A Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake making it difficult to tell where snake ends and rock begins.
Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake Extreme Camouflage
Month: April 2025
Sonoran Desert Tortoise In Burn Area
A young Sonoran Desert Tortoise making its way down a hillside in the early spring.
About a month later, fire tore through the area. While it can’t be known if this tortoise, or the Gila Monster resting a few meters away, survived, a return visit to the area later in the season makes it doubtful. Now, a year later, the only thing alive on the hill are the invasive grasses which fuel the issue. With OHV in mass numbers and target shooting unrestricted and controls unenforced, the region has been quickly converted to a sea of dead grass and revolving burns.
Arizona Black Rattlesnake from Greenlee County
An Arizona Black Rattlesnake resting in partial cover after an exceptionally rainy few days. In this area, along the eastern edge of their range in Arizona, the species can look a bit different. The light bands on this individual, for instance, are wide, in some cases as wide as the darker blotches they surround, and the snake may never darken (much). This is typical for the area, though, as most of the photos you may see of Arizona Black Rattlesnakes online or in field guides are from a handful of more central locations.
Costa Rican Coralsnake In The Grass
A good-sized Costa Rican Coralsnake we saw in the grass on a family vacation. These are very different than the coralsnakes we have back in Arizona. It’s much larger and willing to strike, which it did repeatedly. These snakes are a handful to get photos of, but we managed and let it disappear back into the forest.
Gravid Speckled Rattlesnake At Rest
A Southwestern Speckled Rattlesnake resting in the shade outside its summer aestivation den. It’s one of a handful that gather here each year to hide from the heat and gestate.
Baby Sonoran Desert Tortoise
We found this tiny young Sonoran Desert Tortoise cruising around the base of a basalt mountain in the harsh, remote desert of southwestern Arizona. This little one had likely just started its springtime wandering, looking to take in as many blossoms and young green leaves as possible before the heat forces it underground for a while.
Mojave Rattlesnake Stayin Cool
A young Mojave Rattlesnake at rest, lifted just off the surface of the warm sand to get a little air flow. Thermoregulation is far from just “sunning” – much of the activity of reptiles in the desert during the summer is about getting cooler, rather than warmer.
Fer De Lance On The Trail
I was on a night hike in the Amazon and just about to step over this knee-high buttress when I noticed it was occupied. A young Fer De Lance (Bothrops atrox) was waiting on top, but I was not the rodent it was hoping to come along. The broken green and black shapes in its pattern would have made this easy to miss.
Tiger Rattlesnake From The Border Area
A relatively colorful Tiger Rattlesnake found in Santa Cruz County, Arizona awhile back. These rattlesnakes are common in the thornscrub hills along the Arizona/Mexico border.
A Brown Western Diamondback Rattlesnake
Western Diamondback Rattlesnakes in the Phoenix area aren’t all grey. Some can be reddish or have hints of orange, and some rich brown tones like this one.
