Will

My interest in herpetology originated from my childhood fascination with the huge, mysterious dinosaurs. As I grew older, that interest shifted to the smaller “dinosaurs” of today, the reptiles and amphibians.
I acquired knowledge over the years by observing various animals during trips to the local mountains and deserts. These trips were awe-inspiring. It was a great thrill to find Dipsosaurus dorsalis and Uma scoparia in the wild. Growing up I hounded my family to accompany me. Then later, day trips were taken alone from sun up to sun down. Notes were taken throughout the day with a tape recorder or pen and paper. Records were made of any herpetofauna encountered from the abundant Uta stansburiana to a Crotalus cerastes that had been run over and killed on the highway. “Road-kills” are a significant part of finding animal distribution, considering that the animal crawled onto the road on its own. Some rare animal populations are first recognized by the examination of road-kills.
I have lost interest in catching animals, but now prefer to photograph them in their unaltered, wild state. Camping and day trips are now made to extremely secluded, wilderness locations. Generally on outing to these regions, I night drive dark roads with camera in hand. Many pictures are taken of snakes on paved roads, because that is the location on which found. I scan dark roads from sunset to early morning, sometimes in the rain, and sometimes across rough, dirt roads in a four-wheel drive truck. During this time, on lonely, dark highways, my mind often drifts to thoughts of discovering animals rarely seen, or even better, an amazing undiscovered species on the next mile ahead.
The California wilderness holds a myriad of natural wonders just waiting to be discovered. Under a rock, basking on a log, on a road in pouring rain or blazing sun. One only has to leave the concrete cities with camera, field book and an over powering curiosity to find an entirely new world.