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Wild Pacific Coast Rattlesnake © 2010 Colleen M. Griffith. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, modified, or redistributed in any way without written agreement with the creator. This image is registered with the US Copyright Office. www.colleenmgriffith.com www.facebook.com/colleen.griffith This is a photo of a wild Pacific Coast Rattlesnake I found while hiking Mt Diablo over the weekend. Rattlesnakes, copperheads and cottonmouths are all pit vipers. Pit Vipers are snakes with two pits under their nostrils which detect heat and enable the rattlesnake to hunt warm-blooded prey. The pits are so sensitive that the snake can determine the size of the warm-blooded animal and can even detect prey in complete darkness. Rattlesnakes have a forked tongue that they flick up and down. The tongue picks microscopic airborne particles and gases from the air and uses the sent to identify food, enemy (humans), mate, or other object or substance. We saw a lot of wildlife on this trip to Mount Diablo: two snakes, two tarantulas, two quail, two turkeys. Seemed that everything came in pairs that day! Posted 21 September 2010. Best viewed in the largest size. You can see a collection of all my Wildlife photos by going to www.colleenmgriffith.com/Galleries/Flora-and-Fauna/Wildlife
Wild Pacific Coast Rattlesnake © 2010 Colleen M. Griffith. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, modified, or redistributed in any way without written agreement with the creator. This image is registered with the US Copyright Office. www.colleenmgriffith.com www.facebook.com/colleen.griffith This is a photo of a wild Pacific Coast Rattlesnake I found while hiking yesterday. I went back to Mount Diablo State Park to see if I could find and photograph more wild tarantulas and came across this mature, very large, rattlesnake sunning himself on the trail. What an exciting find! It had been a very cloudy (and relatively cool morning) and the sun was just starting to come out when I encountered this little guy. Rattlesnakes pick up vibrations through their body muscles which send sound through to their jaw bones and on to their inside ear parts. Rattlesnakes do not have outer ears and therefore rely on vibrations to pick up sound. They tend to not be very aggressive and will choose to flee from you if given the chance. When I got too close to this large rattler, he turned tail, and moved away very quickly - he didn't even pause to shake his rattle. Posted 20 September 2010. Best viewed in the largest size. You can see a collection of all my Wildlife photos by going to www.colleenmgriffith.com/Galleries/Flora-and-Fauna/Wildlife
Yikes! © 2010 Colleen M. Griffith. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, modified, or redistributed in any way without written agreement with the creator. This image is registered with the US Copyright Office. www.colleenmgriffith.com www.facebook.com/colleen.griffith> This is a photo of a wild tarantula I found prowling the trails of Mount Diablo State Park in Northern California. Yes, even tarantulas have a mating season - so every September the mature male tarantulas come out of their burrows looking for love. If you walk slowly, and look closely, you can find them. I let this one crawl all over my legs to see if I could get a good shot of him (I was wearing jeans of course) :) The local tarantula expert I spoke to in the area said it wasn't a good idea to let them crawl on your bare skin (other than hands perhaps) - this is because the tarantulas use their hairs as a defense mechanism, sort of like a porcupine. Tarantula hairs have little barbs on the ends of them and will stick in your skin, causing a rash. If you ever find one with a hairless rear-end, then you know it's felt harassed. They'll raise their rear end, and use their back legs to scrape the hairs off their backside - they'll then wave their legs in the air to stir up the hairs in the hopes their harasser will breath them in. Barbed hairs inside your nose - must be really uncomfortable! Posted 16 September 2010. You can see a collection of all my Tarantula photos by going to www.colleenmgriffith.com/Galleries/Flora-and-Fauna/Spiders
Ready to Pounce © 2010 Colleen M. Griffith. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, modified, or redistributed in any way without written agreement with the creator. This image is registered with the US Copyright Office. www.colleenmgriffith.com www.facebook.com/colleen.griffith This is a photo of a wild tarantula that I found prowling the trails of Mount Diablo State Park in California. Yes, even tarantulas have a mating season - so every September the mature male tarantulas come out of their burrows looking for love. If you walk slowly, and look closely, you can find them. Since these are wild creatures, I don't recommend handling them because they can be a bit unpredictable. However, I'm told by at least one tarantula expert in the area, this type of tarantula isn't known for aggressive behavior. You can see a collection of all my wild Tarantula photos by going to www.colleenmgriffith.com/Galleries/Flora-and-Fauna/Spiders
Tarantula Close Up © 2010 Colleen M. Griffith. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, modified, or redistributed in any way without written agreement with the creator. This image is registered with the US Copyright Office. www.colleenmgriffith.com www.facebook.com/colleen.griffith This is a photo of a wild tarantula that I found walking the trails of Mount Diablo State Park in California. Every year the mature male tarantulas come out of their burrows looking for love. Last night, we found a half dozen tarantulas on the prowl in a short 3 hour hike. It's so exciting when you find these very large spiders - and they all react differently to you too, which adds to the excitement! Posted 12 September 2010. You can see a collection of all my Tarantula photos by going to www.colleenmgriffith.com/Galleries/Flora-and-Fauna/Spiders
The Desert Awakens © 2010 Colleen M. Griffith. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, modified, or redistributed in any way without written agreement with the creator. This image is registered with the US Copyright Office. www.colleenmgriffith.com www.facebook.com/colleen.griffith This photo was captured at the Anza Borrego State Park, CA.
San Francisco Coyote © 2009 Colleen M. Griffith. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, modified, or redistributed in any way without written agreement with the creator. This image is registered with the US Copyright Office. www.colleenmgriffith.com www.facebook.com/colleen.griffith I came across this wild coyote as I was hiking on a path in a wooded area on the peninsula in San Francisco, CA. It's amazing the wildlife you find in the San Francisco Bay area!
Sunflower Starfish © 2009 Colleen M. Griffith. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, modified, or redistributed in any way without written agreement with the creator. This image is registered with the US Copyright Office. www.colleenmgriffith.com www.facebook.com/colleen.griffith Sunflower Starfish on the hunt at Pacific Coast Tidal Pools, California. These starfish typically have 22 to 26 legs and are considered voracious hunters and the "Porshe's" of the starfish world. You wouldn't believe how fast they move and can be a bit of a challenge to photograph in a Tidal Pool setting (since I'm photographing through the water surface). Their typical food is sea urchins and other starfish.
Looking For Love © 2009 Colleen M. Griffith. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, modified, or redistributed in any way without written agreement with the creator. This image is registered with the US Copyright Office. www.colleenmgriffith.com www.facebook.com/colleen.griffith Every year, the male tarantulas living at Mt. Diablo State Park (California) come out of their burrows starting in August looking for love. :) If you walk slowly and look very closely, you can find several during a short 2 hour hike along the main trails of the park. They are typically as big as your hand and if you are very careful, you can even pick them up.
Wild Pacific Coast Rattlesnake
© 2010 Colleen M. Griffith. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, modified, or redistributed in any way without written agreement with the creator. This image is registered with the US Copyright Office.
http://www.colleenmgriffith.com
http://www.facebook.com/colleen.griffith

This is a photo of a wild Pacific Coast Rattlesnake I found while hiking Mt Diablo over the weekend. Rattlesnakes, copperheads and cottonmouths are all pit vipers. Pit Vipers are snakes with two pits under their nostrils which detect heat and enable the rattlesnake to hunt warm-blooded prey. The pits are so sensitive that the snake can determine the size of the warm-blooded animal and can even detect prey in complete darkness. Rattlesnakes have a forked tongue that they flick up and down. The tongue picks microscopic airborne particles and gases from the air and uses the sent to identify food, enemy (humans), mate, or other object or substance. We saw a lot of wildlife on this trip to Mount Diablo: two snakes, two tarantulas, two quail, two turkeys. Seemed that everything came in pairs that day!

Posted 21 September 2010. Best viewed in the largest size. You can see a collection of all my Wildlife photos by going to http://www.colleenmgriffith.com/Galleries/Flora-and-Fauna/Wildlife
Wild Pacific Coast Rattlesnake © 2010 Colleen M. Griffith. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, modified, or redistributed in any way without written agreement with the creator. This image is registered with the US Copyright Office. www.colleenmgriffith.com www.facebook.com/colleen.griffith This is a photo of a wild Pacific Coast Rattlesnake I found while hiking Mt Diablo over the weekend. Rattlesnakes, copperheads and cottonmouths are all pit vipers. Pit Vipers are snakes with two pits under their nostrils which detect heat and enable the rattlesnake to hunt warm-blooded prey. The pits are so sensitive that the snake can determine the size of the warm-blooded animal and can even detect prey in complete darkness. Rattlesnakes have a forked tongue that they flick up and down. The tongue picks microscopic airborne particles and gases from the air and uses the sent to identify food, enemy (humans), mate, or other object or substance. We saw a lot of wildlife on this trip to Mount Diablo: two snakes, two tarantulas, two quail, two turkeys. Seemed that everything came in pairs that day! Posted 21 September 2010. Best viewed in the largest size. You can see a collection of all my Wildlife photos by going to www.colleenmgriffith.com/Galleries/Flora-and-Fauna/Wildlife
Wild Pacific Coast Rattlesnake
© 2010 Colleen M. Griffith. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, modified, or redistributed in any way without written agreement with the creator. This image is registered with the US Copyright Office.
http://www.colleenmgriffith.com
http://www.facebook.com/colleen.griffith

This is a photo of a wild Pacific Coast Rattlesnake I found while hiking Mt Diablo over the weekend. Rattlesnakes, copperheads and cottonmouths are all pit vipers. Pit Vipers are snakes with two pits under their nostrils which detect heat and enable the rattlesnake to hunt warm-blooded prey. The pits are so sensitive that the snake can determine the size of the warm-blooded animal and can even detect prey in complete darkness. Rattlesnakes have a forked tongue that they flick up and down. The tongue picks microscopic airborne particles and gases from the air and uses the sent to identify food, enemy (humans), mate, or other object or substance. We saw a lot of wildlife on this trip to Mount Diablo: two snakes, two tarantulas, two quail, two turkeys. Seemed that everything came in pairs that day!

Posted 21 September 2010. Best viewed in the largest size. You can see a collection of all my Wildlife photos by going to http://www.colleenmgriffith.com/Galleries/Flora-and-Fauna/Wildlife
See photo in original gallery.
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COLLEEN M GRIFFITH San Francisco Bay Area Photographer: Weddings, Portraits, Events, Photo Safaris, Restorations, Fine Art --- CONTACT ME: csmgriffith@yahoo.com, cell 303-506-3479 --- FRIEND ME ON FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/colleen.griffith