The Big A-Z

Greater earless lizard

Well, after 13 days of traveling around Arizona, I'm back and exhausted. I think I'm still in shock from the trip for a couple of reasons. For starters, being in and out of campsites and hotel rooms and living out of a suitcase would make anyone feel like a transient. Its nice to be back and not have to hurry to be anywhere at sunrise or dusk, prime basking and moving times. I think I'm also shocked because in that almost-2-week time period, I managed to see 45 species of herps, 34 of which were "lifers" (species I had never seen before). I had never been to Arizona or to California, which we also squeezed in, so almost everything I saw was new to me. It didn't hurt that we were very lucky in finding a few not-so-common species. Also, it was just me and my advisor for most of the trip, so for 2 people finding 45 species in that time period is pretty decent, I'd say.

Our trip started in the southeastern tip of Arizona in the Chiracahua ("cheer-rah-cow-wah") Mountains in Coronado National Forest. After a long day of driving, we were finally on the road to our campsite just as it was getting dark and a steady rain was coming down. I was tired from traveling all day and I was thinking about how much fun it was going to be to set my tent up in the rain, not really concerning myself with herping yet, when we spot a snake in our headlights. My advisor jumps out first and yells back to the truck, "Get the tongs! Its a lepidus!" That term probably means nothing to you, but any grogginess from the drive immediately wore off when I heard it because I knew we had just found one of the species I really wanted to see on the trip: A rock rattlesnake. You can see in the pictures just how cryptic one of these snakes would be against its native rock. I think they're one of the most beautiful rattlesnakes, and yes, I do think snakes can have beauty. We weren't even to our campsite yet, and we had already found a species on my wish list of things to see. I didn't mind putting my tent up in the rain too much after that.

Chiracahua Mountains

(Banded) Rock Rattlesnake

The next morning, we didn't have to go far to our next herping site. My advisor knew where to find a certain species of rattlesnake because he had seen one there last year, but was unable to catch it. Our campsite was at the base of a peak with slopes made of various sizes of loose rock. These rock slides are called tallus slopes and they're a great place to find twin-spotted rattlesnakes, another montane rattlesnake species. Walking (and I use that term loosely) up the tallus slopes is quite a work-out. For every step of progress you make on all fours, you slide back a bit. Keep in mind, too, that all the while that you're stubbling and gasping in the thin air (we were at over 8,000 feet above sea level), you're also looking for a venomous animal. We split up and I followed one slope all the way the top where there was a nice waterfall and an endangered snail species, the tallus snail, but no snakes. I did, however, manage to catch a few Yarrow spiny lizards.

Tallus slope

Yarrow spiny lizard

I made my way down to the bottom and watched as my advisor was doing the same, when he yells again. "Bingo!" declared that he had found what we had been exerting ourselves for: A twin-spotted rattlesnake. You usually employ a pair of tongs to handle a venomous snake, but with a small snake in a very complex habitat in which it could disappear into an unfathomable number of cracks between the rocks, you'll miss with tongs. With insight from missing a twin-spot with tongs at the same location last year , my advisor knew to bring welder's gloves. With the gloves, you can grab a tiny snake before it vanishes down a crack, and you have a pretty good chance of staying venom-free. Now, I should add that such a technique is only useful on a placid, small venomous snake such as the twin-spotted rattlesnake. A larger snake's fangs would probably not even be slowed down by welder's gloves. We also used the gloves to maneuver the baby snake around for picture-taking.

Twin-spotted rattlesnake

We camped at another, lower elevation campsite in the foothills of the Chiracahua Mountains the second night. Instead of pine/fir forest like the top of the mountains, the foothills are more deciduous forests. After a busy morning, my advisor took a nap as I hiked around the campground. Not far from the tents, I spotted a banded tail slipping under some rocks. I ran over to see what it was, lifted the top rock, and out shot an alligator lizard. I completely missed it as it darted under a boulder larger than my apartment. I wanted to see an alligator lizard (and I mean a real good look) so badly that I sat by that boulder, hoping it would come out again, for almost an hour. After giving up, I ventured further down a trail, still not far from the campsite, and I saw another one. I missed again. Now I was really upset. We had picked this campground based largely on our belief that alligator lizards might be there, a species neither one of us had ever seen. I now had seen them, and missed them. I walked back to the campsite, dejected, and put my lizard noose back in truck. My advisor wasn't up yet, so I decided to hit the trail again. I'm glad I did. Not 20 feet from my tent, I saw yet another alligator lizard and pounced on it, literally. I had my elusive Madrean alligator lizard.

Madrean alligator lizard

With my find in hand, I ran to wake up my advisor (who had already roused) and show him my find. Having made the catch just a few minutes prior, we decided that we might still be able to find more out-and-about at that time of day, so we started hiking. I showed my advisor the spot where I had found the lizard, and something rattled at us. I sprint back to the truck to grab tongs because I knew it was a rattlesnake. My advisor had the sound pinpointed and with the tongs we was able to poke at, but not grab, another rock rattlesnake at the base of another humongous boulder. I noticed the snake moving to the right, but my advsior was looking to the left. Thinking that the sound was reverberating against the stone causing him to lose the snake's position, I mentioned that the snake had moved to the right. He said, "I know, but there's another rattle coming from right over there." He was right. There was not one, but two rock rattlesnakes not 20 feet from our camp.

(Banded) Rock rattlesnake

From the Chiracahua Mountains, we headed west to the Tucson area to check out a few spots. We first visited Catalina State Park where we hiked a trail loop a couple of times before noticing a small desert tortoise, chewing on some plant in the shade of a large rock. That was my first desert tortoise, but I was assured that I would find more at a place that was teaming with them. At the state park, we also found a gopher snake and some cool lizards.

(Desert tortoise picture coming soon)

We next visited the Sonoran Desert Museum, a must-see if you ever find yourself in Arizona. The museum is more accurately a zoo with many species that occur in the Sonoran Desert or that did historically. You can stroll around and enjoy the exhibits, but any herper with an acquaintance with the state knows that because the property is landscaped with native vegetation, a lot of desert reptiles and amphibians like to hang out there. Like the state parks, you can't herp there because it is a sanctuary of sorts, but the animals (even the free-ranging ones) are habituated to human activity so you can get pretty close with a camera. There is a free-ranging population of Sonoran spiny-tailed iguanas, a native of Mexico, that has been established here. I also spotted another species on my wish list while walking around: The regal horned lizard. I couldn't grab him or position him for any pictures as I stated earlier, but it was really great to add another species of horned lizard to my list. It turns out that I would have another chance at actually catching a regal horned lizard later in the trip, but for now, I was very content.

Sonoran spiny-tailed iguana

That afternoon we drove south to a road famous to many herpers everywhere. Ruby Road is a winding, mountain road, unpaved for its majority, that skirts the south edge of Arizona, only a few miles away from the Mexico border. Because of its proximity to the border, there are some predominantly Mexican species, that can be found there, whose ranges barely come into the states. Vine snakes, hook-nosed snakes, and green ratsnakes (rare, prize finds for herpers) have all been found there. We weren't lucky enough to see any of those species, but we did find 3 black-tailed rattlesnakes, a Mexican spadefoot, and a canyon treefrog, all firsts for me.

The view from Ruby Road

Black-tailed rattlesnake

Mexican spadefoot

Canyon treefrog

Towards the bottom of Ruby Road, there is a hiking trail called Sycamore Canyon that we decided to check out. Jaguars have actually been spotted by motion-activated cameras in Sycamore Canyon recently. We didn't see any big cats, but we did find Clark's spiny lizard. Even though the stop only yielded one new species, the scenery was incredible.

Sycamore Canyon

Clark's spiny lizard

The next day, my advisor was to drop me off with a friend, who was interning for the summer with Arizona's wildlife management organization, and his family in Phoenix. My advisor had a ecological assessment job that would keep him busy for a few days. Aside from the city, Phoenix was beautiful. The area is Sonoran Desert, dotted in many places by a desert icon, the saguaro cactus. These long-lived giants don't even start to branch until they are around 70 years-old. The first night I was in Phoenix, my friend and I went road-cruising where he was working for the summer. He had seen several regal horned lizards there, so I was excited about the chance of catching one and not being constrained in my efforts. We didn't see any horned lizards, but we did catch a Sonoran desert toad, the largest native species of toad in the United States, and a long-nosed snake. I had seen the snake before, but not the toad, and vice versa for my friend, so we each got a lifer that night.

Sonoran Desert with saguaro cacti

Sonoran Desert toad

In the morning, my friend and I set out at the crack of dawn to go hike a really neat area called Sugarloaf, the spot where I was pretty much guaranteed to find more desert tortoises, and a known locale for tiger rattlesnakes and the infamous Gila monster. Completely giving up hope for seeing any somewhat-rare species, I was focused on scanning boulder crevices for tortoises. The terrain at Sugarloaf wasn't any easier than the mountains. The place is scattered with piles of huge boulders that you have to literally climb on top of and over in some places. We had gone over one side of a slope and were coming down the other when I jumped down from a large boulder and scanned the underside. There, sitting calmly and staring back at me, was a large, orange and black lizard. I yelled to my friend, who had the tongs, "Gila! Gila!" as I just found the icon of herping in Arizona in my opinion, the Gila monster. The Gila monster is the largest native lizard in the United States and is venomous, hence my yelling for the tongs. Needless to say for 2 Texans herping in Arizona and finding what we believed to be the pinnacle, we were a bit happy. We took gobs of pictures and sat in awe for awhile before letting the Gila return to his burrow under the boulder. The trip could have ended at that point as far as I was concerned, but we continued our hike. We found some of the common lizard species for that area and a family of spotted skunks, but nothing extremely noteworthy. Go figure: We go to a spot that is suppose to guarantee us seeing desert tortoises, and we don't see a one. Instead, we find a Gila monster! I'm glad I had seen that little tortoise earlier.

Sugarloaf

Gila monster

The night of that afternoon's Gila find, my friend and I went road cruising and found a few more things. We caught several Couch's spadefoots calling in the rain, and we found a couple of Arizona green toads, another first for me.

The next day, my friends were moving out of their apartment and heading back to Texas and my advisor was done with his job, so he picked me up and we headed west to Yuma, Arizona. We set up our base of operations in a hotel in Yuma and went to a place referred to as the Vekol Valley. This Bureau of Land Management property has suprising diversity for being hot, flat desert. We found another Sonoran desert toad, a great plains narrowmouth, zebra-tailed lizards, desert iguanas, a sidewinder (a rattlesnake), and a Mohave rattlesnake, to name a few. I was also able to actually catch and get decent pictures of another regal horned lizard at this site. On the drive out, we stopped beside a tree to check out a map. As my advisor was finding directions, I spotted a lizard in the nearby tree. I knew it was a lizard in the genus Urosaurus, which would typically mean that it was a species called tree lizard, a lizard fairly common all over Arizona. However, we were in an area where another species in this genus is possible. Knowing that, I grabbed a noose and slowly started working the loop towards the lizard, resting on a branch. I missed my first attempt, but on the second try I slipped the noose over the lizard and he was caught. Upon examination, it was, indeed, the less common species in this genus. It was a long-tailed brush lizard.

Desert iguana

Mohave rattlesnake

Regal horned lizard

Long-tailed brush lizard

After the Vekol we decided to head even further west into California. Just over the southwestern border of Arizona are the Imperial Sand Dunes in California. We wanted to go to the sand dunes with a couple of hopes in mind. Flat-tailed horned lizards reside there, as well as a very cool species of lizard that belongs to a group (genus) referred to as the fringe-toed lizards. The fringe-toed lizards have evolved to a life in the sand and have several amazing adaptations that aide them in such a harsh environment. The fringe-toed lizards are so named because they have enlarged scales between their toes that allow them to stay atop the sand as they run. They also have little extensions around their ears that help keep the sand out. Velvety skin and movable nose plugs let the lizards dive into the sand to avoid predators (or herpers). We saw tracks of animals all over the dunes, but not many actual animals. We didn't find any flat-tailed horned lizards like we might have hoped, but we did manage to see a couple of Colorado desert fringe-toed lizards. However, these guys are extremely fast, so we didn't get any pictures.

Imperial Sand Dunes in California

Now that I had seen my second new state of the trip, we headed back east to the Phoenix area. There is a city park that has a healthy population of a really cool rock-dwelling lizard called common chuckwalla. Chuckwallas are a large, stocky lizard that wile away their days perched on rock and boulder piles. At even a hint of danger, the "chucks" zip to a rock crevice to hide. Even if a predator was observant of their hiding place, the chuckwallas have another defense. These lizards inflate their bodies and wedge themselves in even tighter. Because they are so flighty, I could never get a great picture of them, unfortunately.

A very bad picture of a very nervous common chuckwalla

This city park (South Mountain) is also known for speckled rattlesnakes. My advisor saw one there last year, so a return trip was a given. We got to the park fairly early in the morning and started walking a trail. This park is very protective (and rightfully so) of their reptile residents, so herping is restricted to binoculars and cameras (no catching). We walked up the trail for awhile and started heading back down when we saw, just beside the trail, a speckled rattlesnake, and a good-sized one at that. I dropped my pack and started getting my camera out when the snake bolted and disappeared under a rock. We got a nice look at the snake, but again, no pictures.

Leaving Phoenix for the second time, we were bound for our last herping spot. Just northeast of the Phoenix area is a huge escarpment called the Mogollon ("mowgie-own") Rim. We were directed to this spot by a friend because he saw many individuals of a really cool lizard running all over the forest roads there not too long ago. We drove around for awhile, looking for a place to camp when we stopped for a bathroom break at a campsite with facilities. My advisor stepped out of the truck and looked down to see something running. With that catch, I got to see my second new horned lizard species on the trip. He had found a baby greater short-horned lizard, the lizard our friend had described as being prevalent in the area.

Greater short-horned lizard

At the same stop, we also found plateau lizards, a new species of Sceloporus for me.

Plateau lizard

After finding a campsite we liked, we set up camp and as we were unrolling our tents, I heard a frog calling from behind us, not far away at all. I thought it was a chorus frog at first, but my advisor thought it was more like a treefrog sound. Either way, we were excited, and started walking that way with our headlamps as soon as the tents were up. We positioned ourselves on either side of a small, flooded area where we heard the closest call. My advisor has recording equipment for frog and bird calls that we encounter on our trips, and he can instantly play the recordings back. Whatever was calling near us had stopped as we approached, even after we turned our lights off and stood in silence, but luckily was enticed into calling again by hearing the recording of itself. I grabbed in out of the water and it was a beautiful Arizona treefrog, that state's official amphibian.

Arizona treefrog

That night, as I was getting ready to go to bed, I saw something moving at my feet as I was brushing my teeth. I grabbed it and it was another new species for me and for our trip list, an Arizona toad.

Arizona toad

Having found virtually everything we had hoped for and more, we started the drive back to the Texas panhandle the next afternoon after an exhausting, but very productive, herping trip in "the Grand Canyon State." Knowing where to look and having a bit of luck really payed off. I didn't post some of the more common species, but I hope you've enjoyed all the pictures here.

Note: My advisor had a permit (on which I was an authorized collecting agent) that allowed us to capture, photograph, and release reptiles and amphibians (including protected species) in every county in Arizona.