Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Went down to Aransas National Wildlife Refuge (near Corpus Christi, TX) to take some pics a few weeks ago. Got a lot of bird pics, but here are some of the herp pics I got as well....

Found this young Western Ribbonsnake crossing the road -

there were hundreds of these Bullfrogs poking through the duckweed along the Rail Trail -

The most conspicuous reptile on the refuge is the American Alligator -

and these little smiling beauties are pretty common as well -

Cottonmouths are so photogenic. What other herp actually smiles for the camera?

My best find of the day was the elusive Texas Scarletsnake (Cemophora coccinea lineri) -

The most photogenic non-herps were a couple of Northern Waterthrushes -

and this pair of Turkeys, who appeared to be interested in each other more than me -

Another cool thing was getting a photo of a pocket gopher (Geomys sp). These critters rarely come up above ground.

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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

Hi Chris

I second that. Here's some pics that I took when my girl and I went to go whale watching in Monterey, CA on an overcast day a couple of weeks ago. Sorry no herps right now but I hope you guys enjoy them.

Here's some feeding pics of Humpback Whales. They were feeding on anchovies along with some dolphins and seabrids. Have you ever smelled whale breath? hehe. Once you smell it you won't forget it. LOL.

Here's some Pacific White-sided Dolphins. We literally saw about 1000 of these guys all around our boat. The first time we saw these 2 years ago we only saw one along side our vessel.

Here's some shots of some shorebrids that we saw.

Hopefully I can share some cool herp pics soon. But I think I'll be after finals week. Hehe.
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Jonel @ Selective Propagations
www.spsnakes.com

Great shots Chris and Jonel. Here a few more to throw in the mix. All are of critters in the wild photographed as found.

Cheers,
WK

Rana heckscheri

Coluber constrictor

Coryphaeschna ingens

Phidippus clara

Ceratomia undulosus

Crotalus horridus

Eumeces laticeps male combat

Callosamia angulifera male

Callosamia angulifera female

Hogna carolinensis

Anolis carolinensis

All great shots, but that hecksheri with the sky/treeline reflection in the eye is great.
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Chris Harrison
San Antonio, Texas

Thanks Chris. I used a bean bag on the ground to support the camera and lens for the river frog shot so I was able to use a shutter speed of 1/20s and avoid using flash and obscuring the treeline reflected in the eye.

I've been enjoying your series of shots too. I don't think I've ever seen a better open-mouth mocassin shot. I especially like the one with the mouth filling the frame. I can see every striation in its oral musculature.

The turkey shot is also excellent. These are skittish birds so you couldn't have been too close unless you were sitting still and had them walk up on you. What lens did you use?