Monday - Herping with Julia (Santa Cruz Mountains)
The following photo essay covers some of the reptiles and amphibians I encountered while herping California from April 4-10, 2010. The weather was mostly cool, windy and rainy. There were three sunny, rainless days during the week. A total of 23 snakes were found, consisting of: Pacific Gophers (4), Santa Cruz Garters (4), Coast Garters (7), Whipsnake (1), California Night Snake (1) and Northern Pacific Rattlesnakes (6).

The temperature was in the 50s with occasional rain, but we still managed to find eight different types of herps.

This Pacific Chorus Frog was found under a small rock, which also had a Western Fence Lizard under it.

Western Fence Lizards often can become quite dark, in order to better absorb the sun's heat.

Young Western Skinks have blue tails that they can detach to distract predators.

Jerusalem Crickets are large and hideous.

This California Night Snake is the first one I've ever seen. They are mildly venomous and mainly feed on lizards.

Slender Salamanders were the most commonly seen herp of the trip. They have very tiny legs.

Ensatina Salamanders were encountered throughout the week. The rainy, wet conditions were ideal for them.

A big bug was found near this Southern Alligator Lizard, which had a greenish coloration.

This young Pacific Gopher Snake probably hatched last Fall.

A large adult Fence Lizard with an unusual amount of gold color.

This Alligator Lizard was the biggest one I've ever seen.