The end of the year traditionally requires an accounting of said year – and a very good year it was! I added 41 notches to my life list, got out in the field with lots of old friends, and made some new ones along the way. Here are some highlight reels for your enjoyment.
In January I went to Georgia with some friends on behalf of the HerpMapper project. HerpMapper was establishing a relationship with Project Orianne, and one of the side benefits of the trip was spending a day looking for Eastern Indigo Snakes with the Orianne survey crew. Success? You bet! Over thirty feet of Indigo – six specimens, the largest at just under seven feet. Frogs were calling at night, so we had the opportunity to wade in the water and photograph Spring Peepers and Ornate Chorus Frogs.
In March we put on our rubber boots and waders and sloshed across flooded farm fields and visited vernal pools. It was Operation Snoring Thunder – the annual search for Crawfish Frogs and other amphibious critters.
In May I visited the Mohave Desert with a small group. Despite cooler-than-normal temperatures, we found a number of new species by road-cruising and hiking. We went to the desert, we went to the mountains, we even went far to the south (San Diego) to escape the weird cold front swooping down from the north.
On the way to Peru, I stopped off in Panama for a few days in June. It was my first visit, and I managed to find a few species of lizards and frogs:
From Panama it was a short flight to Iquitos, Peru. I have a sweet gig, playing rainforest tour guide for MT Amazon Expeditions, and I led a small group on a 10 day tour along the Amazon River:
In September I went back to Baja Sur, one of my favorite places to go in Mexico. While there we also returned to Isla Santa Catalina, and saw a number of Rattlesnakes Without Rattles:
Several trips were made to Snake Road in southern Illinois. After four decades, I still like going down there, and I like meeting up with field herpers from all over, some who are making their first visit to the place. And of course, the herps are all old friends that I never tire of seeing.
Thanks for looking! If 2016 is as good as 2015 was, I’ll be one happy camper.
Best wishes for ’16, Mike!! May you get at least another 41 this year!
Thanks Steve! All the best to you this coming year!
-Mike
Heckuva year, Mike! You inspire me.
thanks Mike! Much appreciated. Best wishes to you and your family this new year.