Red Diamond
Posted: Sun Jun 30, 2019 8:07 pm
Red Diamond rattlers are my favorite. I like the colors and pattern, and they are local to the deserts here. This is the first one I've seen in the wild. It was coiled into a ball sitting on the side and facing a narrow trail. No amount of noise or stomping about got it to move. Had to bushwhack behind it to get around and reach Goat Peak in Poway. On the way back, it was still there and I rolled a few rocks toward it to get it move. That made it very angry. It flipped into striking position, ignited the rattle, and slowly backed away, loudly hissing at the same time. The display was very impressive, the combination of the rattle and hissing was visceral. This was a proud and fierce representative of the species. I tried to get a video, but bungled my camera from adrenaline. It retreated into the brush on one side, but continued to rattle and hiss. I couldn't tell where it was so I ended up bushwhacking on the other side to give it plenty of room. All I accomplished was pissing it off and moving it from a comfy spot, a poor outcome for both of us.
