Diario de tothemax

This past November, I joined my mom and dad on a month long road trip to the East coast to spend time with family, doing some sight seeing and wildlife watching along the way. We spent several days visiting my grandmother in Sarasota, Florida, and it was during this time that I got to go birding at several of Sarasota's birding hotspots. While I have visited Sarasota many times during my life to visit my grandmother, this was the first time I had done any birding in the area. With this in mind, one park I wanted to visit was Urfer Family Park along Bee Ridge Road, as it was only a short distance away from my grandmother's house and I had visited it before. I walked the small boardwalk near the parking lot with my dad on November 19th, and while I did not spend much time there, it was a decision that I wouldn't regret.

About midway down the boardwalk, I spotted two birds foraging for insects in the trees right next to me. One was a Blue-headed Vireo, an unusual bird for me given that I live in California. The other was a Golden-crowned Kinglet, a bird that I saw dozens of in the California mountains over the summer prior to this trip. Because I was more familiar with the kinglet, I did not think much of it at the time, only snapping enough photos to identify it later. I then moved on to the end of the boardwalk, where the forest canopy had been opened up by hurricane Ian and several trees had fallen over. This area was bustling with song birds! All within the span of five minutes, I saw another Blue-headed Vireo, several Blue-gray Gnatcatchers and Yellow-rumped Warblers, a Carolina Wren, and my first ever Northern Parula. The latter of these was really exciting to me, and since I like to keep my life list on EBird complete, I decided to submit a EBird list for the outing (see https://ebird.org/checklist/S122666029).

Later that night, I got an email from John Groskopf, one of the EBird data reviewers for Sarasota County, FL. He asked me to be more precise in my description of the Golden-crowned Kinglet sighting on my list so that he could confirm the sighting. According to him, this was only the second ever recorded sighting of a Golden-crowned Kinglet in Sarasota County, FL. When I heard this, I was so excited to have found a really rare bird for the area while just casually birding at a local park. Being pretty bad at explaining my ID thought process, I simply downloaded the photos of the kinglet from my camera and uploaded them to EBird, knowing that the photos would speak for themself. Two days later, I traveled back to Urfer Family Park to look for Barred Owls. As I was approaching the trail towards the oak scrub and pine woods, I noticed a large group of birdwatchers, dispersed over the area and searching intently for something. At first I thought it was an organized bird walk, but then I went up to someone to ask about it and they said that everyone was looking for the Golden-crowned Kinglet that had recently been reported on Ebird. I then mentioned how I was the one who found it and everyone came over to talk to me and ask me questions about the encounter and where I was from. It was amazing how I had completely shaken up the birding community with a quick visit to a local park on a family trip and it was an experience I will never forget.

But one question still remains about the second ever confirmed Golden-crowned Kinglet sighting in Sarasota County, Florida: how did the bird get there? This is always the question when it comes to accidental and rarity bird sightings, but in this case, I actually have a possible answer. The year 2022 has been a difficult weather year for the Southeastern states, with multiple hurricanes passing over Florida and Georgia, one of which took place just a few weeks prior to my sighting of the kinglet. It is likely that these storms impacted the migration patterns of small song birds and forced them outside of their normal range boundaries. Normally, Golden-crowned Kinglets that winter in Florida only do so in the forests of the Florida Panhandle, never moving farther South into the Florida Peninsula. It is possible that all of the recent storm activity pushed some of these tiny birds farther South into the Florida Peninsula, beyond their normal range. While this makes sense, the real reason remains to be discovered.

One of the most notable field herping challenges is for a field herper to find a live snake in ever month of a calendar year in his/her home state. In addition to a lot of luck, achieving this goal requires a thorough understanding of the landscape, snake activity patterns, the affects of weather on snake movement, and abiotic conditions. Only experienced field herpers who end up at the right place at the right time can achieve this goal. I first heard about this challenge from Silence Dogood on youtube, who made a video on his experience completing the snake-a-month challenge in Southern California and the tips he had for others attempting the challenge (You can find the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEObMGrY7Ek). At the time I watched his video, I was just getting into snaking as a hobby and was amazed that achieving such a goal was even possible. However, I never actually thought that I would be able to achieve the goal given just how much time and energy would go into the effort. But then, the year 2021 came around. Stuck at home during the pandemic, I spent most of my free time during the winter and spring of that year field herping in Southern California and I saw more snakes in a year than I ever had previously. Even after spring had ended, I managed to find snakes in the summer months and throughout the fall through random sightings and lucky storm events. I even found my first ever sharp-tailed snakes on a really cold morning in December of that year after it froze the night before. When I realized that I may have accomplished the snake-a-month challenge in California unintentionally, I looked at my records to check. Then, the tragedy stuck! I realized that I had seen a snake in every month of 2021 EXCEPT MAY! I was only one month away from completing the challenge! I was really bummed that I had come so close to accomplishing this major field herping accomplishment and had not succeeded.

But instead of throwing in the towel, I simply decided to try again next year! So when 2022 came around, I attempted the snake-a-month challenge for the state of California again, this time being more mindful of the challenge throughout the year. It took a lot of hard work and dedication, but I eventually pulled it off and achieved the snake-a-month-for-a-year goal. I have successfully seen a live snake in the wild during each month of the calendar year 2022 within California, a task that is not at all easy. Achieving this goal has given me a greater appreciation for the art of snaking and taught me a great deal about the lives of California's snakes. Below is the story of my journey to accomplish this feat, subdivided by the month. I have also included all of the observations of my first snake of each month. Enjoy!

January:
While it may be the middle of winter and cold most days, January is not a terribly tricky time to find snakes. Yes, snake movement on the surface may be low, but it is not uncommon for snakes to bask or hide under cover objects on sunny days at this time of year. The normally wet weather also produces humid conditions, and while the ground is usually a little wetter than ideal during January, this is more favorable than being too dry. I found my first snake of the year rather quickly on January 8th, when I flipped an adult gophersnake under a random coverboard I found in Santa Barbara County. The weather was cold, but the snake was still warmed up enough to go through the motions and put on its full rattlesnake-mimic display. The rest of January turned out to be a better month than normal for snakes in Southern California, as it was sunny and unusually warm for most of the month.

February:
February is normally the month where winter in Southern California transitions to spring. As a result, February is the first month where finding snakes in Southern California is relatively easy and predictable. All that is needed is to check under cover objects on a warm and humid day. My first snake of February was a valley gartersnake that was resting under a coverboard the morning of February 3rd in Santa Barbara County. Just like January, February of 2022 was unusually warm and dry, making it a better month for snake activity than normal.

March:
As someone who likes looking for snakes by flipping cover objects best, March is my favorite month for field helping in California. Checking under cover objects to find reptiles and amphibians is most productive during this month and regular basking and movement patterns start this month as well. March is by far the easier month to find a snake, and my first snake of the month was a gophersnake found under a coverboard in Santa Barbara County on the 11th. The rest of March was full of awesome snake encounters, including my first ever mountain kingsnake.

April:
All around, April is the best month of the year for nature watching across the U.S., and April in California is no exception. Checking cover objects for reptiles and amphibians during this month is normally still productive, although looking for snakes basking and moving around is equally so. For April, my first snake was a Northern Pacific rattlesnake that I observed basking at the entrance of a ground squirrel burrow on April 1st at Blue Oak Ranch Reserve in the Bay Area. April is also the month when looking for snakes in mountain habitats in Southern California first becomes possible. I experienced a taste of this when one of my peers found a mountain kingsnake at James San Jacinto Mountains Reserve during a field course that we were on.

May:
From my experience, the month of May can either be an easy or difficult month to find a wild snake in California depending on where you are and the weather. This is the best month to look for snakes in mountain habitats and the start of reliable weather for looking for snakes on desert roads at night, both of which can be productive options. By the coast and in the lowlands, weather has a bigger role to play. If it is too dry, then finding snakes that are moving around is the only option. However, if it is not too hot and not too dry, snakes will still use cover objects during this month. I was able to find the first snake of May in the Bay Area, when I found a pair of Northern Pacific Rattlesnakes under a piece of tin in Blue Oak Ranch Reserve on May 11th. The rest of the month was decently productive, with me finding several more rattlesnakes in the Bay Area and several desert species on two road cruising trips.

June:
With the end of May, the dry and warm summer weather usually starts in June. Throughout most of California, the best way to find a snake in June is either looking for snakes moving overland or exploring creeks and ponds in search of gartersnakes. For me, since I was stationed in Modoc County for half of the month, checking cover objects was also an option, as Northern California still had a decent amount of soil moisture left during this time of year. My first snake of June was actually a Western yellow-bellied racer found under a piece of tin on June 18th in Modoc County. Hiking, driving on roads during the day, and exploring ponds and wetlands also proved to be productive options for finding snakes in Northern California. There was even one reservoir I went to that had 50-70 gartersnakes, the most snakes I have ever seen in one place!

July:
While it can be a tricky month in some places, the warm temperatures of July mean that this month is still a decent time of year to find snakes in California. The easiest methods for this month are searching around water sources for gartersnakes and driving roads at night or day to find moving snakes. A Western yellow-bellied racer crossing the path at Modoc National Wildlife Refuge on July 1st was the first snake I saw for this month. The rest of the month was full of other common snakes in Modoc County, including gophersnakes, gartersnakes, and more racers.

August:
August is where the going gets tough. Looking for snakes at night in the desert becomes much less productive, although this sometimes changes with the birth of baby snakes in the late summer. If they are still out, this is usually also the last month where gartersnakes are commonly seen out and about in Southern California. Cover objects rarely produce during this month. However, August in Northern California is more productive. With a decent amount of effort, I was able to find a large mountain gartersnake at Modoc National Wildlife Refuge on August 7th. While I did see a few more snakes in August, the frequency of my snake encounters greatly decreased this month.

September:
The best bet for finding a snake in September is trekking out to the deserts and driving roads to look for newborn snakes. Other than that, this month is tricky given that it is usually very dry. That being said, finding snakes out and about during the day in all habitats is still a possibility. I found my September snake, a valley gartersnake, basking on a road in Modoc County on the 2nd of the month. I did see a few more snakes out on the roads during September, but even fewer than in August.

October:
Because of the lowering temperatures and dry conditions, October is another difficult month to find snakes. This is especially the case in Southern California, as gartersnakes are generally not active at this time and cover objects rarely get used. With my time in Modoc County ending this month, I knew my best bet was to hope that the weather in Northern California would remain warm and that the snakes would continue to be crossing roads like they had been the last two months. On the 1st of October, I went out to Modoc National Wildlife Refuge and biked the main loop, hoping to find a snake crossing the road. I passed four dead snakes before finally finding a live, hatchling gophersnake basking on the road. That was the only live snake I saw that October.

November:
November is the most difficult month of the year to find a snake in California. Not only is it usually too dry for cover objects to produce snakes, but it is also usually too cold for much diurnal snake movement. As a result, most snakes retreat into rodent burrows to wait until favorable conditions return in the late winter. However, weather permitting, some snakes may choose to use cover objects during this time, especially if they have not eaten enough prior to winter. Luckily, this worked out for me, as I was able to find a Southern Pacific rattlesnake hiding under a piece of tin in Ventura County on November 1st.

December:
This was it: the final showdown. I had reached December, the last month of 2022 and only needed to find one more snake. While winter rains can increase the soil moisture during this month, December is still nearly as challenging November given that it is much colder. Despite this, snakes will use cover objects or bask in December if they can find microclimates that are warm enough. This was my saving grace, as I managed to find a young Southern Pacific rattlesnake under a piece of tin on December 14th, ending the journey to my completion of the snake-a-month challenge for 2022.