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Week 3 - Texas continued...

5/10/2015

 
Week 3 found the crew continuing training and sampling in west Texas. Due to severe weather we were largely restricted to sampling on the west side of the Panhandle. The crew split up more for independent surveys this week as Kyla & Carissa became more familiar with survey protocols. We continued to survey some caprock canyonlands and shortgrass prairie as in Week 2, and got into some sand dunes with Shinnery Oak. Week 4 will be short for crew Biologists after 12 days in the field, with a few days out on Pawnee National Grassland in northeastern Colorado. Danny will be preparing for the rest of the field crew who begin work in Week 5, and catching up on the backlog of volunteer registrations the coming weekend!
Kyla - "I really enjoyed surveying sights in Bailey County, Texas. Here we encountered our first Ornate Box Turtles! Danny found a very small juvenile and Carissa found two adults. On our last survey site, I spotted a large female Texas Horned Lizard in the tall grass. Surveying in Yoakum County provided us an exercise in patience. The landscape was characterized by dense scrub oak which made it difficult to spot reptiles. However, it was almost a guarantee to see Lesser Earless Lizards in most open patches we came across. Getting successful voucher photos of these speedy lizards was another story! Due to severe storms to the east, we returned to Randall County to complete a survey that we didn't have time for previously. This change of plans worked out well for us, as we got another up-close sighting of a Coachwhip crossing a road! In addition to the Coachwhip, we spotted more Common Checkered Whiptails, Eastern Collared Lizards, Prairie Lizards, and a ~3-foot long Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake."
Carissa - "Danny, Kyla, and I continued to survey sites in western Texas this past week. I found a Many-Lined Skink and two adult male Ornate Box Turtles in Bailey County. Both turtles exhibited striking red eyes and bright orange scales on their front legs, earning them a new spot among my favorite Great Plains reptiles! In Yoakum County I spotted Lesser Earless Lizards and a Six-Lined Racerunner flitting below thick scrub oak. I also encountered a group of inquisitive Mule Deer that posed elegantly for a few photos. We then returned to Randall County after severe thunderstorms steered us away from our survey sites in the eastern part of the Texas Panhandle."

Week 2 - Texas!

5/3/2015

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After spending week 1 of the 2015 field season in the office completing trainings, crew Biologists Carissa and Kyla headed to Texas with Danny for their first few weeks of field training and sampling. We wanted to get to the southern plains earlier this year to improve our chances of seeing species that may be more diurnally active early in the season. During the first week, the crew surveyed public lands in the Panhandle including Rita Blanca National Grassland, Palo Duro Canyon State Park, and Caprock Canyon State Park. 
Kyla - "The first week in the field proved to be an exciting one! We saw a lot of Common Checkered Whiptails darting about and colorful Eastern Collared Lizards basking in the sun in Palo Duro Canyon. Being a native to California, I got to see a plethora of species from the Great Plains that I've only seen in photos. My two favorite encounters this past week include seeing Texas Horned Lizards and both Western Diamondback and Prairie Rattlesnakes.  I also can’t forget to include some of the iconic non-reptile species of the Great Plains such as Bison and Pronghorn."
Carissa - "This week was my second on the job and my first in the field. Danny, Kyla, and I have been surveying sites in the great state of Texas. I saw my first Lesser Earless Lizards on Rita Blanca National Grassland, and the iconic Texas Horned Lizard! Next we surveyed the beautiful Palo Duro Canyon State Park, where we documented Eastern Collared Lizards, Common Side-blotched Lizards, Common Checkered Whiptails, Common Spotted Whiptails, and Prairie Lizards. At Buffalo Lake National Wildlife Refuge I saw my first Six-lined Racerunner (see photos below), who was hiding under a sheet of metal that Danny carefully lifted with his field hook. Just before leaving the Refuge we saw a Bullsnake, and just after leaving we spotted a hefty Great Plains Ratsnake; both had ventured onto the road to soak up heat from the asphalt as evening approached. Last but not least, we ventured into magnificent Caprock Canyon State Park where we encountered Greater Earless Lizards, Side-blotched Lizards, Six-lined Racerunners, Texas Horned Lizards, and the first Western Diamondback Rattlesnakes I’ve seen in the wild!"
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2015 Field Crew Announced! 

3/30/2015

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We are happy to announce that our 2015 field crew is in queue to begin the season! Field work by CSU Biologists will being the week of 20 April, with Technicians joining the week of 18 May. We're excited to begin our 3rd season of sampling in the Great Plains, and looking forward to meeting new volunteers and land owners, and seeing familiar faces from the past few seasons! If you are interested in volunteering and have yet to sign up, please read through the materials and register here.
Jake Milford
Carissa Homme
Jon Suh
Danielle Tran
Danny Martin
Kyla Garten
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2015 Crew Selections & Volunteer Recruitment

3/14/2015

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We're in the process of selecting our 2015 field crew! So far we have Jake Milford returning for another season with the project, and we're excited about the number of other high-quality applicants this year... it will be a difficult decision. It is inspiring to see the number of early professionals who are interested in reptile conservation!! Please check the "About" page in the coming weeks to see the announcement of the rest of the crew for the upcoming field season. 

We're excited to get outside soon, and hope that volunteers are already thinking about getting out as they have time in the coming weeks! If you haven't registered as a volunteer yet, please consider this - you can find more information here.
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Recruiting Field Crew & Volunteers for 2015 Monitoring Season!

2/22/2015

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Celina Bycenski takes voucher photos of a Prairie Lizard. Colorado, 2014. Photo: D. Martin.
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Molly Parren records data after observing an Ornate Box Turtle just before a summer rain storm hits. Colorado, 2013. Photo: D. Martin.
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Jake Milford surveys for reptiles in the Caprock of the Texas Panhandle. 2014. Photo: D. Martin.
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Beth Wittmann takes voucher photos (at a safe distance) of a Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake. New Mexico, 2014. Photo: J. Milford, CSU Reptile Monitoring Project.
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Danny Martin searches for reptiles in sand-sage prairie, Texas. 2013. Photo: M. Thompson, CSU Reptile Monitoring Project.
We're currently looking for 4 people who are highly motivated and interested in serving on our 2015 field crew! If you are interested, please see the full announcement and details here.  Questions can be directed to: [email protected]

Those who are interested and able to volunteer as observers for the project are encouraged to read more about requirements, and complete the registration here.  Thanks so much for considering spending your valuable time to help this project and improve what understand about reptile populations in the Great Plains!
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Melissa Thompson (foreground) and Molly Parren (background) conduct standardized surveys for reptiles in southeastern Colorado. 2013. Photo: D. Martin.
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Week 25: Last week in the field for 2014

10/6/2014

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This is the CSU crew's last week of field work for the year, as most reptiles have entered hibernation in the central Great Plains. Volunteers should consider getting out on warm days when nighttime temperatures are >50 F, you may still see species including Short-horned Lizards, Prairie Rattlesnakes, and several gartersnake species that are more cold-tolerant. 

Thanks much to Beth, Celina, Devin & Jake for all of their hard work this summer!  Thanks also to all the Biologists and Citizen Scientists who were able to provide data for the project this season!! We will be focusing on the volunteer effort in 2015, so those of you who are interested in getting out next year please be sure to sign up here soon so we can get you protocols and site assignments before then.  

If you're interested in hearing more about the project, particularly related to how to volunteer next year and what volunteer protocols entail, Danny will be presenting at the upcoming Kansas Herpetological Society meeting in Manhattan, Kansas, in early November 2014, and likely at the Colorado Partners in Amphibian & Reptile Conservation (CO PARC) meeting in Greeley, Colorado in early 2015 (check here for updates as they become available). 
Beth - "Lesser Earless Lizards were braving the cooler temperatures this week. There were only a few days of decent weather to survey and in that time we spotted about half a dozen bright little Lesser Earless Lizards still roaming the grasslands. A juvenile Bullsnake stopped us on the road and gave us its rattlesnake impression, but one of the best finds for me was on the last and coldest day. In a light rain, Celina and I surveyed a plot dappled with hills that I had been to before. I didn't expect to find anything until I stumbled over a freshly shed snake skin! This large shed was so well preserved that it looked like the ghost of a snake on the ground. I took a few moments to try and identify its previous owner by noting the unkeeled, smooth scales, the length of the tail, and the lack of a distinct pattern that can sometimes be seen on the dorsum of a shed. I flipped the fully intact face right side out to find a distinct scale above the eye, looking like an angry brow, that I use to identify Racers. A divided anal plate furthered my suspicions that this was from a large adult North American Racer. This is exactly the species I had found in person the last time I was on that plot and it made me wonder if it was from the same individual! "
Celina - "​​I wasn't sure what to expect this week, considering how late in the season it is. It's also been my last week on the project, so I was hoping for something cool to happen. We came across a juvenile Bullsnake basking on the road during the warmer part of the day. The little guy/gal shook their tail and tried so hard to be intimidating. And then tried to hide under my boot!

    Looking back on the summer it's astounding how many new species I've run across for myself, and the project. I got to survey familiar areas in Texas (ah the old stomping grounds!), and new areas in Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma and New Mexico. I had never done official work in any state other than Texas (and my only other volunteer work outside of Texas was in Arizona) prior to this season so it feels pretty good to have field experience in 4 more states under my belt now. I've witnessed a lot of cool things in the past 6 months and the time has really flown by. I think my hands-down favorite encounter has got to be the two Prairie Rattlesnakes I found together last week, I never expected to witness such behavior while in the field!"
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Week 24 - Cool weather... data entry

10/4/2014

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Cool weather this week meant the crew was in the office getting caught up on data entry. Celina, Devin and Beth all pitched in and completed entering the remainder of our 2013 and 2014 field data! They also started matching up their voucher photos with field data, while Danny started updating the complete database and correcting errors. While this is not as pleasant as field work, it is a critical and necessary step to ensuring data analyses go more smoothly in the future! It was impressive to plot (on a map) all of our locations from sampling this summer, since we sampled in parts of 7 states this year compared with just 2 states in 2013! We're looking forward to getting more volunteers out there in 2015 to improve our spatial and temporal coverage of sampling.
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Week 23 - Some Reptiles still active in the Central Plains

9/28/2014

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Beth - "This was a great week for seeing Sceloporus tristichus. Celina and I surveyed a rocky canyon for a day where we must have seen 20 individuals between us. Plateau Lizards are usually quite skittish but the specimens I saw seemed just as curious about me as I was about them. Some were missing or re-growing tails, and some had typical bright orange lips. I was able to take great photos of them all because they were willing to stick around long enough (and come out from their hiding spots) so that I could adjust camera settings for better voucher photos. Maybe the quickest photos snapped this week were for a species I had not recorded yet this summer - the Western Terrestrial Garter Snake. Because it was a dead on a busier road, I only had time enough to snap two photos as vouchers, but it was worth pulling the car over for."
Celina - "When you're looking at a rattlesnake that is aware of you and rattling, you're probably not going to be focused on the grass behind it. As I picked my camera up to take a photo, I initially missed seeing a second prairie rattlesnake slithering out of the grass! When this second individual joined in the rattling and wrapped up with the first, I was shocked! The two turned into a single coil and the second had nosed over the first before returning its glare to me. The first never took its eyes off of me. This was something I wasn't expecting, so I was very surprised - and I'm glad I was able to get photos of the two together (see photos above)."

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Week 22 - From Kansas, Wyoming & Nebraska

9/21/2014

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Danny - "I'm always excited to get back to the state I grew up in, and Kansas provided great weather and opportunities to see reptiles this week. We detected 3 'new' species for the project on this trip - Massasauga, Eastern Hog-nosed Snake, and Diamond-backed Watersnake. We also documented a small range extension and new county record for Speckled Kingsnake!"
Celina - "There are several species that we still haven't detected for the project, this week I considered myself incredibly lucky to detect a neonate Massasauga in a bison wallow while on a survey! This small rattlesnake species has eluded us despite having several sites where the folks who manage and work the area say (and have shown us photos!) Massasaugas are there - we were in luck this trip and detected a total of 9 individuals, ranging from neonates to large adults."
Devin - "This week, Beth and I surveyed some new areas in Wyoming and western Nebraska. A few days before the start of our surveys, this area experienced a bout of cold weather and even a brief flurry of snow! We were therefore not anticipating to see much herp activity, believing the majority of reptiles would be beginning to hibernate at that point. We were pleasantly surprised when our surveys yielded a decent number of snakes! We found the sheds of a few different species, and I also found two Prairie Rattlesnakes, a Common Gartersnake, and a Racer!"
Beth - "Surveying in more aquatic and marshy habitat types this week resulted in the observation of a new species. Colder weather in Wyoming the week before meant we saw mostly snakes - Devin and I spotted a Common Gartersnake in the road. This specimen was probably the largest Gartersnake I have ever come across. Unfortunately, it was dead. I did make an exciting observation this week in Fort Collins over the weekend (on a day off)!  In one of the city parks, a snake as small as worm slithered from the grass onto a concrete pathway when I walked by. It curled up and I got a look at the maroon and grey saddles that ran down its back. I remembered that some species have a pattern when they are younger and it becomes less distinct as they age and this was the case for the small North American Racer at my feet. Without a GPS that Saturday, I used the Great Plains Reptile Monitoring mobile app on my phone to document it." 
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Week 21 - A touch of Autumn

9/14/2014

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Celina - "A very common species that I particularly enjoy is the Six-Lined Racerunner (Aspidoscelis sexlineatus), due to the bright coloration they can get here in the plains. The juveniles are no exception, with their cobalt blue tails. They can be tricky to spot for more than a moment because they are quick and flighty, but if you're patient and careful you can usually snap a voucher photo before they decide they've had enough of your presence."
Devin - "This week was characterized by a front of cool weather spreading across the eastern plains of Colorado. Many species decided to seek shelter under ground, but I did happen upon a Prairie Rattlesnake towards the middle of the day when the temperature had reached it's peak. Ornate Box Turtles are a species that tends to be active in cooler temperatures than many other reptiles, and we did end up seeing a few of them as well."
Beth - "Throughout the course of the summer we have seen a few crickets skewered on the prongs of barbed wire fences and recognized them as the work of a shrike. Before surveying some of our sites this week, we heard from landowners that Lesser Earless and Fence Lizards were being pierced on the barbed wire. I kept this in mind while we looked for what reptiles we could find in the cool weather. Then, as Devin and I were traveling from one site to another, I hopped out of our truck to open a gate. Next to the gate entrance was the head and neck of a small snake. Thoroughly confused, I waved for Devin to come take a look and he was just as surprised to see the head of this little snake on a gate we had gone through earlier not more than a few hours previously. Devin turned around and looked at the rest of the gate only to find the rest of the slim body stuck to another barb (see photos above). Remembering what we had heard about the lizards earlier, we concluded it must have been the work of a shrike. It took us a few minutes and some paging through a field guide to finally agree that the little snake was actually a juvenile Coachwhip (neither of us had ever seen the juvenile patterning of a Coachwhip). Often making appearances for split seconds on the road, we usually only see Coachwhips as adults so it was fascinating to see a juvenile stuck by a shrike on that gate!"
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Week 20 - Cool Weather Arrives in the Central Plains...

9/7/2014

 
The remaining crew spent the week in Fremont and Pueblo Counties, Colorado, during what is likely to be one of the last weeks some of the real heat-loving reptile species are active before entering hibernation. We expect to continue to see species including Prairie Rattlesnakes and Short-horned Lizards for at least 3 or 4 more weeks, but the prediction is that this winter is supposed to arrive early and temperatures are predicted to be much colder this year relative to last year...
Celina - "Checkered Whiptails can be something of a frustration to me at times. Two incredibly similar looking species, both (almost) entirely female, thankfully they only have a small range overlap. Somehow I still have trouble keeping Colorado versus Common Checkered Whiptails straight. We found ourselves in Colorado Checkered Whiptail habitat this week, though we knew the adults would surely start slowing down and heading into hibernation soon as they prefer it hot, hot, hot. Despite that, we still saw a few, a large percentage of which were juveniles. The weather seems to be getting less consistent now, so this may have been one of our last chances to find this species for the season."
Beth - "We were afforded some days just hot enough to see a few Prairie Lizards, Colorado Checkered Whiptails, and a few more common snake species in the field this week. Often, when I'm surveying in southeastern Colorado and I walk into a site with junipers growing in gravelly soil I know I should be looking for Whiptails. However, when I found myself walking through a dry riverbed with Cottonwoods, I was not expecting to find a Colorado Checkered Whiptail juvenile! When I was able to snap a voucher photo and confirm that the little fleeting lizard I was looking at was actually a Whiptail, I realized I needed to expand future searches to include this habitat type. I have only seen adults of this species this summer and was happy to have the chance to see a juvenile. Even though we can feel the summer ending, it has been an unexpected joy to witness neonates and hatchlings - many look like miniatures of the adults we usually see."

Week 19 - From the Field

8/31/2014

 
We're already receiving some cool weather, along with more rain in Colorado. It was a short week in the field for Celina & Beth, with Devin helping with data management/wrangling in the office and Jake helping as time permitted between classes. We're hearing forecasts for an early and cold winter, so for those volunteers who haven't gotten out yet, the coming weeks may be your best bet in the central Great Plains! Those in the southern plains may have a bit longer season!
Celina - "Sometimes you don't notice how many of one species you're seeing, until suddenly you're not seeing any. This week was unique in that I only saw a handful of Lesser Earless Lizards, when typically they're swarming all over the place. The first time I ever saw this species was at the beginning of the field season, so it was a lifer for me, but quickly grew to be so commonplace as to seem a fixture in surveys. We started to say, when asking each other what we saw, "oh, just Lesser Earless Lizards" - like they're no longer exciting and magical like they were at first. I suppose I stopped appreciating getting to see them- they weren't as rarely observed as most snakes or even some other lizard species. With the weather a bit chillier and rainy, there really wasn't a whole lot moving around this week, and I missed the little guys. Even when they're zooming out of view or running down the roads ahead of us (making us nervous!)."
Beth - "Despite the rainy weather there was a great turnout when Celina and I surveyed in Weld County, Colorado this week. All in one hour I ended up spotting more reptile species then I usually see in a week in that area! A Plains Hog-nosed Snake was basking in the sun to greet me at the survey site and later I found a juvenile Many-lined Skink sporting a bright blue tail, hiding under a sheet of metal. Two Short Horned Lizards saw me out, one being a neonate the size of a nickel. Seeing these tiny horned lizards that are smaller than some crickets makes me realize how much better I've become at spotting the cryptic species since the beginning of the summer when I was struggling to spot the full-sized adults in gravel, however, I'm sure there are still times that their camouflage gets the better of me."

Week 18 - From the Field

8/24/2014

 
After a break following the trip to the southern Great Plains, this week found Beth & Devin surveying some new sites in east-central Colorado and Celina, Jake, and Danny surveying private ranches in southeastern Colorado. With the help of one of our project's volunteers, Ben Fisher, we were able to document the 3rd known occurrence of the Round-tailed Horned Lizard from Las Animas County, Colorado! This was the last week of field work for Jake as he heads back to classes at Colorado State University next week. Devin will largely be helping Danny with data management over the coming weeks while Beth & Celina wrap up the field season into October.
Celina - "There's something about Eastern Collared Lizards that just enchants me. We got to see several this week of varying ages, from adults to a juvenile (likely from an earlier clutch this summer) to a recent hatchling! It's amazing when you get to see the difference in size and coloration/patterning of the different ages and sexes. Since we travel a lot we also get to see geographic differences in coloration of adults, so that's always really fascinating."
Beth - "The sheen of snake scales caught my eye at the bottom of a chest-high empty trough at a fish hatchery this week. Inside the empty raceway I found a shriveled up garter snake. As I turned around to hoist myself out, I could hear the splash of little feet belonging to Plains Leopard Frogs and Woodhouse's Toads jumping around in some residual water in the raceway. I was snapping a few photos of the frogs when I saw a black and yellow lump in the corner; an Ornate Box Turtle. The raceway was like a small ecosystem in itself!  I finally turned to hoist myself out again and was eye to eye with a Coachwhip who had been watching me the whole time, possibly looking for a quick meal from one of the numerous frogs. But as soon as it had been discovered, the Coachwhip wasted no time sticking around."
Jake - "As the fall semester starts up again at CSU next week, this was my last full week of field work for the summer. I spent it in southeastern Colorado in pursuit of Round-tailed Horned Lizards and Checkered Whiptails, and the days offered me plenty of challenges and accomplishments. Unfortunately, I wasn't present when the one and only Round-tailed Horned Lizard of the week was found, but I still managed to garner some satisfaction from seeing several Common Checkered Whiptails. While I will continue to help out with the project over the coming weeks from the office, I will definitely miss the amazing time I got to spend in the field and the great people I got to spend it with! This job has offered me an amazing amount experience, and I feel truly lucky to be a part of one of the largest reptile conservation movements in this part of the U.S."
Devin - "This week we switched up crews and checked out some habitat near the Kansas border of east-central Colorado. I was excited to check out this area since it was new to me. The first morning surveying was fairly cool, and the presence of deciduous trees for shade and nice sandy soils made for a great opportunity to find Ornate Box Turtles. Between the two of us, we found five box turtles before we even got to our second survey plot!"

Week 17 - From the Field

8/17/2014

 
This was the crews' second week this August spent in the southern Great Plains of Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico. The weather held out for most of the trip, and we documented many of the diurnal species found in the region.
Celina - "We had some very, very successful and full surveys this past week! I had one survey on which I actually had to use a second survey form, and filled both out, front and back! We didn't see a huge number of species (mostly Lesser Earless Lizards and some Sceloporus​) - but we did see such a huge number of lizards, especially hatchlings, that it was astonishing particularly after the slow July weeks! I even saw a neonate Prairie Rattlesnake within 5 yards of an adult. It's definitely a good time to go out and see some herps!"
Devin - "A baby boom seems to be occurring in the plains of Texas! It seems that some areas we’re finding baby reptiles every-other minute this week. We've found hatchling Texas Horned Lizards, neonate Short-horned Lizards, and hatchling Lesser Earless Lizards all no larger than your thumbnail. I also chanced upon the youngest Ornate Box Turtle I've ever seen, that couldn't have been any larger around than a dinner roll. My advice to anyone herping this week is to take it slow and be on the lookout for some tiny reptiles!"
Jake - "The past 2 weeks spent in the Southern Plains were some of the most challenging and rewarding days of my summer. On one hand, the humidity and heat of Texas and Oklahoma really took their toll on us, making some of our days surveying quite trying. On the other, the diversity and abundance of species we don’t often get to see made up for the hardships. Our first week was spent in extreme northern Texas Panhandle and western Oklahoma, where we were able to observe Texas Horned Lizards, Prairie Rattlesnakes, and Coachwhips regularly. It surprised me how much life was supported in such a harsh environment. The second week divided our group, sending some back into Texas, while I ventured to the Wichita Mountains further southeast in Oklahoma. The days spent there were my favorite by far; not only was there an incredible abundance of herp species- including a massive, ~5 ft Western Diamondback Rattlesnake found in the foothills early one morning- but the landscape itself was truly something spectacular. One survey plot was located on the very top of a mountain, and although the climb was difficult, it afforded an incredible view of the whole area! Heading back west to Caprock Canyon and Palo Duro Canyon State Parks in Texas continued to give us spectacular views of the landscape and scenery the Southern Plains has to offer, and we saw new species including the Greater Earless Lizard and the Common Spotted Whiptail."
Beth - "On the last day of this past week, Danny, Jake, and I were surveying among the red rocks and stunning scenery of the Black Mesa ecoregion. On the way to our plot, I stopped Jake in our tracks for one tiny little snake basking on the trail. He identified it right away as a Lined Snake. It was doubled over like a hairpin, relaxed in the sun. We took some photos of its striped dorsum and realized that even though this is not necessarily an uncommon species, it was the first we had seen all summer!"

Week 16 - From the Field

8/10/2014

 
This week found Celina & Devin surveying in eastern Colorado before heading south to sample in Texas and New Mexico. Beth & Jake left earlier for surveys in Texas before meeting up late in the week with Danny in south-central Oklahoma.
Celina - "August means clutches of babies are out and about, and it's so exciting! It confused my search image on Monday when I lifted a dry cow patty to see two black and dark blue squiggles wiggle off in opposite directions. I was stunned at first- what in the world?! - and then I realized: hatchling Many-lined Skinks! My moment of stunned confusion cost me the voucher photos I could have gotten, unfortunately, but now I'm more carefully looking for baby reptiles."
Jake - See the post for Week 17 for Jake's assessment of Weeks 16-17 spent in Oklahoma & Texas!
Devin - "The first sightings of hatchlings & neonates this season have finally occurred! We've started to see juvenile Lesser Earless Lizards no larger than a thumbnail. On one occasion this week I happened upon a juvenile Plains Garter Snake crawling through some short grass as well. I didn't realize how difficult some of these tiny reptiles were going to be to spot, and I had to walk a little more slowly so I could improve my chances of detecting them! I was also a little thrown off because some juvenile lizards don’t look the same as their adult form, such as some of the juvenile Great Plains Skinks we found this week, with their sleek black bodies fading to a bright blue tail."
Beth - "After not seeing as many reptiles out in the field for the past few weeks, it was a pleasant surprise to see four snakes on one road in about 20 minutes. Even better, one of those was a Plains Hog-nosed Snake. This Plains Hog-nosed Snake was the first live specimen I've seen. It curled into its notorious defensive posture, tucking it's head beneath its coils and piling it's tail atop its body like a deceitful hat."

Week 16 - Plan & expected changes in reptile Activity

8/3/2014

 
We're all looking forward to increased reptile activity in August!  Hatchlings and neonates of many species will be coming out over the coming weeks, which means many more individuals available for observation!  Adults of many species will become less active towards the end of August and into September, prior to entering hibernation this autumn.  If you're interested in volunteering, August is a great time to get started!  Please consider registering as a volunteer and submitting opportunistic observations with the mobile phone app, even if you don't have time to get out for formal surveys this season.

This week finds Beth & Jake headed to Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico for the coming weeks.  Danny is burning the candle at both ends to get out volunteer protocols to newly-enrolled volunteers prior to heading south later in the week to survey some newly-accessed sites in Oklahoma and New Mexico.  Celina and Devin will be surveying in Colorado this week and expect to see hatchling and neonate lizards out this week!  They will then be surveying some sites in the western Panhandle of Texas and in New Mexico.

Week 15 - Training, Raining, & Data!

8/2/2014

 
This week saw the crews largely stuck in the office due to rain and cool temperatures in Colorado.  The crew caught us up on data entry/management for 2014, and worked on some additional materials for volunteers.  Danny spent Tuesday out in the field training another Biologist for Colorado Parks & Wildlife, before the rain hit!  With the weather cooling quickly before the storm, we felt lucky to see a male Lesser Earless Lizard (voucher photo below)!
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Week 14 - From the Field

7/27/2014

 
This week saw the Reptile Monitoring Crews in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Colorado.  Danny & Beth took a quick 2-day jaunt into Oklahoma to survey some newly-accessed land with one of the project volunteers, then looped through Kansas the remainder of the week.  Celina & Devin also surveyed in Oklahoma for a few days prior to heading to two National Historic Sites the project recently gained access to in Colorado.
Danny - "It was nice to be back in my home state for much of the week and become reacquainted with species not found further west. It was also one of the first really hot weeks this summer, and we expected to not see as many reptiles out active. Even with the heat, we were glad to find some critters out and about, mostly found in or near shade. I spotted my first two Slender Glass Lizards in many years this week - they are one of several legless lizard species found in North America (see photo above). We recorded a few other firsts for the project, including Northern Watersnake (albeit not a terrestrial 'target' species for this project), Common Gartersnakes, and a Great Plains Skink. I was also sent home with about 500 reminders that late July in the field can mean chiggers, mosquitoes, biting flies, and ticks are in full force in some areas! Volunteers in the eastern Plains should not forget their long pants and insect repellent!"
Beth - "Flipping through 'Ampibians, Reptiles, & Turtles in Kansas' I skimmed over the Slender Glass Lizard never expecting to actually see a species so strange in the wild. I was not expecting to be walking through grass taller than myself, rolling hills, or deciduous forest in Kansas either but I was. The Glass Lizard, legless and slender, looked like a snake on the road. Yet, this species is easily distinguished from snakes by the presence of an external ear opening and eyelids. When it went to move off the gravel, it wasn't nearly as fluid as a snake, more like a noodle being shocked into spurts of movement. This bizarre and striking reptile was definitely my favorite find from an awesome week in Kansas."
Devin - "This week Celina and I checked out some newly-accessed habitat in Oklahoma and southern Colorado. On one of the sites our first day of surveying there was a long stretch of river that ran through our survey plot. I decided to walk along the bank of this river with the hopes of finding a few garter snakes in my path. Although I didn't end up finding any garter snakes, I did find a ton of Plains Leopard Frogs and Bullfrogs, including some Bullfrogs that were as large as a dinner plate! There was also a beaver at the camp site that night which was a first for me!"
Celina - "A rare treat this week was a Plains Hog-nosed Snake, a species which I haven't encountered in about 3 years. Hog-nosed snakes are fossorial (live below ground surface) and tend to come out after rains, when their preferred prey item (toads) are also moving around and abundant. This individual was willing to let me take several voucher photographs before deciding he was done with my attentions, flattening out his head and neck to appear larger and intimidating but merely slowly slithering off back into the grass, giving a hiss back at me for trying to take more pictures of this display, and out of sight."

Plan for Week 14

7/19/2014

 
This week has crews surveying mostly new sites in Oklahoma, Kansas, and Colorado.  With Jake off much of the week, Danny & Beth are heading to Kansas after a quick jaunt to the Oklahoma Panhandle.  Celina & Devin will survey in Oklahoma for a day or so before heading to 2 new sites on National Historic Sites managed by the National Park Service in southeastern Colorado.  It should be a warmer week

Week 13 - Weird July weather in Colorado

7/19/2014

 
This week, the Crew Leaders combined their efforts to survey sites in southeastern Colorado.  Unusual July weather in Colorado continued this week, with cool temperatures accompanying the more typical afternoon rain showers.  Devin helped manage the increasingly large data set for several days in the office, then ground-truthed some survey routes for the North American Amphibian Monitoring Program as a professional development activity at the end of the week.  Danny spent the week working to gain additional public lands access for the project, including properties in Colorado, New Mexico, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Wyoming.  He also prepped materials to send out to registered volunteers in the coming week.
*We'll post photos next week, but in the mean-time... from the Field Crew:
Celina - "Things picked up a little bit more this week which was very exciting for us! It's about the time of year where things are slowing down a bit but we still saw a good variety of species. Sometimes I joke that my favorite method of finding cryptic species is the "I almost stepped on it but then it moved" method because they can be tricky to see. A female Short-horned Lizard did a very good job of escaping my notice until she darted a bit further away as I was stepping quite close to her. Live birth is considered by many to be a "mammal trait" but it's just not true. Short-horned Lizards (and many other cold-adapted species of reptiles such as Prairie Rattlesnakes) give live birth so they can better regulate the temperature of their young as they develop."
Beth - "I had not seen a single reptile under a cow patty all summer. Still, I have been lifting them regularly, my hopes kept alive by stories of skinks and small snakes found squirming underneath them. Torrential rains had left the plains of Comanche National Grassland still soaked in some areas and I was walking through one with a few cow patties in it. I stared down a patty and thought, “this patty will have a snake under it.” I flipped it with my boot and there lay a cream colored Western Ground Snake with a jet-black head on the moist ground! I was shocked that in fact there was actually a snake under this one patty out of at least 40 I had flipped that day alone. It was a species I have never seen before and it showed me its bright pink belly as it twisted into a knot in the grass. As it eventually slinked away, I vowed to flip more cow patties and to be similarly careful about what I wished for."
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