Headed east over the mountains last weekend for a wedding reception in the Tri-Cities area and managed to fit in a few hours of herping. Conditions were partly cloudy, mid-60’s and windy, but the critters were active.
Didn’t have any luck at the first spot I tried.
This second spot was much more productive.
Northern Scorpion
The first herps of the day were a Northern Pacific rattler and a young gopher snake under the same tire. As you can see, the gopher was underneath the Norpac, and unfortunately the gopher shot out into the thigh deep brush before I could grab him.
Bad picture of a good looking widow
The second gopher of the day. Another young one.
Found the third gopher partially eaten underneath a red-tailed hawk. Like the first two, he was also a sub-3ft. juvenile. I was hoping to find some larger adult snakes, but maybe I wasn’t far enough out from civilization. Damn you Dan Eby! Ha
The country is a dangerous place to be a road sign…
