Papago Buttes

Wow Phoenix, you take Hot to another level. 47°c and rising. Ryan arrived so we headed over in an attempt to beat the weather, unfortunately the sun gets up early here. We had a very nice walk but the finds were on the thin side due to the temperatures and the lack of rain. We did see a Zebra Tailed Lizard ( Callisaurus draconoides ) and briefly saw 2 whip tail lizards. Didn't get a good enough view to identify them properly although based on location they were likely Western Whiptails (Aspidoscelis tigris).
On the non-herp front we did see jack Rabbits, a vulture, night jars and a Dove on a nest.
The rains need to come, I feel a rain dance coming on, whatever is needed right?
After dinner we decided that we would give Papago park another shot after dark. The winds had risen and it felt like a fan heater was blowing in our faces constantly. Once again it was fairly fruitless. I managed to catch a Keeled Rock Gecko (Cyrtopodion scabrum) and we discovered an Arizona Bark Scorpion (Centruroides sculpturatus).
We rounded the night off with a ride back to the hotel with the amazing Charles in his Big Black Cadillac, the car needed to be that big to fit his huge personality in, what a guyRead more