Posted by Allan Hall invited me to see the work that he and his son are doing to document graves, the arrastre and mine remnants in the Black Rock Mine area, and afterwards to hike Slim Jim wash.
Nearing our Constellation road destination, we stopped to chat with a Boy Scout group hiking the road. A couple of the boys spied a rattlesnake slithering out of the brush. It continued until it found shady “quarters” beneath Allan’s pickup. The snake was not disturbed even when Allan moved his truck so I quickly took this neat picture – using a ZOOM telephoto of course.
The title of this article is Allan’s guess as to the species suborder. Check the link http://www.reptilesofaz.com/herp-snakes.html for additional information on snakes in Arizona and then make your own judgment.
Remember, when snakes are encountered, leave them alone as most envenomizations occur when attempts are made to capture or kill these desert critters.
Last 5 posts by Lee Pearson
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That will be a speckled C. mitchelli pyrrhus
Nice specimen at that. I am glad to hear you did not kill it.
Constellation road is near Wickenberg, right? Too far south for it to be a midget faded (Crotalus Oreganus Concolor).
Anyhoo, DanS is right. It’s most definately a speck. (C. mitchelli pyrrhus) .. and a lovely one at that! I’m also glad to hear you didn’t kill it.
Miles:
You are correct. We located this speckled rattler about 8.5 miles east of the Rodeo Grounds on Constellation Road. That would be at a point above King Solomon Gulch where the trail begins to drop down toward the Bloo Nellie Mine. You will see quite a few specks in this area during the morning and late afternoon hours in the warm season.
The other dominant species in this vicinity is the Black Tailed Rattlesnake (Crotalus Molossus).
Best regards,
Allan
Here’s a baby speck near Skeleton Ridge
http://shup.com/Shup/37599/1083218318-S6300579.JPG-Windows-Picture-and-Fax-Viewer.png
I don’t have a zoom lens, so thats as close a shot as I’m getting
The Wickenburg Area has very nice looking speckled rattlesnakes. Please don’t kill them. They won’t bother you unless you pick one up.