Observed two large (ca. 5 ft) Western Diamondbacks on this occasion in same general area on a private ranch near McCook, Hidalgo Co., Texas. THis species is quite common in this area and at times I have seen 3 to 6 per day while out doing general nature photography.

Pacific gopher snakes (Pituophis catenifer catenifer) get real defensive when they feel threatened. They basically behave like rattlesnakes, flattening their head, coiling back, striking a lot, and vibrating the tip of their tail, which makes a rattling noise against dry leaves. They make a loud, aggressive hiss. I'm not sure, but they may have some kind of anticoagulent in their saliva, because their bites tend to bleed a lot. Something to investigate...

Stumbled upon this snake strangling a juvenile red-tailed hawk, most likely due to a failed hunt attempt on the hawk’s end. Since the snake was too big for the hawk to handle and the hawk being too big for the snake to eat, I removed the snake from the hawk. The hawk stood still breathing for ~30 seconds after I removed the snake. The hawk flew away soon after and the snake slithered away

Like a good magician or pickpocket, misdirection is a useful tool for catching lizards. The trek pole mimics a snake movement and catches the lizard's eye, which means it's not paying attention to the string snare being positioned over its head to lift it off the ground. Snaring (also called lassoing and noosing) is a pretty standard capture technique in the field. It does not injure or hurt the animal to be snared like this. Small lizards such as this 5-g Uta, are so small that they sometimes slip through the snare, which is why setting the snare to close over the neck with a flick of the wrist is essential.

Henry White and Matthew Yeomans standing with the last confirmed Dawson's Caribou, shot near Naden Harbour sometime in November of 1908. The three caribou shot were sent to the Royal BC Museum where they can be seen today.

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