I arrived a day later than the rest of the 2013 expedition to Baja Sur, in order to save myself $250 on the plane ticket. Consequently, I missed out on the first day’s catch, including a large calling congress of Spotted Toads (Bufo punctatus), and several Cape Aquatic Garter Snakes (Thamnophis valida celaeno), found along a rocky mountain stream that first day. I deeply regret the toads. Is a lifer garter snake worth $250? Probably, but that’s another blog post. Fortunately, mis amigos held back the snakes for a day and I was able to examine and photograph an adult and a juvenile. A nice consolation prize, but of course, I wanted to see one for myself. Who wouldn’t? Flash…
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I started field herping in the early 1970s. I’ve been blogging about herps since 1996. Of course, blogging hadn’t been invented yet, but nobody told us, the handful of proto-bloggers who felt the compulsion to write about our adventures with amphibians and reptiles. I used to write lengthy missives about some of the trips I made, but it was very time consuming, and these days I don’t have the time for that. It also led to a lot of sloppy writing without much thought behind it. Very embarrassing. My goal with this blog is keep the focus on a single theme – a specific herp, a singular moment, a topic I want to explore. Everything bouncing around in my brain…