9/11/2005 & 9/15/2005
Trip to Chiricahuas & Mogollon Rim Areas with Dad
On this trip to the Chiricahua Mountains with my dad I was excited to find a Twin Spotted Rattlesnake (Crotalus pricei), one of Arizona's protected montane rattlesnakes, and then very disappointed to have it dive into a crevice for cover before I could get more than one very limited photo of it.
My dad with a lonely male tarantula crossing the road looking for love.
Male tarantulas are often found wandering the road at night looking for females in burrows
Peter with a walking stick. This insect is already very well camouflaged and is nearly impossible
to see on a road already littered with real sticks.
This Canyon Treefrog (Hyla arenicolor) we moved off the road decided it would rather be
photographed on the steering wheel than my hand.
There were literally hundreds of these baby Red Spotted Toads (Bufo punctatus) on the roads
and shoulders on this particular evening.
A praying mantis
When we stopped at this vending machine for cold sodas we found a Canyon Treefrog
hunting for insects attracted to the lights.
A neonate Western Diamondback (Crotalus atrox)
Adult Western Diamondback being moved from the road.
Peter moving the snake to a safer location.
Closeup picture of this individual
Approaching the Chiricahua Mountains. This was a record rainfall year for AZ in decades
so the plants on this trip were all much greener than previous and future visits.
View of "Hoodoo" rock formations from Masai Point at the tp of the road in Chiricahua National Monument.
Hoodoos are pillar-like rock formations that somewhat resemble people and are prominant in the cultural history
of several Native American tribes of the southwest.
Talus slide in the Chiricahuas. This is the preferred habitat of the Twin Spotted Rattlesnake (Crotalus pricei)
This small protected rattlesnake is often difficult to locate in AZ due to its very limited range, and the overwhelming
nature of its preferred habitat.
This was the only Twin Spotted Rattlesnake located on the trip. If you look closely you can
see 1 loop of its body center frame as it disappears undera rock. The talus slide in this area consists
of rocks piled more than 10 feet deep. When I turned over this rock hoping to get a better photograph
he had already disappeared under the next 3-5 never to be seen again.
Also living in the talus slide, this colorful male Mountain Spiny Lizard (Sceloperus jarrovii) is
sunning himself and looking for ladies. Spiny lizards are a stapple of the diet of
Twin Spotted Rattlesnakes in this region.
A baby Glossy Snake (Arizona elegans) in the beginning of the evening.
2nd snake of the night, a neonate Mojave Rattlesnake (Crotalus scutulatus). Mojave Rattlesnakes
can be distinguished from the similar Western Diamondback (Crotalus atrox) by the scales on top of the
head which are reduced in number and larger in size in the Mojave.
This is a Couch's Spadefoot Toad (Scaphiopus couchii). Spadefoot toads are so named due to the shovel or spadelike
projection on their hind feet which aid in digging and burying themselves through the dry season.
Spadefoot toads emerge in largte numbers during the monsoon season.
Same Couch's Spadefoot Toad.
