Gopher Snake

West Desert Great Basin Gopher Snake

By Mia McPherson|August 19th, 2022|Categories: Gopher Snakes, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult, desert, dirt, foothills, Gopher Snake, Great Basin Gopher Snake, Pituophis catenifer, Pituophis catenifer deserticola, reptile, reptiles, road, sky island mountains, snake, snakes, summer|

Two days ago while out exploring the West Desert of Utah I was thrilled to come across a large Great Basin Gopher Snake warming itself on a dusty dirt road.

Adult Red-tailed Hawk With A Snake In The West Desert

By Mia McPherson|September 27th, 2020|Categories: Birds, Red-tailed Hawks, Tooele County, Utah, West Desert|Tags: adult, birds of prey, Buteo jamaicensis, Buteos, desert, Gopher Snake, grasses, grassland, hawk, hawks, Pituophis catenifer, prey, raptors, Red-tailed Hawk, snake, snakes|

I noticed immediately that the Red-tailed Hawk was on prey because I saw it tearing into something despite the grasses that were partially obstructing my view.