Kansas / Colorado Border (Oct 4th)

Last trip of the year, thought we would give Eastern Hogs one last chance, no luck. Herping does not come easy this was our 6th attempt, everything felt perfect and we rolled the dice. The time with each other and the adventures are what make this hobby so much fun, sometimes it really is the thrill of the chase. 2014 has been a great year. Hopefully next year.
Snake Pit (Sept 26th)

With winter looming this will be the last visit to the snake pit for the season. We will be out there in full force next season . Hayley and Ryan's friend Tavion got to experience the snake pit.
Kansas/Colorado Border (Sept 15th)

Another trip to Kansas with the Warfel Clan, if your wondering why so many trips to Kansas, we are on an Eastern Hognose Snake mission. The Eastern Hognose snake has eluded us so far and it is number one on our list right now. This was our 4th trip down this year and still no Eastern Hognose, fortunately this area is snakey and we have lots of fun but I would be lying if I said we were not a little disappointed.
Snake Pit (Sept 10th)

We like to visit the water diversion site as often as possible during the busy season to reduce animal deaths. Look at all the juvenile racers, hatchling season. Always feels good setting all of these guys free.
Sand/Sage Eastern Plains (Sept 6th)

We met Cole and Heather for a little herping in Eastern Colorado, while we were out we bumped in to Ben Fisher and Family. Great night out with all the usual suspects, I think the highlight of the night was this juvenile Hognose Snake.
NAFHA 2014 National Trip Arizona (Sept 3rd - 5th)

Wow! What more can I say? We visit AZ often to see family, this was our first trip down to AZ with the main purpose of Herping. Arizona was magical, it gets in your blood, all I want to do is go back. We had an amazing adventure, met so many wonderful people and saw some beautiful country. Can't wait for a 2015 return trip. We added lots of species to our life list the diversity in this area is top notch.
Ryan's Birthday (Aug 18th)

Happy Birthday Wildman Big 10. Ryan's Birthday today, of course we need to spend a little of it herping. Hunter, Anthony, Hayley and Ryan spent the evening in Weld County herping.
Snake Pit (Aug 16th)

Colorado has had so much moisture this year, this was the first time the water diversion was activated. The snake pit is actually a water clean out, part of a canal system owned by the Northern Water District. While water is being diverted it travels through a trap that cleans debris, and collects snakes, Fortunately for the snakes we are allowed the opportunity to remove the snakes, collect data and release them back in to the world. Last year we got a 12 mile range extension in the pit for Lined Snakes, pretty cool.
Cole's Birthday (Aug 15th)

Ryan and I hurried back from Otero County and made it to Cole's Birthday just in time. Happy Birthday Cole. Cole was nice enough to take us road cruising on his Northern Leopard frog road.
Otero County (Aug 14th)

The girls took a weekend trip to California for Karissa's birthday, when the girls are away the boys will play. Ryan and I ran down to Otero county for a quick trip, Coles Birthday was also this weekend and we really wanted to do both. We had fun and saw lots of animals.
Colorado Herping Eastern Plains (Aug 11th)

Absolutely crazy how much oil and gas development is going on in the eastern part of our state. Really sad actually, lots of pristine sandhill habitat getting destroyed. The oil and gas traffic on all the country roads is through the roof, which means high road mortality for all the creatures we love. It is only a matter of time and the common species will no longer be common. Conservation and developing BMP's is essential to maintain an ecological balance. We have seen very productive areas completely ruined. Hopefully a balance can be found.
2014 Local Herping August

August trips close to home. We found a new irrigation drainage by accident, our truck broke down and we managed to limp our way in to a nearby neighborhood. This drainage is loaded with Bullfrogs. Froggin is a ton of fun even though Bullfrogs are an invasive species, out competing native species we still enjoy getting out documenting what we find.
Kansas Herpetological Society Field Trip (July 26th)

Kansas is one of our favorite places to herp, and the KHS hosts some of the best field trips available. In 2011 we were trying to get connected with other herpers, Colorado has a tight knit group and it takes time to build trust. We attended a KHS trip and were welcomed with open arms. Travis Taggert has been an excellent mentor and is one of Ryan's heroes when it comes to herping. This trip was on the Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma state lines and did not disappoint. Ryan had the opportunity to pull an all night herping trip with Travis, he was pumped. Tim Warfel and Ericka kept us company on this awesome trip.
Gove County Kansas (July14th)

Took a trip to Quinter Kansas with Grandma and Grandpa to visit family and have fun. We rented a farm house in the country and had a great weekend. Temperatures were cool , but that did not keep us from herping. We also visited the property where Ryan and Hayley's great, great, great grandparents lived, this is where the fish in the fish fossil located in the Sternberg museum was found.
Zoological Discovery Center Larimer County Bio Blitz (July 11th)

The Zoological Discovery center is a 501c3 non profit organization that believes in a hands-on approach to wildlife conservation and education. Ryan, Hayley and I volunteer and we were asked to participate in a Bio-blitz for Larimer County. A Bio-blitz is a quick survey of all plants and animals on a given site and a great way for Larimer county to promote conservation within the community. We had lots of fun, however weather was not great for reptiles or amphibians.
2014 Local Herping July

Every month we end up with a multiple folders of pictures from areas we frequently visit close to home. My plan from here on out is to group these in to a single monthly trip report. This group is from July, all of are normal stomping grounds like the Platte River, ponds and irrigation drainages, open spaces and a lake close to our house.
2014 CO PARC Otero County Trip (June 27th - 29th)

SE Colorado is by far Ryan's favorite place to herp, the most diverse area in Colorado. CO PARC hosts an annual trip to Otero County, this trip is a must for anyone who enjoys reptiles and amphibians. This trip report also includes some photos from Kansas. We are currently on a mission to find Eastern Hognose snakes so we cut out early and ran over to Kansas. This was our third attempt at Eastern Hogs with no luck, sometimes the wait makes it way more rewarding.
Herping Colorado with the Colorado Crew (June 15th)

Colorado has a great group of like minded individuals, who are passionate about nature, herps and conservation. We love getting together with other Colorado herpers, socializing and spending time in the field. Group trips are a great way to see more, meet others and learn. We have made some great friends over the past few years and appreciate the time we get to spend together. We are grateful. This trip was to the eastern plains, sand/sage habitat. Lots of animals, lots of fun.
Herping Colorado with Andrew (June 13th)

Ryan loves sharing his passion with others, Andrew is a school friend of Ryan's and asked if he could go herping with Ryan. We had a great night out on the Plains of eastern Colorado, we found the hard to find snakes of the area but I think Andrew was most excited about the Box Turtle. I am sure he has no idea what a successful night it was, it took us 2 years to find our first Hognose and another year to find our first Milksnake, Andrew knocked these both off on his first and only herp trip. Cole Wild joined in on the fun as well.
Herping Around Home (June 2014)

Sometimes cabin fever sets in and we just need to get out of the house for a few hours. Visiting local ponds, lakes, rivers and open spaces offers an excellent opportunity to enjoy nature with a limited time/travel investment. We have learned more over the past 4 years visiting the same places, you get to learn a lot by observing the same animals year after year like where the snakes hibernate, forage, bask etc. Being in nature is good for the body and soul. These pictures were take at the Platte River, a pond next to our house, a residential lake and a neighborhood drainage ditch all within 5 miles of our house.
2014 CO PARC Moffat County Survey (June 6th - 8th)

Moffat county is the furthest northwest county in Colorado. Very little survey work has been done in this county, so lots of thing yet to be discovered. We were really hoping to add two new species of snakes to the species guide the first being the Striped Whipsnake and the other being a Midget Faded Rattlesnake, we were successful with both. We also found Great Plains Ratsnakes which extended the known range over 100 miles for this species. The Gates of Lodure was home and an excellent place to camp, next to the Green River. We also documented Short Horned Lizards which is also a county record. Great trip, beautiful place in Dinosaur National Monument. Be sure to check out the pictures. Lifers: Striped Whipsnake, Midget Faded Rattlesnake, Short Horned Lizard
Herping Colorado (June 2nd)

Colorado is warming up, this is the first week we have had a few days in a row of consistently warm weather which means time to go herping. We left the house on a mission to find our first Hognose snake of the year, mission accomplished. Trumping the Hognose find was a new experience something we had never heard or seen, a full chorus.
Cruising country roads we come up on a lake which is normally non-existent we get out of the car and the sounds of toads and frogs calling filled the air. Ryan and Hayley were going crazy catching toads, listening to them call. we heard Woodhouse Toads, Great Plains Toads, Chorus Frogs and an occasional Bullfrog. Really cool experience
Cruising country roads we come up on a lake which is normally non-existent we get out of the car and the sounds of toads and frogs calling filled the air. Ryan and Hayley were going crazy catching toads, listening to them call. we heard Woodhouse Toads, Great Plains Toads, Chorus Frogs and an occasional Bullfrog. Really cool experience
2014 Spring Snake Count (May 17th-25th)

Center for Snake Conservation Spring Snake Count has arrived, we enjoy getting out collecting and contributing data. Fortunately, Colorado has been rainy which is excellent for the entire eco-system including snakes. We took a trip to the sandhills following 3 days of rain, the weather was cool and the Milksnakes were up on the surface The highlight of the week ,Ryan finally found his first Bullsnake of the season. Colorado is primed for some excellent herping. Stay Tuned.
COPARC Baca County Herp Survey (May 16th - May 18th)

COPARC hosted their first field trip of the year, destination Baca County. Baca County is in the extreme SE corner of Colorado we were 2 miles north of Oklahoma and 5 miles east of New Mexico. Weather was perfect unfortunately like many other places draught is a major issue, and this area was dry. We were hoping to find Thread Snakes, a few documented records exist for this locale but came up short. None the less this was an excellent trip, we had so much fun and lots of wildlife encounters.
Colorado Herping (April - Early May)

Glad to see Colorado warming up, cabin fever has set in and seeing all the posts from people living in the southern United States is always frustrating. Especially while we are still getting lots of snow. Due to time constraints I am consolidating our early season observations in to a single trip report. Highlights for the season so far, Hayley found the first Bullsnake of the season we also got our first Milksnake. If you asked Hayley what the best find was she would say Box Turtles. we have been herping with Joe Ehrenberger quite a bit this season, he is a Biologist with the State Land Board. Learning from Joe has been an incredible experience and we are very grateful, we have focused our attention on new areas in the sandhills.