Week 23 - Some Reptiles still active in the Central Plains

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)."