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The past couple weeks I've been hitting the field working with several different localities of zonatas. This one was special for me as it was the first Coast Mountain King Snake I've found in Ventura County. It was a good way to end the Z season for me. Now on to the next.......Nebraska, Baja, AZ and some more CA. Time flys when your having fun!!

Thanks for looking.

Paul Lynum

P.S. Snake was also released as were all the others zonatas I found this year. Going to have way too many babies this year. Don't need or want more lol

End of the Z season already?! Noone told me! Haha.

Excellent find, Paul.

Cool find Paul. I knew about that one already! You are a heping fool my friend. (I am not far behind you, just don't have the cool stuff you do here on the east coast!)

Joe

Very nice find. I have never found a z in Ventura but I have found a couple in Santa Barbara and they were not easy. I found the first one the very first time I went out flipping and I though 'gee these are easy'. For the rest of that year and the next one, I went back to that same spot, plus other spots nearby, probably more than 30 times and did not flip a single one. So they turned out to not be so easy.
Several years later I chanced upon a fresh hit DOR, after which I tried roadcruising several times without any luck. So my experience is that neither roadcruising nor flipping is easy and from what I hear the Ventura's are not any easier. So a big congrats on your find.
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Aaron,
I've gotten pretty torn up in Santa Barbara walking thru chapparal to get to some rocky clearing in the distance. And then a hiker shows me where he saw one at stream edge, right smack where the trail almost starts and is easy and has multitudes of day hikers. Figures. I love it up there, I just don't get there frequently.

A bit further up the coast still in SB county I have visited some habitat that is basically untouched because it is mostly private. Lots of lizards and tunnels under sandstone rocks, and much less chaparal to impede you. I am always there at the wrong time, since I am not there to go herping, but it is beautiful nonetheless, and I do like to survey the area anyway.

Nice find, Paul. They are awesome snakes!
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Thanks guys. I've found multifasciata in all the mountain ranges where they are known except where this snake was found. I had only herped there in the past for rubber boas so this was the first attempt for Z's. I got pretty lucky. Yeah, aaron Santa barbara can be really hard for flippin Z's. It's alot easier to find them walking the canyon bottoms just outside of the town limits. There easier to make at home lol.

PL