only wide enough for one vehicle and is a rugged rocky road without striping. But I apologized and explained just that. He then said he had reasonable cause to search my vehicle for wildlife. I won't provide the details here of why he had that "reasonable suspicion", but we were very happy to allow him access to the vehicle. I was worried about the ABQ Crew's snake hooks, which were in the back of my truck. As I stated before, by the letter of the law you aren't supposed to disturb fauna at all; not even to save it from oncoming traffic. However, the officer was extremely reasonable and his concern was for the protected and declining Twin-spotted Rattlesnake population. I mentioned that I had met Dave and that is when he surprised me. Apparently Dave, the Twin-spotted Rattlesnake researcher who I had only met once and only a bit more than a week earlier, had told the wildlife officer about our encounter.But that's not what really surprised me ... The wildlife officer said he knew who I was and had read this blog! I was of course a bit shocked by that, but my first thought was that if he had read my blog and been to my website he would certainly know that I don't collect wildlife. My second thought was that this Dave must have provided my truck and license plate info, which is how the officer found my full name and then my blog. I may have a past history in the pet trade, but I only dealt in captive bred animals and never have collected or kept wild-collected reptiles. And I have been retired from the pet trade and for almost five years now except for a little tarantula breeding,  haven't kept snakes in over ten years, and now do not keep any live animals except my parrot. 

The officer was firm, but extremely reasonable, professional and pleasant to talk with, and I assured him that we had nothing and would never collect. The five of us talked for maybe ten minutes and he explained the protection these snakes receive. And as the son of a retired police chief, I have always had nothing but respect for any law enforcement and appreciate their job. That applies even more for someone who is protecting the fauna I love. I very much appreciate the efforts of wildlife officers everywhere. I was very glad to learn what protection is in place and am hopeful for the future of these little montane snakes. It was a pleasure and a honor to be able to photograph a couple. I never got to see an adult, but babies are a good sign for the future. I don't know if I will revisit the site. I'd love to see and photograph an adult, but it is difficult terrain to work and scrambling on the rocks also endangers the animals living there. It would be difficult to get a good image without manipulating the snake at all and that is illegal and whether you collect or not the officer explained that is what wildlife law considers "a take". I am sure Bob Ashley will let me photograph one of his captive specimens if I really need a pic of an adult.

We bid farewell and drove back down to Cave Creek Canyon. Brandon particularly was interested in looking for rock rattlesnakes so I took him to the Herb Martyr area where I have been looking for them, but we didn't stay long. The group was tired and looked forward to a rest before going out road cruising in New Mexico tonight. Our next stop was Vista Point for the classic Chiricahua photo op. Then I took them to Chiricahua Desert Museum before returning them to my campsite. Tonight I hope I'll see them on the roads. But it is raining now ...

#78 - "Talus Tumble: Snakes & Blood" - Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona

The first time I fell hurt. The second tumble down the steep talus slide left me with a broken ring flash. The third time I was bloodied. Both legs are bruised and sliced open and my left wrist has a mild sprain.

I had driven high into the bear country of the Chiricahuas in pursuit of the Twin-spotted Rattlesnake (Crotalus pricei). It primarily inhabits expansive rock slides known as talus slopes in sky island hardwood and conifer forests. They are mostly known from 8000-9000' in elevation and most populations are found on south-facing rock slides where these slender 16-20" rattlers feed on spiny lizards (Sceloporus).  

Sadly, these protected snakes are collected by poachers. They are rare and their scarcity, small size, and docile nature makes them prized serpents in the illegal exotic pet trade. I met a man named Dave who has studied them for 19 years and has attempted to have this area closed to protect the rattlesnakes. That has failed, but he visits often and warns snake hunters about collecting them. During my visit three young men that were at the IHS, including one who was a speaker after winning the Junior Herper grant in the 19-22 year-old category, were warned by Dave who sees all snake hunters as potential poachers.

This steep rock slide covers acres. I found a total of three newborn Crotalus pricei. I took nothing but photographs and left a bunch of blood. 

My view of the Chiris as I sat near the top of the talus slope and ate my lunch.

I searched the edges of the rock slide, but couldn't resist climbing the treacherous rocks. When I had arrived I met two young guys from Texas A&M who will be at the Biology of Snakes Conference that starts tonight. They told me they had seen one Twin-spotted Rattlesnake about 2/3 of the way up to where the peaks are surrounded by trees. I continued to climb, often sliding and stumbling on the steep talus slope. It isn't easy going up, but it is much worse going down.

I saw nothing except snails, spiders and the occasional spiny lizard on my ascent, and once I reached the rock faces that still stand I sat and ate my canned tuna lunch. I used my iPhone to capture some scenic video clips for my Instagram and Snapchat stories. I will share my Snapchat story of the day at the end of this blog entry.

After I finished my lunch I continued my search laterally across the sliding chunks of limestone and took what would be my second significant fall onto the rocks. During this tumble my ring flash broke away from the hot shoe of my camera body. I love my Sigma ring flash, but for some reason the part that goes into the hot shoe is plastic and not metal as it is on my Nikon speedlights. This is the second time this piece has broken and I will have to send to factory for repair. I was relieved that the lens and body were fine, as was my own flesh. By this time the skies had darkened and I decided that two falls were enough and I should try to get down to the forest floor before the afternoon monsoon rains began to fall.

I have always found descending trails more difficult than climbing them. This has only increased with age as my knees often remind me. Descending a rock slide is a whole 'nother story. I am tall and heavy and tried to keep my center of gravity back to minimize the slipping and sliding. However, often times I would fall back on my arse to break my speed. There was a little island of grass clumps and rocks that I wanted to investigate and I did my best to maneuver myself in its direction. I fell back on my butt when I reached it and looked to my side and gasped. There were three baby Twin-spotted Rattlesnakes sunning themselves in a rock crevice.

My ring flash was broken and the cloudy skies necessitated flash. As they reacted to my presence and began to slither into the safety of the surrounding rocks I quickly reached for my iPhone. This horrible image is all I could capture.

Several newborn Crotalus pricei (Twin-spotted Rattlesnakes) catch some sun on a talus slope at 8600' elevation in the Chiricahua Mountains.

Words cannot describe how excited I was to see these snakes. They were near the top of my bucket list of snakes to observe in nature. I was disappointed that my DSLR was unusable due to the ring flash breakage, and even more disappointed that I had left my recently acquired point-and-shoot camera in my truck. The entire reason I got the point-and-shoot camera was to be able to capture good images while climbing or hiking when I didn't want to lug along the weight of my DSLR or risk its safety. However, nothing could diminish the joy of seeing these little snakes. Protected and at risk from poaching, this rare little serpent was a dream discovery and I sat and enjoyed them until they retreated into the rocks.

When the newborn rattlers disappeared my heart was pumping and I was re-energized. I decided to descend to my truck to retrieve one of my Nikon speedlight flashes and a soft box in case I found more. However, the adrenaline was pumping and I tried to make my way down the rock slide too quickly. I slipped and before I could drop my rear end on the rocks my tumble turned into a fall. My big body crashed down the rocks and I slid perhaps twenty feet. When I stopped moving I felt pain in both shins and my left wrist. I first looked at the camera that was on a sling around my body, and then looked at my heavily tattooed legs, which were now covered in blood. I had a gash and a large hematoma on my right shin and a cut on my left. I sat for five minutes or so regaining my composure and then bandaged myself with the bandanna in the pocket of my shorts. I was relieved nothing was broken and it looked like stitches wouldn't be required. I stood to double-check and rotated my sprained left wrist. All was reasonably good and I sat back down to rest some more.

As I sat in a heap on the rocks I saw Dave and his little white dog approaching. He had warned the Canadian guys about poaching and eyed me suspiciously. I told him what I had found and also how I had fell. I told him I was likely done for the day, but would like to come down and chat with him about the rattlesnakes and his attempts to close the area for their protection. After chatting with him for awhile, I retrieved the flash and made my way along the edge of the rock slide. Renowned reptile guy Bill Love had told me he had frequently encountered the alpine rattlesnakes where the talus slope meets the forest, and I was a bit injured to consider climbing back up the rock slide. As luck would have it, I found another newborn Twin-spotted Rattlesnake and was able to capture a decent image with my DSLR.

Crotalus pricei, Twin-spotted Rattlesnake, newborn in shed, 8600', Chiricahua Mountains, Cochise County, Arizona.

Bloodied and bruised, once this snake disappeared in the rocks I decided it was time to return to camp and clean my wounds. But the rattlesnake adventure was not over...

The road to the top of the Chiricahuas is scenic and rugged and I recounted my first ascent in an earlier blog entry. I drove back down toward Portal slowly taking it all in. I was at 6000' in elevation when the winding road delivered me another bucket list snake. Crawling across the rocky dirt road was a gorgeous adult Black-tailed Rattlesnake as big around as my wrist and perhaps 3 1/2 feet long. Black-tails occur at various elevations and those found at this height are noted for their beautiful yellow ground color that contrasts magnificently with the dark blotches and markings. This snake was stunning. Black-tailed Rattlers are also noted for their placid disposition, and this big beauty barely rattled and never struck as I photographed and filmed it on the road and then moved it to safety for more photos. It coiled in defense, but otherwise tolerated me and posed for the image below.

Crotalus molossus, Western Black-tailed Rattlesnake

I am writing this Wednesday morning, two days after the big and bloody snake adventure. Yesterday I did computer work and rested my very sore legs. In addition to the cuts and bruises, my thigh muscles ache from the climbing. I only left camp yesterday to drive east to Animas to pick up some snacks and soda from the Valley Mercantile. I have only driven this road at night since my return and marveled at the flooded roadside desert scrub. The monsoon rains have created temporary ponds and as I rounded one bend I saw a turtle on the road. Yes, a turtle in the desert. Ornate Box Turtles, which are mostly terrestrial, are known from this area, but this was one of the two species of mud turtle found in the Sonora and Chihuahua Desert of the bootheel. The Yellow Mud Turtle (Kinosternon flavescens) is semi-aquatic and escapes the dry and hot periods in burrows it digs.

Kinosternon flavescens, Yellow Mud Turtle

I'll leave you now with a compilation of video clips I captured on my iPhone Monday and posted to my Snapchat story. If you snap you can add my exoticfauna account. Please note that this video contains secret info - the locality where I found the Twin-spotted Rattlesnakes. I post it here only for my small group of blog readers. The video is unlisted on YouTube and I would appreciate you sharing this with nobody.

#77 - "Wet Week" - Rodeo, New Mexico

I have now been back in Rodeo/Portal for a little over week and the rains have been surprising. The monsoons are in full force and not a day has gone by without rainfall. When the desert where I am camped is dry, a look toward the surrounding mountains often reveals low dark, clouds and rains in the distance. At night the roads are full of toads - spadefoots, greens and even a few big river toads.

Here in the San Simon Valley, where the Sonoran and Chihuahan deserts converge, the landscape has changed. But the monsoon rains are prevalent throughout the southwest, and my friend Brent and his seven students had encountered wet conditions west in the Tucson area and came east to New Mexico a day a head of schedule. That was good as I had mistakenly thought the 40th International Herpetological Symposium (IHS) started one day later. Due to the Millsaps College (Jackson, MS) crew's arrival on Tuesday, I was able to spend that afternoon and evening with them in the Chiricahuas. They camped in Sunny Flat Campground in the Chiri's Cave Creek Canyon and when I met up with them they were flipping rocks in search of the giant vinegaroon or whipscorpion (Mastigoproctus giganteus). As I said hello to Brent and his students Aaron and Ashley who I had met in May and was introduced to the rest of the Field Arachnology Course students, many of them already had vinegaroons climbing on their arms.

Mastigoproctus giganteus, Giant Vinegaroon, Cochise County, Arizona

After the students were done playing with the vinegaroons I followed the group back to their campsite. Not long after the skies opened up and we sought shelter under the ramada of a neighboring campsite. We had coolers of beer and I hung out with them in the beautiful mountains into the night.

Wednesday I decided that I would join them for their trip two hours northeast to the Gila National Forest. They would camp at Cherry Creek, which is at 6800' elevation in the mixed confifer forest about fifteen miles north of Silver City. Wednesday night the IHS would begin with an icebreaker, but I decided to skip that in favor of spending more time with the Millsaps crew who intended to search for the beautiful resident tarantula species, Aphopelma marxi. Brent also had some specimens of scorpion and tarantula from Utah and Arizona that I wanted to photograph. So I invited a few of the students to ride in my truck and Lillian-Lee, Frances, Niki rode with me as our group stopped for breakfast in Lordsburg, groceries and laundromat in Silver City and then arrived at Cherry Creek. As they began to set up camp, Brent and I walked across the road to an embankment where he had found Aphonopelma marxi burrows in previous years and within a short time I found a perfect silk-covered burrow and shined my flashlight beam inside to reveal a pretty female tarantula. The students were called over and Niki used my water jug to simulate flooding and coax the tarantula to emerge.

Aphonopelma marxi, near Cherry Creek, Grant County, New Mexico

I originally thought I might leave early enough to drive back in time for the IHS icebreaker, but I stayed until just before dusk and drove back exhausted. I had hoped to road cruise some of the northern roads, but it was still light as I made it back to Silver City and started down the major highway toward Lordsburg. The four-lane highway was surprisingly deserted, but I was too tired to drive very slowly. Still, when it narrowed to two lanes I encountered a Prairie Rattlesnake on the road. It was a fiesty little bugger and it wasn't until the next day when I saw my photographs that I noticed a bit of blood on it that was likely from a glancing strike of a car tire. 

Crotalus viridis, Prairie Rattlesnake, north of Lordsburg, Hidalgo County, New Mexico

I stopped for fuel in Lordsburg and by the time I got on the interstate (I-10) rain had begun to fall. I was unhappy about that as I really hoped to find rattlesnakes on Highway 80 between the interstate and camp. This 25-mile stretch, which passes through the Peloncillo Mountains at Granite Gap, is home to natural intergrades of Prairie and Mohave rattlesnakes as well as pure bloodlines of each. But the torrential rains had made the road a toad wonderland. My slow driving wasn't to look for snakes on the road and beside it, the pace was instead necessary to weave through the spadefoot toads enjoying the shower. I photographed several as they are highly variable, but then was overwhelmed by their abundance and just carefully drove the remaining miles hoping to squish as few as possible.

Scaphiophus couchi, Couch's Spadefoot Toad, Hidalgo County, New Mexico

Thursday morning I arrived at the Chircicahua Desert Museum's Geronimo Event Center for the continental breakfast that would precede each morning's lectures. The lectures kicked off with a herpetologist associated with the Southwestern Research Station of the American Museum of Natural History, which I have previously mentioned is located here in the Chiricahua Mountains. His presentation was on my favorite group of lizards, the horned lizards of the genus Phrynosoma. Thursday, Friday and Saturday I attended most of the lectures, returning to camp during the two-hour lunch break each day. About 180 people were in attendance and I was surprised at how well the event had held up over the years. A little online research informed me that the last IHS I had attended was 26 years earlier, in Seattle in 1991. My old friend Scott Michaels and I had attended about a half dozen between the mid-80s and that 1991 trip. 

Trimorphodon lambda, Sonoran Lyre Snake, Hidalgo County, New Mexico. Found near the Chiricahua Desert Museum during the 40th International Herpetological Symposium

The 40th IHS concluded Saturday night with a banquet featuring a steak dinner and cheesecake dessert. An old friend of mine from reptile shows in the Pacific Northwest, Giovanni Faglioli of The Bean Farm, walked throughout the crowd pouring tequila shots from a giant bottle. The banquet lecture was delivered by celebrity herpetologist Mark O'Shea and it was educational, entertaining and brilliant. His red hair now long and grey, the diminutive Brit regaled us with his reptile stories from his childhood in England's Midlands to the present. His stories included a number of bites from venomous snakes and chronicled his annual expeditions from his first visit to Florida through his trips around the world on research teams and film projects for Discovery Channel, National Geographic and his O'Shea's Big Adventure.

This Wednesday evening many of the people who attended the IHS including Mark O'Shea and many new arrivals will convene back at the Geronimo Event Center for the icebreaker that kicks off the first Biology of Snakes Conference. Yesterday was a day of rest for me, but I plan to spend the next two days before that conference begins doing some hiking in the mountains. Legendary snake man and photographer Bill Love told me about a spot for Twin-spotted Rattlesnakes and I am eager to trek up to high elevation in pursuit. However, any field hunts whether hiking or road cruising are at the mercy of the monsoon rains that have resulted in a very wet week.

Cheers, MJ

PS: A reminder that I have an eight-minute video slideshow of photos from the first six months of my 2017 adventure on YouTube. --- Also, my recent wildlife images are more numerous on Instagram than on my website or SmugMug at this time. You don't have to use Instagram or have the app to view my photos. Just click the link to open in your web browser.

#76 - "Back in Rodeo" - Rodeo, New Mexico / Portal, Arizona

Hello friendos. It's been too long. A month, to be exact. After a brief visit to Chicagoland, which primarily was about movies and fine dining, I am back surrounded by the Chiricahua, Animas, and Peloncillo Mountains in the Chihuahuan Desert of southwestern New Mexico's "boot heel".

My drive to Chicago took me through northern New Mexico, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa before I crossed the Mississippi River and headed east across northwestern Illinois to Joel's home in Hoffman Estates, IL. My return trip to Rusty's RV Ranch I instead headed south through Illinois to St. Louis, Missouri, on to Tulsa, Oklahoma, west across the tip of Texas via Amarillo and then headed south to Las Cruces, New Mexico.

I wanted to go to Las Cruces for two reasons; to visit White Sands National Monument and to do some road cruising for snakes in the Organ Mountains. My short visit to White Sands was spectacular; my intended hunt in the Organs rained out. The monsoon rains have arrived and I am excited to be back in the desert.

White Sands National Monument, New Mexico

Yesterday was a fitting return to my camp at Rusty's as it was "World Snake Day". However, the first reptile I encountered as I left the interstate to head south into the boot heel was a lizard. Jumping out of my truck to photograph the Texas Horned Lizard and record its GPS coordinates for data entry at iNaturalist.org, I felt back in my element.

Phrynosoma cornutum, Texas Horned Lizard, near Granite Gap, Hidalgo County, New Mexico

I spent the rest of the day setting up camp and cleaning my "Wheelhouse", but even though lightning filled the skies and storms threatened, I drove east toward Animas and then south toward Cloverdale in search of snakes as I had done so many evenings previous. The first creature I encountered was a mature male tarantula (Aphonopelma gabeli) crossing the road. Surprisingly, I came across no others. Normally, when males mature and begin wandering in search of females you see many.

Aphonopelma gabeli, mature male

Sadly, my world snake day was mostly road kill. I first found a DOR (dead on road) Western Patch-nosed Snake and then later came across two Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnakes (WDB) that had only recently been struck by car tires and were in their death throes. Watching them dying is much worse than finding them dead, but both suck pretty hard. The two WDB were about one mile apart and the drivers that killed them had just passed me. Another mile on I finally found a live WDB, this one a beautiful little youngster barely a foot long.

Sleeping in my RV was relaxing, especially compared to the cheap motel beds of the past few nights. I drank one Stella Artois and crashed hard. This morning was cool and sunny. I drank my second cup of coffee Rusty called over to me that there was a big Hog-nosed Snake on the dirt track beside the pond about 50 yards from my campsite. The thick snake hissed and spread its hood like a cobra as I lifted it from the ground so Rusty could look closer. Snake musk filled the air, which is a comforting scent to a madman like me. Although the snake huffed and puffed it made no attempt to bite or feign death. I explained the latter phenomenon in detail in a previous blog entry. I didn't have my camera so I carried the snake back to my truck and then began to try photographing it. It was very uncooperative at first. Rather than coil belly up and play possum, it wanted to slither forward at speed with its hood flared like a cobra. My persistence eventually weared it down and I got good images where I relocated it at the other side of the pond.

Mexican Hog-nosed Snake [Heterodon kennerlyi]

#75 - "Father's Day Bear" from Paradise, Arizona

Happy Father's Day to both of mine and you or any of yours. It is 105ºF. Tomorrow will be hotter. An extreme heat advisory is in effect through Thursday and Tucson may break record temps of 115-117ºF. I've picked the right time to be headed north.

This morning I knew I had only a few hours before furnace-like air would drive me into air conditioning. It was beautiful at 6:30 a.m. I sipped my coffee on my campsite patio and the air was only in the low 60s. But I knew comfort would be short-lived.

I drove into the Chiricahuas without a game plan. A casual hike was the most likely way to spend my morning, but when the road turned to head into Cave Creek Canyon I decided to go straight to Paradise. For five weeks I have always followed the road left, but today a whim steered me straight. The pavement quickly ended and the rocky dirt road carried on. The only thing I knew about Paradise was that the George Walker House would be found there five miles further on. It offers lodging and is an oasis for birders. Casual visitors are welcome to enjoy birds drawn to the feeders. Paradise is an old mining town and its year-round population is twelve. Yes, 12.

I wasn't thinking about George Walker House as the road became narrower and rockier and I reached for the dial to put my truck into four wheel drive. I was just taking in the scenery and the view of the "backside" of the Chiris I have enjoyed since mid-May. The familiar sign warning of smuggling and illegal immigrants was joined by those warning of the primitive unmaintained road ahead and its serpentine path. As always, I had the road to myself and I enjoyed the rugged driving.

Traveling the five miles was scenic and fun and I finally came to the end of Portal-Paradise Road. The T-intersection with Turkey Creek Road gives you the option of turning left toward the George Walker House (GWH) and the few other scattered buildings and continuing on toward the high elevation Rustler Park or heading to San Simon, AZ twenty-five miles farther to the north. I pushed on south and slowed to take in GWH from the road. I knew the hosts were very welcoming and it was tempting to just laze on the property and photograph birds. However, I was really enjoying the winding, rocky primitive road and decided I'd climb toward Rustler Park and then do the loop back into Cave Creek Canyon. Mule Deer and Pinyon Jays were the most common sights. In the Chiris you find three magnificent blue-colored jays: the Mexican Jay or Western Scrub at lower elevations and the darker blue and dark-crested Steller's Jay usually higher elevations. A fourth blue jay – the Pinyon Jay – is occasionally seen, but its range is farther north. It is the Arizona subspecies of the Mexican Jay I see most. They are beautiful birds, albeit raucous and bold. Jays aren't favorites of birders because of their scavenging, nest raiding and aggressiveness, but they're among my favorite birds. The Steller's distribution extends into Washington State and I enjoyed them near Seattle when I lived there.

The wild narrow road continued to twist and dip south of Paradise and I tried to identify other birds that flitted across my path. Then I saw something large in the road. Two hundred plus pounds large. The rusty fur confused me momentarily, but there was no mistaking the bear when it bounded up the hillside into cover. I had no opportunity to really observe it much less capture a photograph. When I first sighted the bear the road was rising and I briefly lost sight of it before my truck crested the hill and descended quickly toward the large russet mammal. I then realized that it had been attracted to the stream that the road crossed in this valley. I stopped in the six inches or so of water in the stream bed. This was the second stream crossing I had made, but it certainly was the more dramatic.

I sat in my truck for ten minutes hoping to see the bear again. Then I pushed on. South Turkey Creek Road is a beautiful scenic drive leading southwest, especially when you have a vehicle made for rugged driving. I would have hated to be in a car. It was a struggle to keep driving slow in hopes of being quiet enough to encounter wildlife as I really wanted to blast it.

Turkey Creek Road ends at 42 Forest Road, which goes by different names at different points. At this second T-intersection I had the option of turning right to continue on the narrow mountain road to ascend to Rustler Park or turn left and descend back toward Cave Creek Canyon and Portal. I chose the latter. When I neared the AMNH Southwestern Research Station there was a Survey Checkpoint manned by two U.S. Forest Service Rangers. This voluntary survey about my usage of the Coronado National Forest took about fifteen minutes. I'm sure it took longer since I had spent the past two months in and out of the national forest here and in the Catalinas and Santa Ritas and beyond. 

Seeing the bear was very special. I told the ranger about it and he called it a "cinnamon". The black bear is smallest and most widely distributed bear in North America. It is the only species found in Arizona. Most are some shade of black or brown, but the rusty coat I saw is referred to as cinnamon. I mentioned before how few javelinas and coyotes I've seen, and how jackrabbits and cottontails are ridiculously abundant. I've commented on the deer that I see every morning in the Chiris. I also have seen many Mule Deer at dusk or dark when road cruising. What I don't think I've mentioned is the hordes of small rodents that sprint across the road when I am cruising at night. I don't know one species from another, but I've distinguished several varieties of smaller "mice" and gerbil-sized mice with long tails and my favorite, the Kangaroo Rat. These are much larger and have large hind feet and run bipedally. They can leap incredible distances (six feet or more) from a run of about 6 mph. I watch them dash to the other side of the road to elude my truck and then when they get to the 18" high roadside grass they spring a couple feet in the air right over it. But seeing a wild animal your own size is a much more dramatic experience. Seeing a mammal larger than me – male orangs in Borneo this past February - was mindblowing.

M