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Posts from the ‘Reptiles’ Category

Mar 21

Herping 101

Besides being part of the Flora survey for the Preserve, I also decided to take part in the Herpetological survey. As part of the training class, we were encouraged to show we weren’t afraid of snakes by handling a small Gopher snake. In this photo, Mike had just handed the snake to Tom when the snake decided to go elsewhere. Thankfully, our teacher was right there to re-direct him and we all had a chance to hold this beauty. (Like the Flora Survey, the Herp Survey will be conducted over a 3 year period so stay tuned for my sightings of any and all reptiles during that time 🙂

Mar 18

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Canyon Tree Frog

Yesterday, I led fellow wanna-be botanists Judi and Joyce and our birder friend Phil on a hike to Camp Creek Falls. What a day! Wildflowers were few and very far between but having Phil along, we were able to further our bird education. Thanks Phil! Besides the flowers, birds and waterfall, another highlight was coming across a Canyon Tree Frog. It jumped just as Phil walked by or we wouldn’t have seen the little 2 1/2 inch guy. Click here for my last sighting of this tiny creature. L-R: Joyce, Canyon Tree Frog, Judi

Nov 8

Warming Up

Much to the delight of Cleo and Cloe, this fence at Rancho Sedona was literally crawling with tiny lizards. There were so many clammering for a space on the fence, they sometimes ended up on top of each other trying to warm up. It was a cool morning so…..Yes…I feel sure that’s what they were doing 🙂

Captured at max zoom with Canon SX1.

Sep 22

Collared Lizard

This female Collared Lizard typically hangs out in the same spot on the upper trail at Boyce Thompson Arboretum so you’re likely to get a shot of her if you take that great hike. She was in deep shade so I took a few shots and used Photomatix and some Topaz filters to bring out detail. Captured with Canon 7D and Canon 300mm lens. ISO 400, f/5.7 @ 1/320th sec.

Sep 2

Desert Tortoise 2

Another HDR shot of the Desert Tortoise I encountered on Tom’s Thumb Trail last Sunday. He was moving during this exposure sequence so it was difficult to merge the exposures perfectly. This resulted in lots of ghosting but after tedious cloning and fringe removal and reducing color saturation, I did it. What a face 🙂

Aug 30

Desert Tortoise

desert tortoise on tom's thumb trailI hiked the north access trail to Tom’s Thumb yesterday with a goal of seeing what was blooming. I spotted several flowers (check tmorrow’s post) but I also came across this guy! There are lots of Desert Tortoise in the Preserve but they’re really good a hiding so this was a treat! The lighting was mixed so I used my Canon SX 1 to capture two exposures and combined them in Photomatix.

Jun 14

critters

Here are a couple of critters we spotted along the trail while looking for butterflies. The first is a Robber Fly….a vicious creature! He needs a new name because what he actually does is spear his victims with his proboscis (including butterflies), inject a toxin that liquefies them and then slurps out their inside. Ewww!!! It sure is easy to see where horror movie makers get their monster ideas. The second critter is a Short-Horned Lizard. He’s also an insect eater but he just sticks out his tongue and grabs them. Same ending for the insect but more acceptable don’t you think? 🙂

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