Author Archive: Mike Pingleton
Notes From The Field > Articles by: Mike Pingleton
Mike Pingleton
November 8, 2017
Field Herping, General
appalachia, fieldherping, salamanders
When October wanes and November approaches, I start to wonder about when my herping season will end. What will be the last herp of the year? Can I see one more new thing, or have I already added the last new species? And most importantly, how can I prolong my…
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Mike Pingleton
April 6, 2017
Creature Featurettes, Life Listicles
Chichen Itza, Crotalus tzabcan, field herping, Neotropical rattlesnake, Rattlesnakes
The neonate tzabcan had crawled out of a cornfield, and was making its way to dense forest on the other side of the road when it was smashed flat against the pavement by a passing vehicle. We stopped to take a look at the unfortunate little rattlesnake; I took a…
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Mike Pingleton
January 29, 2017
Field Herping, General
Amazon, Anilius, Hypsiboas, MT Amazon Expeditions, Pseudoboa, Road-Cruising
One of the hallmark activities of field herping, driving on (preferably) lonely roads at night can be incredibly productive at times. In the United States there are some famous and infamous roads for road cruising; Mexico is chock full of them, and other countries have their share. I’m here to…
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Mike Pingleton
December 15, 2016
Field Herping, General
Copperheads, Rattlesnakes, Snake Dens
The hard drive on my laptop bricked recently, and while going through the laborious process of restoring files from backup, I came across a folder labeled ‘10292006’ in my image archive. Opening the folder and looking at the images within, I remembered that October 29th, 2006 had been a good…
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Mike Pingleton
September 30, 2016
Field Herping, General
Everglades, frogs, herping, snakes
There’s not much trouble with this herping life, except for the Too-Many-Too-Much problem: too many places to visit, too much to see, and too much to cram into a relatively short lifespan. It always boils down to money and time; choices have to be made, and there are too many…
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Mike Pingleton
August 6, 2016
Field Herping, Life Listicles
Amazon, Caiman, field herping, herp, Melanosuchus
The Madre Selva field station is on the banks of the Rio Orosa, and if you go out on that river at night, you can find Spectacled Caiman (Caiman crocodilus) in the quieter backwaters, their eyes glowing red when hit with a flashlight. Go up the shallow side creeks and…
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Mike Pingleton
June 23, 2016
Creature Featurettes, Field Herping, Life Listicles
Cobras, Naja kaouthia, TonTan Travel
‘I am Nag,’ said the cobra; ‘look, and be afraid!’….But at the bottom of his cold heart, he was afraid. -Kipling It was our last full herping day in Thailand, and so far all of our venomous snakes had been pit vipers (Trimeresurus vogeli), at rest on tree branches over…
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Mike Pingleton
June 5, 2016
Field Herping
Badlands, Bison, Bullsnakes, Olympia Marble
“There ain’t much between the Pole and South Dakota, and barb wire won’t stop the wind…” So goes a pretty good song by James McMurtry, but I beg to differ with him – there’s a whole bunch of North Dakota in the way, to say nothing of Manitoba. I was…
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Mike Pingleton
April 3, 2016
Field Herping
Illinois Chorus Frog, Pseudacris, Spring Peeper
The new herping season unfolds and whatever may happen, I know that at some point I will be standing in chilly water, listening to the peeps, whistles, trills, clicks, clacks, bleats and moans of calling frogs and toads. Few things give me greater pleasure and I would not miss this…
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Mike Pingleton
March 9, 2016
Creature Featurettes, Field Herping, Life Listicles
Bangkok, Lumphini Park, Thailand, Varanus salvator
“When you go, check out the city parks – those are the best places to see water monitors.” I’ve heard this advice from several sources, and since we had a number of days scheduled in Bangkok, it seemed like a no-brainer. One of the reasons I picked a hotel out…
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