Sea Turtles to Sidewinders

About Charles HoodErin WesteenJose Gabriel Martinez-Fonseca

Born in Los Angeles, Charles Hood has birded all 58 California counties, photographed all 21 California missions, and helped to add a new bird to the official California list (Hawaiian petrel, also called the ?ua?u). He has been a dishwasher, factory worker, ski instructor, Fulbright scholar, bird guide in Africa, and an artist-in-residence in Antarctica. Charles is the co-author of two other Timber Press books: Wild LA and Sea Turtles to Sidewinders: A Guide to the Most Fascinating Reptiles and Amphibians of the West. He is working on a new book about nature at night. Recently retired, he lives in the Mojave Desert. Born in the San Francisco Bay Area, biologist Erin Westeen has been fascinated with herps since first spotting western fence lizards in her childhood backyard. She has done extensive fieldwork across western North America and the Neotropics and is currently a PhD candidate at UC Berkeley, where she studies spiny lizards. When not in the field, you can find her in one of the many natural history museums where she has been lucky enough to work.José Gabriel Martínez-Fonseca is a Nicaraguan biologist and wildlife photographer who has been working with amphibians, reptiles, and mammals for over 12 years. Fascinated by snakes long before he caught his first at the age of 11, he later co-authored a Field Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Nicaragua. He is currently a PhD student at Northern Arizona University, where he studies habitat fragmentation in the Neotropics and enjoys photographing as many species of amphibians and reptiles as possible.