Claudia was the next snake on our list, not far away from Kyle.  We found her in a sunny patch of open, second-growth forest, on level ground.

This rattlesnake's ground color was darker than Kyle's, making her a darker snake overall.  A yard or so in length, Claudia never moved or twitched as Greg recorded data and I snapped photos.

Time to move on to the next snake, which is up along the top of a long ridge.  It was a female named Amy, who had recently gave birth.  Some of her offspring had hung around with her until just a few days ago.  We walked up a trail running along the ridge, and Greg said "your turn, Mike."  Me?  Oh, this was too much!  I hung the receiver strap around my neck, and picked up the antenna.  Greg had already set the frequency, and I started walking slowly in the direction where the beeps were strongest.  It's one thing to follow along, and quite another to do it yourself! 

The beeps led us down one slope of the ridge a short distance, and close to the edge of a small gully, I starting getting thud.  We scanned the ground carefully - where was she?  "There!" pointed Greg.  I was on one side of a tree, and the rattler was coiled on the other.  Like the first snake, she was also in a predatory coil, but pointing away from the tree down-slope.  Amy was not as stunning as Kyle or Claudia, but she was a pretty snake nonetheless.

I decided that I really liked radio-tracking rattlesnakes.