Week 5 - Notes from the Field

After an unseasonably-late snowfall the previous week, we were able to survey sites in Fremont County, Colorado. While Danny spent part of the week serving as a volunteer Instructor for Southwest PARC's Flat-tailed Horned Lizard Biomonitor Training, Beth & Celina met up with a Colorado Parks & Wildlife Biologist to survey sites on BLM land in Fremont County. These sites are on the northwestern edge of the geographic distribution for the Colorado Checkered Whiptail, a parthenogenetic lizard species endemic to Colorado.

Notes from the crew:

Beth - "We have yet to find any Whiptails in southeastern Colorado, and again had no luck around Cañon City. We scrambled up some steep terrain in the aptly named area and saw very few reptiles over three days. In fact, this week almost left us with no new species spotted until the last day, driving out of town, when we pulled over for a distinctly pink, 4-foot long Coachwhip."

Celina - "This week, we got to see a different part of Colorado – in the foothills of the mountains.  I finally got to see a red color-phase Coachwhip, it’s such a beautiful and unexpected coloration in this active forager.  Sadly, this individual was found dead on the road, which is not an uncommon cause of death for many species of snakes."

A Colorado Checkered Whiptail found during 2013 surveys.

A red color-phase Coachwhip from southern Texas.