Wildlife Sightings (actual animals, not athletes or vehicles) (Las Cruces, Edgewood: school, vs)

[WasSoggyInSeattle]

Poncho_NM - Great hummer photos, mine aren't nearly as good and my hummers aren't nearly as colorful... is that because all of them are female? Doesn't seem quite right but they are drab & gray little fellers.

[Poncho_NM]

Originally Posted by WasSoggyInSeattle

Poncho_NM - Great hummer photos, mine aren't nearly as good and my hummers aren't nearly as colorful..

Thanks, I should get some feeders instead of walking around trying to photograph them. Yea, I guess those are the mailes. I'm not an expert, but there are a few different species in the area.


Rich

[lisdol]

Originally Posted by ABQConvict

It was a Horny Toad. Friendly little lizards.


ABQConvict

Thank you. I kind of figured it was not a bearded dragon but was not sure what it was.

[red46]

Originally Posted by ABQConvict

Agreed. I wonder if there was a recent boom in the lizard population for some reason leading to high reproductive success among the roadrunner population. I have seen roadrunners all over my neighborhood and in all of the 'marginal' areas I frequent.


ABQConvict

I've been noticing a lot of changes, or hasn't anyone noticed our changing climate? All the government's weather manipulations is changing the face of NM. Lots more lizards and spiders and just all sorts of things that are not native or normal, here.
Something like a milk weed, I noticed around 1995, that kept popping up here and there, that was a new addition to Albuq. and now, seems to be overtaking the landscape. Folks don't seem to mind, they just let them grow into trees. Like the invading elm tree, here.

I would imagine a lot more in wild life. There's a lot more for them to survive on.
judy

[red46]

Originally Posted by ABQConvict

It was a Horny Toad. Friendly little lizards.


ABQConvict

By the way. Those horny toads? Take care of those babies. They used to be as numerous as the blue tailed lizard but it seems to me their numbers are way down. I seldom see one, any more.
judy

[HerpsofNM]

Originally Posted by berncohomes

About a month ago I found a baby sidewinder on my driveway. I took a photo with my phone, I'll post it later.

We do not have sidewinders in the state, but we do have the following rattlesnakes native to the state of NM:

- Crotalus atrox - Western Diamondback Rattlesnake

- Crotalus cerberus - Arizona Black Rattlesnake*
*From a taxonomic level it was formerly as subspecies of the viridis complex, then moved to a subspecies of the Crotalus oreganus complex, and more recently elevated to a full species status. BUT taxonomy is subjective at best at times.

- Crotalus lepidus - Rock Rattlesnake*
* Subspecies:
- Crotalus lepidus klauberi - Banded Rock Rattlesnake
- Crotalus lepidus lepidus - Mottled Rock Rattlesnake

- Crotalus molossus - Blacktail Rattlesnake

- Crotalus scutulatus - Mojave Rattlesnake

- Crotalus viridis - Prairie Rattlesnake*
*Subspecies:
- Crotalus viridis viridis - Prairie Rattlesnake

- Crotalus willardi - Ridgenose Rattlesnake*
*Subspecies:
- Crotalus willardi obscurus - New Mexico Ridgenose Rattlesnake

- Sistrurus catenatus - Massasauga*
*Subspecies:
- Sistrurus catenatus edwardsii - Desert Massasauga

Outside of the rattlesnakes, we also have the Sonoran, or Arizona Coral Snake Micruroides euryxanthus. HOWEVER, this species of coral snake ONLY occurs in Grant, Hidalgo, and Catron Counties in New Mexico. Up here in ABQ we have the NON-VENOMOUS Texas longnose snake Rhinocheilus lecontei, New Mexico Milksnake Lampropeltis triangulum celaenops, and the variable ground snake Sonora semiannulata. The ground snake can be variable (as the name implies) in pattern in that it can be striped, banded, or unicolored, with additionally an assortment of coloration.

Within the Bernalillo, Torrance, Sandoval, Valencia Counties area we have the western diamondback, prairie, banded rock, and blacktail rattlesnake species, and the desert massasauga - a dwarf rattlesnake species. The closest Crotalus cerastes, or the sidewinder gets to NM is just west of Tucson, AZ (Sidewinder (Crotalus cerastes) - Reptiles of Arizona)

Originally Posted by Poncho_NM

This is what I found in my driveway in September 2006, Rio Rancho, NM. Looks like baby snake maybe trying to find it's mother? While trying to get a better picture it slithered away into some shrubs.

Rich

Rich, your baby snakes is actually a juvenile coachwhip snake Masticophis flagellum of either the subspecies lineatulus (lined coachwhip) or testaceus (western coachwhip).

Originally Posted by jasonsGunsDotCom

These are about a year old but I've seen a coyote like the one in the picture in the last 3 months.

*snake picture*

Your snake is either a bull snake Pituophis catenifer sayi or a sonoran gopher snake Pituophis catenifer affinis. In NM the only real visible difference is the shape of the rostral (nose-tip) scale. In the sonoran gopher, the rostral scale tends to be flush with the rest of the head scalation, as well as not being an elongate and is wider. In the bull snake, the rostral scale is typically raised above the rest of the head scalation and is tall and narrow. Once outside of NM, bull snakes seem, to me, to be very easily distinguishable from the sonoran gopher snake. This portion of NM is also close to or part of an intergrade zone for the "gopher" snake subspecies. Nonetheless, nice looking critter!

Originally Posted by Fischer_girl

A neat trick I learned about NM snakes..is when it has a sharp pointy tail like that..its not venomous! Just looking for the three things wildlife want: Food, shelter and water.

Not completely true...

The only life-threatening species have rattles on their tails, plus the state also has the sonoran coral snake (see comment above).

There are a few other species of venomous snakes native to the state which are non-life threatening to humans and pets AND are what's called "rear-fanged". They include:

- Diadophis punctatus - Ringneck Snake*
*Subspecies:
- Diadophis punctatus arnyi - Prairie Ringneck Snake
- Diadophis punctatus regalis - Regal Ringneck Snake

- Gyalopion canum - Western Hooknose Snake (I like farting snake better)

- Heterodon nasicus - Western Hognose Snake

- Heterodon kennerlyi - Mexican Hognose Snake

- Hypsiglena jani - Chihuahuan Night Snake

- Sonora semiannulata - Variable Ground Snake

- Tantilla hobartsmithii - Southwestern Black-headed Snake

- Tantilla nigriceps - Plains Black-headed Snake

- Tantilla yaquia - Yaqui Black-headed Snake

- Trimorphodon vilkinsonii - Chihuahuan Lyre Snake

- Trimorphodon lambda - Sonoran Lyre Snake


Additionally, we have mildly venomous snake (again non-life threatening) species that are not rear-fanged. They would include our 1 species of water snake (the blotched water snake Nerodia erythrogaster transversa, which is protected by NM Dept Game & Fish, and 8 species of garter snake (genus Thamnophis).

I recommend the following websites for those wishing to learn more about reptiles & amphibians.

http://www.reptilesofaz.org/ Reptiles & Amphibians of Arizona, they share a few species that happen to be native to our state.
http://www.cnah.org/ Center for North American Herpetology
http://www.ssarherps.org/ Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles - Society for the Study of Amphibians & reptiles
http://www.fieldherpforum.com/ - Field Herp Forum.com reptile & amphibianfield hunting community (I use hunting loosely as we don't tend to kill our interests, thus field herping; herp = reptiles & amphibians, short for herptile.
http://web.nmsu.edu/~cnewsom/ - Reptiles & Amphibians of Southern NM, site by myself, HerpsOfNM, which will seen encompass all of NM's herps, not just the southern diversity. Site's under construction, but now that I'm jobless and in ABQ I have time to work on it.
http://chelydra.unm.edu/swparc/ - Southwest PARC

Books:
Amphibians & reptiles of New Mexico by Degenhardt, Painter, Price, UNM Press (!!!!)
Western Reptiles and Amphibians, Third Edition by Robert C. Stebbins

Oh, and to contribute siting wise...

A prairie rattlesnake from the north end of the Sevilleta Wildlife Refuge.

Found July 8, 2009 while helping my best friend conduct his Ph.D research on box turtles.

[RamblinRoseRanch]

Saw a huge frog (toad?) between the trucks last night as I was returning the hay bags to the shed. It was pretty dim, but it looked like a bull frog to me, do y'all (er, we? lol) have them here?

[HerpsofNM]

Originally Posted by RamblinRoseRanch

Saw a huge frog (toad?) between the trucks last night as I was returning the hay bags to the shed. It was pretty dim, but it looked like a bull frog to me, do y'all (er, we? lol) have them here?

I don't know how they'd be in Moriarty other then from someone introducing them into a pond. In my experience of searching the state for its native reptile and amphibian species, the only places I've really seen bullfrogs are along the Rio Grande and irrigation canals that lead off of it and around Carlsbad, NM.

Interestingly, they were not native to the state until the 50s when NM Dept of Game & Fish introduced them as a source of game animal. I prefer to kill them on sight as they are out competing native wildlife that fill the niche they take over. AZ's Game and Fish dept did something similar way back when and are now attempting to slowly irradicate bullfrogs from the state. Unfortunately it'll most likely never happen due to how prolific they are.

Possibly what you saw was either a great plains toad or a woodhouse toad. They are both large toad species, but still no where near the size of a bullfrog.

I was reading one of your older posts re: the awesome bull snake ya ran ove; only black snakes I know of in TN are black kingsnakes, black rat snakes, and black racers, neither of which are life threatening and are all non-venomous. Only thing TN should have had that was venomous and life-threatening to humans are rattlers and copperheads. I don't think corals range up there, but I could be wrong. It's been a while since I studied much of the ranges of "east coast" herps. Anything you see out in Moriarty that will resenble a coral, will NOT be a coral are is most likely a NM milksnake or TX longnose snake (see my previous post of scientific names). My best friend and I like to hit up the Moriarty area in the spring, providing it get moisture, for the milksnakes. It's fun to find them and photograph their variation. Only rattlers we've come across have been prairie rattlers, and for me it was 2 young animals found well south and west of Moriarty. I've also seen some ran over ones of Highway 41 going to east Moriarty up to Santa Fe.

[RamblinRoseRanch]

I've never heard of rattlers around East TN, but copperheads yes. Where I grew up in KY copperheads seemed more prevalent, though. Regardless, venomous snakes are a MUCH smaller presence in TN than here.

There are no ponds near me, so it must have been one of the other toads. I'll have to look them up. I tell ya, it was a bit of a surprise to see him sitting there, where i'd been just minutes before and looking like a big rock :0)

Moriarty isn't so wet this year (being told by others, since we've only been here two months). We can go to Stanley or Edgewood and see the ground so very green, but here not so much. We've had two good rains since we've been here, July 4th and then just the other day.
I HAVE discovered how to make it rain and i'm considering taking my show on the road. All I have to do to call rain forth is to hang out towels on the line.

[HerpsofNM]

I'm originally from the east coast, dad was active duty AF and we moved to NM in 95...

That said, I'll have to try your towel thing. My washing a vehicle only works here and there to get it to rain.

I hit up the Moriarty/Estancia area right around a month ago and didn't see much. As what you're told it did seem dry. I hit it after a good rain, but the ground had pretty much sucked all the moisture up without little veg greening to show for it. The east Sandias (from north of 40, going from 41 west) seem to be getting much of the rain. I'm in the NE section of ABQ and have noticed much of the cloud build up over here results in rain over there. This time last year was a beautiful drive on NM Hwy 27 between Hatch and Deming. It was just lush and green, very scenic!

As for those TN rattlers, the timber rattler (Crotalus horridus) ranges over the entire state of TN. Surprisingly to some, it ranges as far north as upstate NY, NH, and VT, ALMOST getting into Maine. Historical range might have included Maine at one time, not certain though.

I wish my website was up and running, or rather more so up to speed; I'd be able to link you to photos of the various frog/toad species out near your parts. The address is under my contacts page of my profile, but I think it links back to my old nmsu.edu address (posted above).