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herping in southern AZ
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by foxhunter on March 26, 2004
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Just returned from 14 days in southern Az..
a little early for most species..but warmed up nicely during the days..Just by sheer luck I stumbled on a two foot Mojave rattler my first morning out..coiled up next to a mequite..seemed to be a bit cold..but was quick to get in defensive postion..My first wild caught. (released , of course ,afterwards) caught another during my stay..and found several species on the road..unfortunatly D.O.A.. But I wanted to thank those board members for their advice prior to my trip and ..I would think this area would be great in the summer for night cruising..As the locals all informed me of their respective "rattlesnake Problems" during the Summer months...
leaving for Costa Rica shortly..will report when I return... Thanks again for this board/.
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RE: herping in southern AZ
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by Snakeman1982 on March 28, 2004
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Hello Chip,
Yeah, Southern Az is a great place to herp (arguably the best in the U.S.). I used to live and road cruise in the Glades and I think that Southern Az is the best place that I have ever road cruised. (South Texas would have to win for flipping). Arizona is beautiful and the snake species are so different from anything in the east. I went there with a fellow biologist at the end of last July till the middle of August and we had an incredible time.
We got to check out University of Arizona also, which is a really neat campus with an excellent herpetological section in there library.
If you want to do some excellent road driving, then definitely go there toward the end of the summer, during the "monsoon" season. That's when you start catching 5 rattlesnakes a night and awesome colubrids. We got a lot of venomous species. Our first night, we got the Arizona coral snake and it just kept getting better from then on.
To check out our southwest trip, go to http://snakeman1982.com/Summer2003(southwest).asp
There is a list of all the herps we caught there along with a bird list.
Good luck in Costa Rica. I was actually talking to
a fellow herpetologist at a bioblitz about six months ago, who just finished his master's work in Brazil. I had just bought Savage's Costa Rica book and I asked him how the road cruisin' was down there. I told him that I had herped all over the U.S. including cruising all through southern Az and So Cal along with living in the Everglades. We agreed that road cruising Southern Az is the best in the U.S. and then he finished with "but it doesn't even compare to Costa Rica". Needless to say, I am jealous of you. I haven't been there yet. So you should have a great time.
How long will you be in Costa Rica? Let us know what you find. Apparently it is pretty common to find over 20 species of anurans on the road on a rainy night, not to mention all the snake species. Twan Leender's Costa Rica is a good pocket field guide but for identification photos and descriptions of each species, you have to get the Jay Savage book. It is close to my favorite herp book.
Again, good luck and keep us posted.
Robert Jadin
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RE: herping in southern AZ
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by foxhunter on March 28, 2004
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HEY Snakeman!.. I agree that Souhtern AZ.in the early fall or Summer would seem like the place to Road hunt..All of the locals seemed to bear this out .also most had their respctive expeiences with various rattlers at that time of year...I hope to get a chance again..
As fo Costa Rica ..Ive spent alot of time their over the past ten years along with Nicaragua, Belize and Some in Panama..Got to agree that Central America is A Herpers..or just a naturalists paradise...The species you can find on any given field trip down ther is just awesome..Plus the people..food and climate are great..Love the culture and fun in San Jose..Then off to the coast al forests..I have an aquaintance who owns a cattle farm down ther and is happy to have any and all snakes removed (typical attitude)..i just hunt then release later in other locals....Highly recomend Central America for Any serious herper..
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