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Happy Mother's/Nerodia Day?

alan

alan

Guest
My Sweetie slept in on Mother's day, so I did my usual thing and headed down to the river for a few hours. The temperature was decent, no jacket required, and the sun was in and out of light cloud cover. Conditions like that after the water warms up a bit in spring are perfect for basking snakes. I found them.
Every one of these photos is a different snake unless noted otherwise. I shot these photos along only 3/4 of a mile of shoreline. I found 22 Nerodia sipedon sipedon and have 18 in the photos, can't get 'em all, they're pretty quick to dive unless you're sneaky. I'm pretty sneaky.

This first one was torn between staying in the nice basking spot and getting away from the large creature getting close to it. It knew I was there so I was slow and easy. I got close enough to get a pic with my phone to post on "some social site" and backed off, it stayed there.

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It was a basking kind of day, but this one scooted after the photo was taken.

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When you're talking water snakes pretty isn't the best term, let's just say some are "nice looking".

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This was another one of them;"should I stay, or should I go?". It stayed.

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MORE TO COME...
 
I think this one is a little lumpy from a recent meal?

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Don't be fooled by that clouded spectacle, it saw me.

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You can see that they aren't all the same color. In addition to that the ones around here usually lose their pattern. Some have a very faint pattern that you can see better when they're wet.

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BUT WAIT! THERE'S MORE...
 
These aren't the best photos, but I saw a few random swim-bys.

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This is how you see them if you're not being sneaky enough, going the other way. For most people all they know when they surprise a water snake is that "something splashed".

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WE'RE NOT DONE YET!...
 
How many water snakes were out that day? You could see more than one at a time. Did you notice the head in the water behind the snake in the second picture?
This is a discarded photo from when I was moving closer to the first snake. I didn't even see the blurry head in the background until I got home.

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This was very interesting. I was trying to get a good shot of this one and exclude some trash in the foreground (Washington DC and several residential areas are a short distance up the river).

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As I was taking pics I saw some movement in the foreground so I quickly raised up and snapped this shot. Sorry about the trash, we clean this shoreline but it's a constant thing.

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When I backed off to get both snakes in the photo I also noticed something to the left.

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I moved up and got this photo of a probable hook-up. Sorry, no good pics of that, I mis-stepped on a loose rock and scared them into the crevises and the water under the rocks.

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Last (because I was walking for a while with the camera turned on and didn't realize it, my battery died), but not least, and not such a good shot.
Water snakes don't just eat fish, frogs are also on the menu. This frog was still alive as the snaked dragged it back into the vegetation.

munch.jpg
 
So, I picked a really good day to go look for water snakes. Didn't see one garter or black rat snake all morning, just plenty of nerodia.
I hope you liked my photos, thanks for checkin' them out.
 
Wow! That's a lot of water snakes! I've never seen so many of one kind of snake so close together, except for once when a whole nest of garters came out on a warm day. I've never even seen a water snake before. Do people make pets of them, are are they just too plain for most people?
 
I never knew anyone with a Northern Water Snake for a pet, I don't know how tame they would get.
They have a pretty good bite (made for holding fish) and they're quick to use it. If you pick up a wild one you should expect it, and be prepared to accept a bite. I've only picked up a few that didn't.
When they have a pattern they can look pretty nice, with decent coloration, and I kind of like their head shape.
 
There were so many I wouldn't be surprised if there was food competition!
I don't think so. I'm looking at the full resolution pic and I can't see it.
 
Very cool, Alan! I've seen 2 Nerodia hatchlings (12" or so) around here the past couple days. I'll have to start walking the dog with my camera...
 
airenlow said:
Very cool, Alan! I've seen 2 Nerodia hatchlings (12" or so) around here the past couple days. I'll have to start walking the dog with my camera...
Click to expand...

Doesn't your phone have a camera?

Now that I have caught several black racers, water snakes are next on my list!
 
Did you say you took all of those photos with a camera phone?? Or did I misunderstand that? If you did what kind of phone do you have??

Either way those are great photos!! Thanks for sharing them, I only wish there was some where around here to field herp.
 
Wow. What a great day. I always look for water snakes when I'm kayaking, but rarely see them. Care to offer any advice for how to find them?
 
airenlow said:
Very cool, Alan! I've seen 2 Nerodia hatchlings (12" or so) around here the past couple days. I'll have to start walking the dog with my camera...
Click to expand...

I know you did, I read that. That's why I figured I would show off ;)

Nanci said:
Now that I have caught several black racers, water snakes are next on my list!
Click to expand...

Get us some pictures of the bloodshed!

Asbit said:
Did you say you took all of those photos with a camera phone?? Or did I misunderstand that? If you did what kind of phone do you have??
Click to expand...

No, I guess I stated that kind of funny. When I got really close to the first one I wanted a pic I could quickly upload. The rest were taken using my Daughter's DSLR, which I bought for her, which she rarely uses, which ticks me off, because I won't spend that kind of money for another one, so I TAKE it.

Look around at wildlife refuges and wildlife management areas near you. I live in a very urban area, it starts getting more suburban near my house. There aren't any snakes in my neighborhood, I've never seen one there in 20 years. One thing is I'm fortunate enough to have the Potomac and Occoquan rivers very close. This is a small refuge, but it packs a lot of critters. Look up Occoquan Bay NWR.
 
alan said:
One thing is I'm fortunate enough to have the Potomac and Occoquan rivers very close. This is a small refuge, but it packs a lot of critters. Look up Occoquan Bay NWR.
Click to expand...

Huh. I mostly grew up in North Stafford; my grandparents always lived in Nokesville (east of Dale City), and my mom now lives in Mannassas. If I ever go visit again, maybe we can go for a river walk.
 
Great photos. I never see water snakes around here, but my father who lives about an hour's drive away also finds tons of them all gathered around in the same vicinity like you did. They may not be "pretty" but they are cool looking.
 
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