On July 25th, I joined my friend Gary Nafis in Phoenix, Arizona for a two week herping trip (reptiles and amphibians). While herps were decidedly the priority on this trip, I was ever hopeful of seeing some good birds and mammals too.

Kicking off the trip in the characteristic 105 degree heat of Phoenix, we saw VERDIN, GREAT-TAILED GRACKLE, and WHITE-WINGED DOVEs within the city limits. Fortunately, the summer monsoons were in progress, and we held high hopes of seeing many of the fascinating desert amphibians that breed during the rainy periods.

As we drove through rain showers on our northward journey up to Camp Verde, we decided to try a a night drive up into the mountains along the Mogollon Rim. Our first herp sighting of the trip was a plethora of Red-spotted Toads out on the highway. Although we saw a couple of the Southwestern subspecies of Woodhouse's Toads as well, we did not see any snakes or Arizona Toads.

Checking the high elevation Baker Lake, we found a larval (aquatic form) Arizona Tiger Salamander. Later, we found two different adult Arizona Tiger Salamanders crossing the road. These salamanders have a rich brown marbled appearance, and are quite attractive. In our haste to photograph these animals, Gary wrenched his knee, and he was somewhat hobbled over the next two weeks. On our return to the motel, we saw a Desert Kit Fox racing around.

The next morning (Saturday, July 26th) we drove up through scenic Sedona, and stopped in at Bubbling Springs Wildlife Area in Page Springs, AZ. As we pulled in to Bubbling Springs, a large family of GAMBELL'S QUAIL greeted us. Other birds around the springs included CARDINAL, CURVE-BILLED THRASHER, PHAINOPEPLA, BELTED KINGFISHER, C. YELLOWTHROAT, and W. KINGBIRD. The Southern Plateau form of Eastern Fence Lizard and my lifer Striped Plateau Whiptail were easy to see here. Unfortunately, we dipped on our targeted Mexican Garter Snake.

Farther north, we visited the Oak Creek area in the Red Rock Secret Mountain Wilderness. In this wooded canyon, we found several Wandering Garter Snakes, Southern Plateau Lizards, Tree Lizard, but only one juvenile Narrow-headed Gartersnake (which was our primary target). In addition, I did briefly spy a lovely grayish colored garter snake with brick-red lateral stripes that was formerly known as the Arizona Garter Snake. LESSER GOLDFINCH, STELLER'S JAY, and BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRD, were the birds that we noted.

My own personal misfortune at this site was that I lost my sunglasses, my new watch, and a new bottle of sun screen. This place seemed to be like the Bermuda Triangle for my personal items.

After replacing my lost items in Flagstaff, we headed on out to the Meteor Crater. Although it was the late afternoon, we did see a nice selection of herps that included Northern Plateau Lizard, Tree Lizard, Speckled (Common) Earless Lizard, Plateau Striped Whiptail, and Side-blotched Lizards. SWAINSON'S HAWK, ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, BLACK-THROATED SPARROW, Desert Cottontail, and Black-tailed Jackrabbit were some of the other critters that we saw. Although we searched the rocky, windswept landscape unsuccessfully for the newly split Pai Whiptail, an unusually friendly Raven seemed to be acting as our spirit guide.

After dark, we made a little night drive south of Winslow. Our only herps on the drive were a Sonoran Gopher Snake, New Mexican Spadefoot, and Red-spotted Toad.

On Sunday, we found ourselves on the Mogollon Rim. Searching the higher elevations around Twenty-Seven Mile Lake, we found Western (Midland) Chorus Frogs, So. Plateau Lizard, Black-necked Garter Snakes, PYGMY NUTHATCH, RED CROSSBILL, WESTERN BLUEBIRD, and a family of PURPLE MARTINs.
More importantly for me, was finding my lifer endemic Mogollon Vole that was hiding under a log along the edge of Baker Lake.

Our night drive around Florence Junction produced the very cute Tuscon Banded Gecko, huge Sonoran Desert Toads, Red Spotted Toad, SW Woodhouse's Toad, and Desert Pocket Mouse. The only snake that we saw a Western Diamondback Rattlesnake.

On Monday morning (7/28/08) we visited the eastern section of Saquaro National Park. This fabulous park was loaded with interesting critters. Yuma Antelope Squirrels and Round-tailed Ground Squirrels were both common denizens here. Western (Tiger or Arizona) Whiptails, Twin-spotted Desert Spiny Lizard, flashy Zebra-tailed Lizards, and colorful Southwestern (Greater) Earless Lizards scoured the desert floor. Birdwise, we enjoyed seeing GILA WOODPECKER, LUCY'S WARBLER, PYRRHULOXIA, GREATER ROADRUNNER, CURVE-BILLED THRASHER, NO. MOCKINGBIRD, CACTUS WREN, CANYON WREN, HOUSE FINCH, BLACK-TAILED GNATCATCHER, and singing RUFOUS-WINGED SPARROWs.

In the afternoon, we entered Madera Canyon. At the famous Kubo Lodge, we patiently waited for my hoped for lifer, Berryline Hummingbird. During our vigil, we were treated with visits of BRIDLED TITMOUSE, HUTTON'S VIREO, HEPATIC TANAGER, FLAME-COLORED TANAGER, MAGNIFICENT HUMMINGBIRD, BLUE-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD, BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD, BROAD-BILLED HUMMINGBIRD, BLCK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD, W. WOOD PEWEE, SCOTT'S ORIOLE, LESSER GOLDFINCH,and ACORN WOODPECKER.

After half an hour of vainly looking for the Berryline, most of the other had birders left. However, an Iowa birder joined us. After she mentioned that she had heard that the Berryline was previously seen on a feeder over a ladder, I realized that I hadn't even seen that feeder before. Within the next five minutes, I exclaimed "there is the Berryline over the ladder feeder!". Before the hummer flew off, we could see the pretty rusty wings of the Berryline that contrasted nicely with the emerald green back.

My new Iowa friend then spied the Berryline sitting up in the canopy of a large oak tree. Although the bird was in shadow, one could still see the lower red mandible and the brownish wing coverts. Fortunately, the Berryline finally decided to land on a closer feeder (situated over a Hummingbird Crossing sign, no less) that was in full sun. We could then see the exquisite purple upper tail coverts and central tail feathers that were bordered by rusty outer tail feathers. This was one beautiful bird!

On our return to Tuscon, we ran through a portion of Box Canyon and saw Sonoran (Elegant) Lesser Earless Lizard and a gorgeous male VARIED BUNTING.

On a long night drive (around 150 miles) we pushed out far to the west through the Tohono O'Odham Indian Reservation. Since it had not rained for a couple of days, we didn't have quite the luck with amphibians that we had hoped for. We did see Sonoran Desert Toad, Great Plains Toad, Couch's Spadefoot, Sonoran Sidewinder, Clouded Leaf-nosed Snake, and heard Sonoran Green Toads. On the mammal front, we saw Arizona Cotton Rat, Bailey's Pocket Mouse (a large gray pocket mouse), Merriam's Kangaroo Rat, Arizona Pocket Mouse, and Mesquite (Merriam's) Deermouse.

Tuesday morning (7/29/08) found us driving up Casa Blanca Canyon toward Garner Canyon. Along route, we saw Sonoran (Lesser) Earless Lizard, Desert Grassland Whiptail, Sonoran Spotted Whiptail, and Sonoran Whipsnake. While hiking around I flushed a MONTEZUMA QUAIL out of the tall grass.

After dark, we made our way up Mount Lemmon in the Santa Catalina Mts. In the general area of the Molino Basin, we had great fun photographing and video recording chorusing Canyon Treefrogs. Meanwhile, a small owl, that was probably a Whiskered Screech, flew silently overhead. Other interesting herps that encountered were Tuscon Banded Geckos (can't get enough of these guys), Black-tailed Rattlesnake, Night Snake, and my lifer Southwestern Black-headed Snake. The latter snake was the first of the genus tantilla that I have ever seen.

Our first lifer mammal of the evening was a beautiful Hooded Skunk. This animal was mostly white on the back and it had a couple of narrow lateral stripes, and a long plumed tail. When we later found a road killed Ringtail at the base of a steep cliff, we tried shining our torches around the area. Gary detected eye shine and called me over. Fixing my binoculars on the glowing red eyes, I could see that it was a lovely RINGTAIL (sometimes called Ringtail Cat or Miner's Cat) that was climbing up the steep cliff through the crevasses of the canyon wall. The Ringtail is related to the Raccoon, but it has a large bushy tail with distinctive light and dark rings (hence the name of the animal) and lacks the facial mask.

The Ringtail had been a much sought after life mammal for me. In fact, I have been trying to find one for many years. It was quite a thrill to finally connect with this very attractive, but strictly nocturnal creature.

The next morning (Wednesday, 7/30/08), we worked up our way to Mt. Hopkins. Although we saw Clark's Spiny Lizards and Mountain Spiny Lizards, Sonoran Desert Toad, and Sonoran Earless Lizard, we dipped on our targeted Regal Horned Lizard. The night drive up the mountain was largely unproductive for us, but we did see a Sonoran Gopher Snake on the interstate, and a couple of Gray Foxes on the Mt. Hopkins Road.

Another foray on Thursday morning (7/31/08) on Mt. Hopkins Road again failed to produce any horned lizards. However, when as we approached the interstate at Arivaca Junction, we found a pretty adult Regal Horned Lizard basking on interstate entrance ramp! Yes, we had a marvelous photo op with this great lizard!

On Ruby Road north of Nogales, we found a great little creek that held Lowland Leopard Frogs, Canyon Treefrogs, baby Red-spotted Toads, and a Sinaloa (Great Plains) Narrowmouth Toad. Plenty of tadpoles in various states of development were present too.

Birds of the area included MONTEZUMA QUAIL, immature HARRIS'S HAWKs, and a GRAY HAWK being chased by a CASSIN'S KINGBIRD, In the evening, we had a disappointing night drive that failed to deliver any snakes our way. We did see Sonoran Desert Toad, New Mexican Spadefoot, Striped Skunk, Ord's Kangaroo Rats, and a Rock Pocket Mouse.

The first day of August (Friday, 8/01/08), dawned we tried Pena Blanca Lake. Here we saw we saw Sonoran Spotted Whiptails, and a couple of young adult Canyon Spotted Whiptails, VERMILLION FLYCATCHER, SUMMER TANAGER, LADDER-BACKED WOODPECKER, BRIDLED TITMOUSE, and we heard C. POORWILL. Another lackluster night drive only netted us a Raccoon and a Western Diamondback Rattler.

During the morning drive on Saturday (8/02/08) up through Parker Canyon in the Huachuca Mts., we saw Huachuca Earless Lizard and quite a few Side-blotched Lizards. Unfortunately, the road was washed out to Sierra Vista, and we were forced to backtrack and take the long route over to our destination.

In the evening, we drove up through the entrance to Coronado National Monument. On this stretch of road, we saw another Huachuca Earless Lizard, and large specimens of Western Diamondback & Black-tailed Rattlesnakes.

On the night drive east of Bisbee (King's Road), we saw another atrox (W. Diamondback) and a Mohave Rattlesnake. On the north end of Douglas, we discovered chorusing Great Plains Toads and Western Green Toads. The W. Green Toads, were both pretty and cute. Rodents on the 80 north of Douglas included Plains Harvest Mouse, White-footed Deermouse, and Merriams Kangaroo Rats. Thunderstorms intensified on our return to Sierra Vista.

As we hiked up a steep trail in Miller Canyon on Sunday (8/03/08), we saw plenty of Mountain Spiny Lizards, but none of our herp targets. Birdsong was fairly quiet, but two thirds of the way back down the mountain we ran into a couple of birders. These birders informed us that there was a Spotted Owl on the trail. We quickly reversed course, and headed back up the rather steep climb for a second time. Sure enough, there was a MEXICAN SPOTTED OWL roosting quietly over the trail. Since Gary and I were looking at the ground for herps, it is highly possible that we had walked right under the owl earlier. The Spotted Owl was a nice lifer for Gary.

Later, we decided to check out the hummingbirds at the famous Beatty Ranch. As we enjoyed a cool beverage and watched the hummers, we were treated to a cavalcade of BROAD-TAILED HUMMINGBIRD, ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRD, BLUE-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD, BROAD-BILLED HUMMINGBIRD, VIOLET-CROWNED HUMMINGBIRD, BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD, COSTA'S HUMMINGBIRD, WHITE-EARED HUMMINGBIRD (pair), and SULFUR-BELLIED FLYCATCHER. There were Chiracahua (Ramsey Canyon) Leopard Frogs in the pond.

Seeing the pair of White-eared Hummers was particularly nice. I had never had such crippling views of this species, nor had I previously seen a female either. With it's debonair, broad, white patch behind the eye, purple face, red bill, and emerald colored throat, the male was looked like a little jeweled Faberge Egg.

In the late afternoon, the monsoons poured down in earnest. Widespread, heavy rains flooded thirsty desert flats, and made our long drive to Los Cruces, New Mexico seem much longer.

When we awoke on Monday (8/04/08), the rain had stopped and a slow clearing was in progress. Trekking up the Sacramento Mountains between Cloudcroft and Sunspot, we worked the north facing, high elevation, moutainsides for our next quarry. It wasn't long before we had uncovered several endemic Sacramento Mountains Salamanders, and of course photographed them.

In the early afternoon, we dropped back down into the low Chihuahuan Desert of White Sands National Monument. On the boardwalk nature trail, we saw some Southwestern Fence Lizards (formerly known as White Sands or Cowles Prairie Lizards), and a Spotted Ground Squirrel. On the Dunes Nature Trail, we saw quite a few Little White Whiptails (they are actually a striking blue) and the ubiquitous Side-blotched Lizards.

On our return to Rodeo, New Mexico, we encountered rain showers, and a herper friend of Gary's. Our night drive that evening was one of the best of the trip. By diligently working the 80, we found nice Desert Kingsnakes, pretty Checkered Garter Snakes, a tricolored Western Long-nosed Snake, an adult Barred Tiger Salamander (that looked hand-painted yellow & black), Plains Spadefoot, New Mexico Spadefoot, female Couch's Spadefoots, W. Diamondback & Mojave Rattlers, No. Pygmy Mouse, Merriam's Kangaroo Rat, and we had terrific views of a Banner-tailed Kangaroo Rat.

Since we our night drive lasted past 4:00 AM, we started later the next morning (Tuesday, 08/05/08). East of Rodeo, we were thrilled to find an adult Texas Horned Lizard. On rocky outcrops near Animas, NM we saw several Eastern Collared Lizards. One collared lizard ran away from us bipedally, and it was surprisingly fast. Birdwise on the arid New Mexican plains we had CASSIN'S SPARROW, BLUE GROSBEAK, CHIHUAHUAN RAVEN, GREATER ROADRUNNER, and SWAINSON'S HAEK.

In the afternoon near the SW Research Station, we found an attractive Sonoran Gophersnake. In South Fork, we saw a family of ELEGANT TROGONs and DUSKY-CAPPED FLYCATCHER.

Our night drive began at Portal and headed eastward. Just after sunset, plenty of juvenile W. Diamondbacks and Mojave Rattlers were crossing the road. As we headed out toward Animas, NM, we found a Plains Black-headed Snake. Farther east, we stopped for another small snake, and it turned out to be an adult New Mexico Blind Snake (or Threadsnake). The Blind Snake has only vestigial eyes and it has a glossy looking mauve colored body.

One of the temporary rain pools held chorusing New Mexican & Plains Spadefoots. Mammals of the evening included Plains Pocket Mouse, cute little Silky Pocket Mice, Javelina, Coyote, and Tawny-bellied Rice Rat. Strangely enough, we heard CASSIN'S SPARROWs singing at midnight.

As headed back toward Animas on Wednesday (8/06/08), we were delighted to find a Round-tailed Horned Lizard basking on the road. This little lizard can hunch up it's back and look like a little rock. Other lizards that we saw that morning included Lesser Earless Lizard, Desert Grassland Whiptail, Tree Lizard, and New Mexico Crevice Spiny Lizards.

Up at Herb Martyr Campground, we saw Gila Spotted Whiptail and Striped Plateau Lizards. In the SW Research Station, we saw Rock Squirrels and Cliff Chipmunks. When we drove into the high elevation Barfoot Park, some birders shared their scope view of a SHORT-TAILED HAWK that was perched in a tree. Since our night drive didn't produce much beyond the typical juvenile rattlesnakes, we simply turned in earlier that evening.

On Thursday (8/07/08), we tried for Greater Short-horned Lizard and Arizona Alligator Lizards, but we dipped on both of them. In the SW Research Station, we did see a Apache Fox Squirrel, PAINTED REDSTART, and a Whip Scorpion or Vinegaroon.

In the late afternoon, we visited the scenic Chiricahua National Monument. We made a long drive back to Tucson and then headed back out to the Indian Res out west. With some light sprinkles, we were fortunate to find some beautiful Sonoran Green Toads on the road. In a roadside rain pool, Couch's Spadefoots were chorusing and mating. We heard some Lowland Burrowing Frogs calling farther out, but we couldn't access them.

Within the two week timeframe in Arizona and New Mexico, our intensive effort netted us sightings of over sixty different herps (over thirty were lifers for me), a couple of dozen mammals (at least ten lifers of me), and some good birds (one lifer for me and several lifers for Gary). For those of you who are interested, Gary has posted some our trip pics and video clips on his outstanding website - www.californiaherps.com.

Gina Sheridan
Spokane, WA