Occasionally I’m asked questions like “what is your favorite herp / herping place / herp adventure?”. Answers for the first two change constantly, but to date I have a pretty steady answer for the third one. I’m a card-carrying thamnophile. My love affair with the genus Thamnophis carries across four decades now, and shows no sign of stopping. After a trip to Oregon in 2007, where I had a great day in the field with handfuls of Oregon Red-spotted Garter Snakes, I wanted to return to the west coast and see every species of Thamnophis out that way. I expressed my desire to anyone who would listen – “hey, we could start south, maybe San Diego, and work our way…
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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…
