Akkana PeckI saw a jackrabbit in the open space south of White Rock a couple days ago! First time I've seen one since moving to #NewMexico, though Dave saw one at Redwash, near Abiquiu, last year. Very cool to know we have jackrabbits (well, at least one) in the neighborhood. No photo, alas; it was running when I saw it.
Bosque Bill@akkana Cool. There are a few below the mesa edge west of Albuquerque within the Petroglyph park.
@bosquebill ABQ has such great wildlife. Way more roadrunners than we have, too.
@akkana At least in those areas not yet developed.
Bob Tregilus@bosquebill @akkana I've yet to spend much time hiking around the Aztec area but so far I haven't seen any jacks or road runners. Perhaps that will change once I get moved there? Can't say I've ever seen a road runner anywhere on the Colorado Plateau in SE Utah where I've done tons of hiking. Maybe, but if I did, it was a fleeting encounter.
Roy -- the dull one@elaterite @bosquebill @akkana
Do you have any indication that the snake and lizard populations are reduced?
@oldclumsy_nowmad I've no indication on snake / lizard population health in canyon country. I know I see lots of them. I think I've seen more rattlers in SE Utah than I've ever seen in Nevada. I'll never forget the two baby rattlers that chased me on the mesa top of Road Canyon. I told the story to a rattlesnake expert I used to follow on the dead bird site. He said they were probably just curious. They sure could move fast for their size!
@elaterite @oldclumsy_nowmad @bosquebill The only time I've been "chased" by a snake was in Tasmania. A big black tiger snake (in Tassie, all snakes are venomous) was lying across the trail, blocking it, but then retreated into the brush, leaving me unsure whether it was safe to continue past where the snake had been. I stood there for a while trying to decide, until I heard a rustling behind me and the snake emerged back onto the trail right behind me. I promptly skedaddled down the trail.
@akkana Yikes! That's scary! Didn't know that about Tasmania. Interesting.
@elaterite @akkana @bosquebill
Snuck around behind you, like that dinosaur in Jurassic Park. Exciting! What an unforgettable experience!
@elaterite @akkana @bosquebill
I've only been chased by rattler once. In brushy, weedy, woods (San Antonio, TX). On lunchtime walk, I surprised 4 rattlers doing drama in the trail. 3 were 5ft or longer (biggest I'd seen). 4ft one (female?) didn't move. The others were frenetic, sliding in wide loops around her, lunging at each other, raising heads as if to strike. Competition to mate?
After 3 minutes, 2 males(?) came after me, very fast. Chased me 20 ft, 'til I lit the afterburners.
@elaterite @bosquebill @akkana
Friends did some behavior/ecology research in which they studied how squirrels interacted with rattlers. I helped a little with snake handling and release. When cornered and nervous, big rattlers (3-4 feet) would make half-strikes in a slowish, bluffing way.
The little ones (1-1.5 ft) were different. Thrashing wildly, lunging at you and striking - they would come out of the barrel to chase you. When you're a little snake, you gotta be scary to survive.
@oldclumsy_nowmad Hm, interesting. I was on a deer trail in thick, but short bush. The baby rattlers weren't cornered as I'm sure as small snakes they could have gone in any direction they wanted under the bush. Still, they chose to shoo me away! I had no problem complying with their order!
@elaterite @bosquebill @akkana
Maybe they just enjoy laughing at us.
@elaterite @bosquebill @akkana
I asked about reptiles because of decline in my area (sandy desert, rocky peaks, 5-20 miles outside suburb belt, Chihuahuan Desert). Prolonged drought and increased visitation by people.who don't admire wildlife.
Ten years ago, running 3-7 miles in desert 5 days/week, I usually saw one to three rattlers each day, and occasional rosy boa, gopher snake, etc. Now I'm only out 2-3 times a week, just 1-3 miles. In 3 years I've seen only 1 rattler, and 1 boa.
@oldclumsy_nowmad @elaterite @bosquebill I've only been here 12 years so I'm not sure I'm qualified to judge changes, but we have LOTS of lizards here in summer, mostly fence lizards and whiptails (SO MANY whiptails). I've been surprised at how few snakes I see here: a few bullsnakes, a few coachwhips, the occasional garter snake, hardly any rattlers (fortunately). I saw more snakes hiking in the Santa Cruz mountains in CA than here.
@akkana @elaterite @bosquebill
Thanks for sharing your observations, Akkana! I enjoy comparing your comments on northern NM with what I see down south. And your photography makes it almost as good as being there!
I'm more interested in birds than reptiles, but herps are cool. I wondered if the scarcity of roadrunners where you are relates to food supply, but since you see a lot of lizards... Maybe the food supply in winter is what counts. Some lizards are active here all year.
@elaterite @akkana
Ditto for SE UT likewise I haven’t seen or heard coyotes there which seems strange.
Ditto for SE UT likewise I haven’t seen or heard coyotes there which seems strange.
@bosquebill I can't say I hear coyotes a lot there either. But I tend to ignore them as I hear them so often here in Nevada. I suspect if the coyote population is small in SE Utah you can thank the ranchers. It has been shown that coyotes only scavenge cattle, they don't hunt them, but they are still actively trapped & poisoned. Even if coyotes hunted cattle like grizzlies do, a healthy coyote/grizzly population is a tax ranchers should pay for running their stupid cows on public lands.
@elaterite @bosquebill We have a pretty healthy coyote population here. You'd probably hear them singing every night if you stayed up for a lot of the night, which I no longer do. We're always seeing letters in the local paper about the dangerous coyotes boldly stalking people (*rolls eyes*) and how you should "haze" them to scare them away. Not a good place for people who want to keep outdoor cats, small dogs or chickens.
@akkana @elaterite Lots of 'em here in the bosque (and sometimes in my back yard) which is why I notice their absence while camping.
@akkana I love hearing coyotes going off! They are such enigmatic icons of the West.
@elaterite @akkana Lovely to hear them sing in the distance. Not as amusing when right outside your bedroom window in the middle of the night. They are LOUD (perhaps unsurprisingly.) Getting up and turning on the flood lights at the back of the house moves them off at least. Though it takes a while for the adrenaline to flush out of the system so I can get back to sleep. Still I'd rather have them than not.