Always fun to read of the successful herping in other states, but here in Arizona, it's not quite the same.
Lots of tales on the forum of seeing 40 snakes in one day, or delicious long lists of amphibs and reps from a spring marsh. Went out a few times this spring in central AZ. Saw perhaps a dozen common lizards like Side-Blotched, plus two Chuckwallas and a few geckos. Weather is good, moisture is good, but just not much moving for me. That's AZ for you.
Sometimes, though, one gets a bit of compensation. Went out yesterday to the borderlands near Nogales (south of Tucson). Looking for some skinks and maybe an alligator lizard. Skinks? A-NO-hah! Alligator lizards? Ee-eye-ee-eye-NO!! Hardly saw any herps at all....except one. Vine Snake. I guess of all the practically-the-only-one-all-day herps to see, a Vine Snake makes up for pretty much anything. While more have likely been collected and not reported, I seem to recall that fewer than 30 from Arizona have been listed in scientific collections. This was my second one.
The pic is from the one I found last year. There is just about zero variability in Oxybelis from AZ, so one is as good as another in the looks dept. I'll post a shot of the new one when the film gets developed (yes, I still shoot film).
