This post is long, and the 50+ pics, while only 800x600, are an average 200kb apiece; so grab a Mason jar of sweet tea and settle in for a spell.
June 3rd-11th I took a road trip to the Trans-Pecos to try my luck. Of course, just a couple of years ago I lived merely a few hours from the region; now that I’ve moved out of state such an adventure requires slightly more planning and coordination. The trip was a month in the making, as far as developing a travel itinerary, contacting old friends to see who’d be around, etc. Although I still haven’t found an alterna, and missed out on some other target species, the trip was still a lot of fun and some much-needed solitude and time away from work.
After work on Thursday, June 3rd I left my Sovereign Texas Enclave near Kansas City and drove to my folks’ house outside Oklahoma City. I’ve gotten to where I log all the DORs (and live herps) I see between my Enclave and Oklahoma City, and in the right climatic conditions it can be downright depressing. June 3rd was not such an ideal day weather-wise (had been hot and dry for several days) but I still saw 7 DOR ornate box turtles and some other herps (also mostly DOR). That’s still better than the roughly 50 DOR ornates I saw on the same stretch of road on a previous trip.
It was dark by the time I arrived, and as expected the Woodhouse’s Toads were out in full force—there were probably a dozen on the premises.
If you manage to avoid stepping on the toads themselves, you might step on their large and numerous droppings which they leave capriciously strewn all over the driveway and sidewalk. Sometimes you gotta envy that kind of freedom. 
The next morning I left my folks’ house around 7:30 a.m. in order to make my scheduled appointments in Parts South. I didn’t even get out of the neighborhood before encountering the first herp of the day, an adorable young 3-toed box turtle in the road:
Next to my mighty 4Runner for comparison:
I thought to myself, “This day’s already off to a great start.” Too bad that would be the high point of the day, herp-wise. Also, my trip planning software seems to think people can drive 80+ MPH for great lengths of time to meet its calculated arrival times.
My first scheduled stop was Granbury, TX to meet ratsnake for lunch. We had a great discussion of numerous herp-related topics over Mexican food (in Texas? No way!) at the local restaurant. It was over too soon, as my next scheduled stop was in Austin to meet Gluesenkamp, the new Texas State Herpetologist. Unfortunately, I hit Austin at the absolute worst time—rush hour. After several calls to Gluesenkamp explaining my situation, I finally accomplished the rendezvous at a barbecue joint (in Texas? No way!), but only after Gluesenkamp had already partaken of the cuisine. Nevertheless, between the phone calls and the (brief) in-person discussion, it was very enlightening and without divulging too much information, I’m hopeful for the future of herping in Texas. Great meeting both of y’all in person.
I had one more scheduled stop to see some close friends from my old church, then finally arrived at my hotel in northeast San Antonio late Friday evening.
The next day I attended the Texas Reptile Expo as a volunteer at the USARK booth with Andrew Wyatt and Tracy Barker. I was able to talk turkey on some of the outlandish legislative proposals and thereby get some folks to sign up for memberships. Here’s a pic of the booth, with Tracy Barker listening to brhaco (who stole my seat while I was walking around taking pics!):
After the expo closed on Saturday night USARK hosted a benefit auction, with the esteemed Dave Barker serving as auctioneer. He gave an outstanding brief history of modern herpetoculture, starting in the 1970s and taking it through present day. Here’s a pic of Dave auctioning off an alterna (I think it went for something like $25—so much for the claims of being worth thousands on the black market). Not pictured: Dave’s trademark ponytail.
I don’t want to disappoint, so here’s a ponytail shot:
On the left you can see Dr. Ed Wozniak, DVM, bringing me a Shiner Bock.
The Expo and auction were good times—I got to see a lot of old friends at each and hopefully raise some money for a good cause. I also found out a San Diego Gopher Snake I had given to one said friend about 6 years ago has now allegedly made its way to the Bronx Zoo as part of a breeding project. Huzzah!
The next day (Sunday the 6th) I departed San Antonio and headed west. I met up with infidel and we took his truck south into the Tamaulipan scrub, on a quest for such inhabitants as Texas tortoises, indigo snakes, and reticulated collared lizards. The weather was not too promising—overcast all morning, and by the time the sun came out it was HOT; not the best for the first two species.
The first interesting animal was this feathered herp: a Swainson’s hawk:
Continuing down the dirt road we saw this cute hawk food:
While I used to see numerous scissor-tailed flycatchers at my last home, I was never able to get a good shot of one. As you can see from the following two pics, I am still not able to do so!
First pic—female on nest:
She decided we were too close for comfort so she flew a little ways away and I got one more shot:
We saw a couple of these Texas spiny lizards (in Texas? No way!) basking on the road.
Here’s another feathered herp of which I historically haven’t gotten decent photographs—the correcamino, the paisano, the roadrunner. This one dutifully paused with its catch—a large katydid:
The longer we drove, the hotter and sunnier it got, which pretty much guaranteed we wouldn’t see either the indigo or the tortoise. On the other hand, the sun-loving reticulated collared lizards were out in force (“in force” being a relative term—while probably common in the right habitat, these lizards are very difficult to spot unless they’re basking on the road, and once you do, they are usually off in a flash). We saw three within about 20 minutes on one short stretch of the road we were driving. However, this is the only one that sat still long enough for photos—a young male:
Here’s a lousy habitat pic shot through the bug-covered windshield. You can see an 18-wheeler headed the opposite direction. Even in the “middle of nowhere” the herps must contend with these behemoths.
After returning to infidel’s house, I continued westward until I arrived at the Gries Ranch. This is 17,000 acres of Val Verde County terrain, with rocky hillsides, canyons, and generally very herp-friendly qualities. Obviously George Gries makes most of his money off deer hunting leases in the fall, but he also welcomes birders, herpers, and other wildlife observers. We had the 2008 Herp Conservation Unlimited meeting there since the Texas Legislature banned road hunting. It’s almost worth staying there just to chat with George—he’s an entertaining host; just be sure to bring malted liquid refreshment.
Picture of the front gate:
Home sweet home for two fun-filled days/nights. This is a metal building (with air conditioning, thankfully) geared toward the deer-hunting regulars—one of several such buildings on the ranch—but it also does just fine as a herping base of operations:
After unloading some of my gear, I started poking around the building perimeter. I flipped some “inadvertent” artificial cover in the form of boards and other debris (not set out specifically for herps) in the clearing surrounding the cabin, but it was just too darn hot for herps to be using it. Then I noticed a board in a shaded area:
Flipping the board revealed three Great Plains narrowmouth toads. The board held moisture underneath it, but more importantly, a termite colony which sustained the toads. Here’s a lousy pic of one of the toads as it snapped up the termites.
George wasn’t too happy to hear about termites near his cabin! (But hey, the cabin’s metal…) I don’t know if he’d be more disturbed to see this unidentified arthropod, though I’m fairly certain it’s benign:
Any assistance on ID is appreciated.
The cabin is nicely appointed on the inside, with refrigerator, microwave, stove, sink, toilet, and a TV (no reception, but had a built-in VCR with some left-behind movies from the deer hunting crowd). One of the featured amenities—at no extra charge!—was this scorpion above the fridge:
The first night I was there I decided to head off the ranch back onto the paved county roads and see what was moving. Sadly, the only herp I saw all night was this DOR blacktail rattlesnake—would’ve been a lifer, had it been…alive:
On a positive(?) note, I hadn’t been stopped 10 seconds when I got greeted by flashing lights behind me. The Border Patrol had been hiding in the distance and when I stopped they quickly rushed to the scene of what they probably thought was a drug pickup (that happens a lot in that particular area—they caught some illegals on the Ranch the week before I arrived. That makes me slightly uncomfortable hiking around in the middle of nowhere, at night, alone—not that there are other human beings out there, but that said human beings are carrying large quantities of controlled substances, of which they’re highly protective). Anyway, the Border Patrol kids (sad to say that I’m now older than most of them I encounter) were relieved (or maybe disappointed), and I let them know I’d be driving around the roads for the next few hours.
The next day (Monday) I patrolled the ranch, scouting out possible areas to herp come nightfall. I really hoped to find a female Texas banded gecko to pair up with the male tdimler found for me on the ranch at the HCU meeting in 2008 (I didn’t find one despite an extensive search). While checking out one bluff, I spotted this tree lizard at the bottom:
It was HOT during the day, and making it seem even hotter was the sharp, piercing rasp of the local cicada species. I’ve made a few feeble attempts to identify the particular species, but there is a surprising diversity of cicadas in Texas, and after a short inquisition I gave up. If someone is really into insects, maybe they can identify this guy:
I can provide a sound file of the call if you’re really interested.
The highlight of Monday was an encounter I had at an almost-dried mud puddle. I had previously driven over it and didn’t notice anything. On a subsequent pass, I noticed something very small moving around near it. Exiting my vehicle to investigate, I discovered a multitude of recently-metamorphosed red-spotted toads. Similar to some other posts here of small animals, they seemed to be partial to US currency:
You can see a second toadlet in the shot peering out of one of the cracks in the dried mud. As I stood there taking photos and video, more and more toadlets emerged from these cracks. Keep in mind this is in the middle of the afternoon (2 p.m.), with an air temperature of 98 degrees and a surface temperature of 114 degrees! Not that I am an amphibian devotee, but this seemed to be an interesting observation.
Whiptails (don’t know which species) and Texas earless lizards (in Texas? No way!) were out in abundance. I like the earless lizards but they’re sure difficult to photograph in the heat of the day. Some of y’all may recall my idea of a portable “lizard blind” made of those collapsible car windshield shades. Well, I made one and tried it out—and discovered a problem: when the wind blows, the whole contraption flaps in the breeze and probably frightens the lizards more than simply seeing a human. Back to the drawing board, I suppose.
Here’s one of the male TX earless lizards. I have other pictures of them, but this one has “character,” what with the jaunty leg pose and all:
Here’s a shot of an intermittent stream on the ranch.
George says it’s the hangout for a male collared lizard which he sees regularly. He said his only request was that I don’t collect him. Collect him? Not that I would, but I never even saw that wily lizard. However, in the water were several tadpoles. Here’s one of them—about 3/4 of an inch long. Identification suggestions?
Here's an “identify the snake track” shot for you:
After a short nap until the sun began its descent, I headed out for an evening of herping on the ranch. The first find was very unexpected—this ground skink crossing the dirt road:
I thought maybe this was a county record for Val Verde; after all, I’m not used to seeing Scincella in such xeric conditions. Alas, it was NOT a county record. Still a neat find, though.
Another interesting observation was the high number of robber flies (Asilidae) in the area. I had hoped to cruise the ranch with my windows down rather than use air conditioning, but the robber flies were everywhere and invaded the car whenever I attempted to roll down the windows.
The next find was this roundtail horned lizard—a lifer for me:
I’d found them DOR before, and been in the field when others found them, but this was a personal “victory.” I thought, “Well, this might be a good night of herping.” Again, not so much—the roundtail was the last herp seen. Part of the reason was that as I mentioned before, I’m a little uncomfortable hiking around in lechuguilla/cactus/rattlesnake/mountain lion/drug runner country alone at night—as I get older, my risk/benefit analysis of such scenarios skews towards caution, to the appreciation of my family and employer. This is one of the reasons herping is different from “traditional” hunting and why the TX road ban needs to be lifted…but I digress.
Tuesday morning I bid farewell to the Gries Ranch and made my way back towards Del Rio, on a tip from infidel that the river running through town was home to introduced fish species, and I hoped to snorkel and take some photographs.
Along the way I stopped to photograph one of my favorite invertebrates of the region:
In the right conditions, these millipedes are downright abundant. A few years ago I kept one for my daughter. When threatened, besides coiling, they exude a yellow liquid. I told my daughter it was “sweat,” so whenever she would handle the millipede she would say, “Molly’s sweating on me.”
Also seen on the road was this large female Texas horned lizard (in Texas? No way!):
I took several pictures, and could’ve taken some better ones, but “no touchee” on the roadway. 
Arriving in Del Rio, I surveyed the river before getting wet. The current was fairly swift in some spots, and the slower spots harbored a disgusting amount of trash.
But I was lured by the opportunity to see some interesting fish. The only fish I saw were interesting (to me)—these Plecostomus:
I did take some underwater shots of them with a disposable camera, but the picture above is from overhead.
Now, for the past two days I had been surviving on decade-old military Meals, Ready to Eat (MREs) so I figured it was time to get back to civilization, gastronomically speaking. This Texas favorite filled the bill:
I downed one of their larger “gut bombs” and proceeded west to Sanderson and the famous Outback Oasis Motel:
Again, this location was like a herper’s reunion. You know, you depart Kansas to get away from all the durn Kansans, and who do you run into in Sanderson but chad ks. Just kidding, it was good to be back around other herpers. Chadster let me ride with him that night (Tuesday) in his rented hooptie for a little road cruising (photography only!). As my eyesight deteriorates ever so slowly, I appreciate having a younger accomplice who can spot a 6-inch snake on a road while driving 70 MPH!
As the sun set, we came across another roundtail horned lizard:
We found this “recently AOR” plains blackhead snake—another “would’ve-been-a-lifer:”
The highlight of the night for me was this western hooknose snake, one of two seen that night—lifer for me:
The more night cruising shots I take, the more I realize I need a flash diffuser.
We also saw two night snakes—here’s one:
The only venomous snake seen that night was an AOR diamondback. Here’s a photo of the magnificent beast, taking a picture of the atrox:
I’m just lucky I didn’t have to Photoshop out any “jumblies” in that pic! That was a close one!
Oh, I guess you might want to see the atrox a little closer:
The night wrapped up fairly early by West Texas standards, but it just wasn’t an “on” night—no appreciable rain in the nights prior didn’t help. I saw some Mediterranean geckos on the wall of the Oasis upon returning to my room—I guess they’re everywhere now.
The next day (Wednesday) I woke up relatively early in order to make a side trip to Balmorhea State Park (it’s pronounced BAL-muh-ray, not like the horrible intestinal condition). Balmorhea is home to a large spring-fed pool, as well as a cienega with Mexican tetras, Rio Grande catfish, and threatened pupfish. It’s a great spot to snorkel. Before leaving the Oasis, I took some pictures of their resident Rio Grande leopard frogs which inhabit their swimming-pool-turned-lily-pond:
On the way, I stopped to photograph some familiar West Texas sights—a tarantula:
And this beautiful buzzard:
After my refreshing swim at Balmorhea, I noticed storm clouds building. Passing through Fort Stockton on the way back to Sanderson, it was apparent Paisano Pete was oblivious:
Upon returning to the Oasis, I asked Chadwick what his plans were for the evening. He said he’d probably just hang around the Sanderson area. I chose to travel down to Black Gap, on the outside chance I’d happen across a reticulated gecko. While waiting for the sun to set, I tried my hand at some HDR photography—West Texas scenery off Highway 385:
As the sun continued its descent with storms peppering the landscape, I headed south towards the Big Bend. I saw this Texas toad (in Texas? No way!), the first of too-many-to-count amphibians the evening produced (thanks to the rain):
In hindsight, I wish I would’ve stopped for more of the toads—I missed an opportunity to photograph some spadefoots; probably my favorite amphibian. I’m sure the toads were a mix of red-spotted, Texas, and spadefoots; at times I counted densities of 16 or more per mile (with aggregations near standing water producing even higher densities).
The abundance of toads meant an inverse proportion of reptiles, to my disappointment. The only reptile I saw all night was a whiptail at the end of Black Gap Road, which I may have inadvertently clipped. It sauntered off a road cut and into my path. At first I thought it was a reticulated gecko, and felt even worse about possibly hitting it. Returning to the spot, I saw the lizard on its back:
However, after a few photographs the lizard righted itself and scurried off shortly thereafter:
I’m not a whiptail aficionado, so clues as to the identification are appreciated.
Upon return to the Oasis, I learned from Chadley that I’d have been better off hanging near Sanderson (as evidenced by the pics he’s posted here a couple of weeks back). Would’ve gotten a couple of lifers.
Thursday morning saw me leaving early (about 6:30 a.m.) to make the longest of my planned drives—Sanderson back to Oklahoma City, with several stops along the way. The first stop was the San Angelo Nature Center, to visit with Jedi1971 and buy his lepidus book.
Too bad I didn’t take any pics on my tour of the facility—they’ve really been expanding and updating the place. If you like lepidus, you really need to visit and see the extensive multi-locality collection.
My next stop was supposed to be a good spot troy hibbitts told me for Concho water snakes. I went, but in similar fashion to the South Texas indigo foray, by the time I arrived it was WAY too hot. As I drove across a low-water crossing, I saw this cute juvenile Guadalupe-Pallid intergrade spiny softshell turtle. I like the “quizzical” look of the softshell:
I didn’t notice when I was taking pictures that apparently the ol’ damselfly just recently emerged—I assume that the shed further down the branch is its old skin.
Alas, no Concho water snakes, but I did see this redstripe ribbon snake lounging near the water’s edge. Once it realized it was being watched, it slowly slithered into the tall grass:
I continued northward and stopped by my old house “further up Highway 277” to see what they’d done with the place, then continued on to Oklahoma. I took a detour to the Wichita Mountains, but it was late afternoon by the time I arrived, so the only decent photographs I got of the few collared lizards that were seen were of this visibly-gravid female:
I again arrived at my folks’ house after dark, and I noticed gray treefrogs calling in the area for the first time (no pics though). The day saw close to 600 miles of driving—not the farthest I’ve ever driven in one day (that would be 1,000+), but I quote Obi-Wan Kenobi in the original Star Wars when I say, “I’m getting too old for this sort of thing.”
Friday the 11th I departed OKC for home, with a vehicle full of stinky clothes, a couple of dead sotol stalks (future walking sticks), a new ostentatious Texas star for the domicile, and a couple of new books. I arrived not a moment too soon, as I had to unpack, clean up, and pack for the next adventure, departing the following day…but that will have to wait for a future post.
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Stats from the trip:
Planned miles driven: 2,615.0
Total miles driven (not including miles driven by infidel or chad ks): 3,116.5
Total expenditures: $1,095.10 ($870.91 into the TX economy)
Species Counts, by State: 13 Snake Species (29 individuals, 1 lifer), 5 Turtle Species (38 individuals), 10 Lizard Species (36 individuals, 1 lifer), 2 Frog Species (TMTC individuals), 4 Toad Species (TMTC individuals)
Kansas—2 Snake Species (5 individuals), 3 Turtle Species (23 individuals), 1 Frog Species (1 individual)
Black Rat Snake (Pantherophis obsoletus): 1 DOR
Bullsnake (Pituophis catenifer sayi): 1 DOR
Unknown Snakes: 2 DOR, 1 carried by Red-tailed Hawk
Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina): 1 DOR
Ornate Box Turtle (Terrapene ornata): 4 AOR, 14 DOR
Slider (Trachemys scripta elegans): 1 AOR, 1 in the field
Unknown Turtle: 1 AOR, 1 DOR
Bullfrog (Lithobates catesbeianus): 1 DOR
Oklahoma—1 Individual Snake, 4 Turtle Species (14 individuals), 1 Lizard Species (2 individuals), 1 Toad Species (TMTC individuals)
Unknown Snake: 1 DOR
Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina): 2 DOR
Ornate Box Turtle (Terrapene ornata): 5 DOR
Three-toed Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina triunguis): 1 AOR, 1 DOR
Slider (Trachemys scripta elegans): 1 AOR, 3 DOR
Unknown Turtle: 1 DOR
Collared Lizard (Crotaphytus collaris): 2 in the field
Woodhouse’s Toads (Anaxyrus woodhousei): TMTC
Texas—11 Snake Species (23 individuals), 1 Turtle Species (1 individual), 9 Lizard Species (34 individuals), 1 Frog Species (TMTC individuals), 3 Toad Species (TMTC individuals)
* denotes “would’ve been a lifer, if ALIVE…”
Western Coachwhip (Masticophis flagellum testaceus): 1 DOR
Schott’s Whipsnake (Masticophis schotti schotti): 1 DOR*
Central Texas Whipsnake (Masticophis taeniatus ornatus): 1 DOR*
Great Plains Rat Snake (Pantherophis emoryi): 1 DOR
Western Diamondback Rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox): 1 AOR, 4 DOR
Texas Longnose Snake (Rhinocheilus lecontei tessellatus): 1 AOR
Blacktail Rattlesnake (Crotalus molossus): 1 DOR*
Western Hooknose Snake (Gyalopion canum): 2 AOR, 1 DOR (lifer)
Texas Night Snake (Hypsiglena torquata jani): 2 AOR
Plains Blackhead Snake (Tantilla nigriceps): 1 DOR*
Redstripe Ribbon Snake (Thamnophis proximus rubrilineatus): 1 near Colorado River
Unknown Snakes: 1 AOR, 4 DOR
Guadalupe x Pallid Softshell Turtle (Apalone spinifera guadalupensis x pallida): 1 in river
Eastern Tree Lizard (Urosaurus ornatus ornatus): 1 in the field
Mediterranean Geckos (Hemidactylus turcicus): 2 on building
Ground Skink (Scincella lateralis): 1 AOR
Reticulated Collared Lizard (Crotaphytus reticulatus): 4 AOR
Texas Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum): 1 AOR
Roundtail Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma modestum): 2 AOR (lifer)
Texas Earless Lizard (Cophosaurus texanus): 7 AOR
Texas Spiny Lizard (Sceloporus olivaceus): 3 AOR
Unknown Whiptails: 10 AOR, 1 DOR, 2 in the field
Red-spotted Toads (Anaxyrus punctatus): TMTC AOR, DOR, in the field
Texas Toad (Anaxyrus speciosus): TMTC AOR, TMTC DOR
Great Plains Narrowmouth Toad (Gastrophryne olivacea): 3 under AC
Rio Grande Leopard Frogs (Lithobates berlandieri): TMTC in pond
After sorting all my photos for ones to include in this post, and writing the post itself, I have a newfound appreciation for those of you who produce accounts of comparable length. If you made it this far, I congratulate you and give you my personal thumbs-up.
Thanks for looking, and God Bless Texas!
Chris
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Chris McMartin
www.mcmartinville.com
