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Post by NAU Wildlife Society Admin on Mar 11, 2004 17:33:26 GMT -5
Any herp folks out there? What have you been seeing slithering along?
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Stinger
Mexican Grey Wolf Member
Cowboy Up!!
Posts: 183
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Post by Stinger on Mar 12, 2004 15:12:45 GMT -5
Well this is a little outdated but since there are not any posts here yet I thought I would share this with everyone. Last August before school started I was down in Phx. and in like a two week period I safely removed and relocated 4 snakes, a Garter, a King, a Bull, and a the big daddy of them all a Western Diamondback!! There was a fifth one on the property but unfortunately I was not around and it was destroyed... Hopefully, when it begins to warm up we will all begin to see our reptilian friends begin to come out.
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Post by Whiskey Jack on Mar 12, 2004 16:44:53 GMT -5
Hey Stinger, what's happening! Man, thats great you were able to relocate the snakes safely. How did you go about doing it? While I lived in Madera Canyon AZ, my brother and I used to go out on warm summer nights and check out the Rattlesnakes on the road. We'd try to move them off the road to keep them from getting hit, but we'd just have to touch them on the tail area with a stick and they would take off. Eventually we got pretty good at identifying them, and the coolest one we ever saw was a Tiger Rattlesnake.
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Stinger
Mexican Grey Wolf Member
Cowboy Up!!
Posts: 183
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Post by Stinger on Mar 18, 2004 18:45:29 GMT -5
It was actually very cool, especially since there were so many people around yelling at me to kill it! So many in my family are either scared of them or do not understand their importance or both! I would just use whatever I could find to pin their heads down, sticks and I even once had to use the handle end of a rake, then I would put them in a bucket and drive to the end of the street to the State Trust land and release them. It is a very cool feeling watching them take off and disappear into the grass. This year my father made me a snake stick and also one with a wire loop, kind of like those sticks Animal Control uses, hopefully I will just have to use the snake stick though. Just call me Jeff Corwin Jr.!! Stinger
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Post by Whiskey Jack on Mar 22, 2004 16:21:00 GMT -5
You'll have to teach me to make one of those sticks, man. And Jeff Corwin, that is indeed a damn good show.
So Emily and I saw a small lizard, maybe 3 inches long, with a very irradecently blue belly. Any idea what this is?
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Stinger
Mexican Grey Wolf Member
Cowboy Up!!
Posts: 183
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Post by Stinger on Mar 23, 2004 13:32:35 GMT -5
I will bring the snake stick this weekend so that you can check it out. My Dad did an awesome job making it, it looks almost professional. Maybe we get a chance to use it this weekend!?
As far as the lizard, what other markings did it have? Was is scaled, like a Horny Toad? Off hand I am guessing maybe a Greater Earless or some species of Whiptail.
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Stinger
Mexican Grey Wolf Member
Cowboy Up!!
Posts: 183
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Post by Stinger on Mar 24, 2004 18:43:12 GMT -5
Here is another sighting for you all, though this one did not happen to me personally but to my sister in New River just yesterday. My sister and brother-in-law were out riding their horses in Tonto National Forest, which lucky for them is only 1/2 mile from their house, when they rode up on what my sister said was about a 3' Rattler! It rattled at the horse and then left the trail and then stopped and rattled some more before cruising off into the brush. Of course this would happen only a few days after I leave!! So, just a reminder to everyone the weather is perfect for us as well as our reptilian friends! So watch where you step!
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Post by Whiskey Jack on Apr 14, 2004 13:24:54 GMT -5
At the Tavarsci Marsh, walking down the trail to the marsh itself, there was a small hole in the rock/dirt wall along the trail. Kicking back in this nice, shaded spot was a Side-blotched Lizard.
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Stinger
Mexican Grey Wolf Member
Cowboy Up!!
Posts: 183
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Post by Stinger on Apr 20, 2004 14:00:18 GMT -5
Ok y'all, since Sparrowhawk never gets on here to post all the great wildlife that she sees I am going to have to add one here for her. I am not sure exactly when she went to Fossil Creek, maybe she can tell us, but I did see the pictures she took from there. One of the pics was of a rattlesnake coiled up underneath a rock ledge, based on the pic and her description of it I believe I have correctly identified it as a Black-tailed Rattlesnake! Nice sighting and pic, Sparrowhawk! Crow, maybe you could describe the rest of the critters that she saw for us all?
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Stinger
Mexican Grey Wolf Member
Cowboy Up!!
Posts: 183
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Post by Stinger on Apr 25, 2004 23:54:26 GMT -5
Sorry that I stole this post from you Crow, This morning at Raymond Ranch, Crow spotted a lizard in the brush that was a few feet from our campfire. After we all took a look at it, FredBear thought it might have been some species of whiptail, well when I got home I looked it up and I do believe that he was correct! A Tiger Whiptail! Now for my part, after they all left Anna,Mayra and Amanda still had to take down their camp, so while they we doing that I mosied over to the bush that the whiptail was in and sure enough there it was, only this time it had company! There was its mate too!!! Unfortunately, that is all for the herp sightings, Crow thought they all knew I was there and decided to hide from me......could be! There were plenty of bird sightings but I will leave them for the experts!! Have at 'em Crow and Sparrowhawk!
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Stinger
Mexican Grey Wolf Member
Cowboy Up!!
Posts: 183
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Post by Stinger on Apr 25, 2004 23:54:55 GMT -5
Sorry that I stole this post from you Crow, This morning at Raymond Ranch, Crow spotted a lizard in the brush that was a few feet from our campfire. After we all took a look at it, FredBear thought it might have been some species of whiptail, well when I got home I looked it up and I do believe that he was correct! A Tiger Whiptail! Now for my part, after they all left Anna,Mayra and Amanda still had to take down their camp, so while they we doing that I mosied over to the bush that the whiptail was in and sure enough there it was, only this time it had company! There was its mate too!!! Unfortunately, that is all for the herp sightings, Crow thought they all knew I was there and decided to hide from me......could be! There were plenty of bird sightings but I will leave them for the experts!! Have at 'em Crow and Sparrowhawk!
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Post by Whiskey Jack on Apr 26, 2004 13:19:33 GMT -5
No way Stinger, like I said in the Growls, hisses , howls and chirps posting, you have a special connection with those scaley friends, they just hid because of all us loud folks out there stomping around. Especially me trying to find birds everwhere! On the way out of the ranch that Sunday Sparrowhawk and I got to see a snake crossing the road. We were both screaming "Where's Jason!!!!" because we couldn't tell what it was. How high to racers come up? We hit the breaks and went back to the spot but it had already gone on its way. The best we could tell was that it was very long (3 feet or so), tannish colored and was extremely fast.
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Stinger
Mexican Grey Wolf Member
Cowboy Up!!
Posts: 183
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Post by Stinger on Apr 28, 2004 9:20:54 GMT -5
Hey Crow, That is awesome! At least one of us got to see a snake last weekend! That is pretty funny that is happened that way!! Based on your description, it does sound like a Racer, that area out there fits their habitat and they can live up to about 7000 feet so that also falls into that area. Great I.D. man!!
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Post by Whiskey Jack on May 3, 2004 10:38:18 GMT -5
Well...I'm going to embarass myself again with my complete lack of reptile/amphibian identification skills. At Roosevelt Lake, it is herp heaven. Every step I took would scare up at least one lizard, everytime I'd look along the waters edge on the Gila River there would be a toad/frog of some sort staring back at me. And everytime I'd head out walking into the desert I'd see a snake hole in every direction. Stinger, I know what you'll be doing after work everyday! Trying to identify the insanely diverse herp population that will be your neighbors! We were able to identify a whiptail, but thats it.
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Post by eaglewoman on May 12, 2004 12:04:43 GMT -5
Hey Sting and all other herp folks, I'm thinking about taking a herp class next spring, and I was wondering if anyone knew of a real good Herp ID book to start me off with. Let me know, Eaglewoman P.S. I hope your keepin cool Sting! It's hot out there!
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