What’s more fun than finding a snake? I’ll bet the first answer that popped into your head was finding two snakes. You’re probably right. I had the good fortune to find this beautiful Northern Ring-Necked Snake yesterday evening. This is the first of its kind found at Blue Jay Barrens, so the find was doubly exciting.
This specimen measured in at about eleven inches, a typical adult size for this species. One look at the neck and it’s easy to see how the snake got its name.
When I found it, the snake was poking its head under and between the rocks of the creek bed. I imagine it was hunting. Normal prey items are worms, slugs and small reptiles and amphibians. That chunky tail looks to me like it could be mistaken for a food item.
Here’s where I found it. There are probably a lot of things to eat under those rocks. This snake spends a lot of time sheltered under rocks or logs and may have spent the day beneath one of those flat slabs. It was nearing sundown when I happened by and the snake had probably just come out of hiding.
The snake pulled itself into a semi-coil at my approach, but didn’t seem disturbed by my presence. I didn’t try to pick it up. Like many species of snakes, this one defends itself by putting a foul smelling substance on the attacker. The air was cool and clean and I didn’t want to smell snake stink for the rest of my walk, so I just looked at him and he just looked at me.
When he did decide to depart, it was done rapidly and straight in my direction. I wanted to get a shot of him stretched out, but I was on hands and knees and he was hurrying off between my legs. I didn’t want to risk hurting him by scrambling to turn around. A glance over my shoulder let me see him disappear beneath a big flat rock.
What’s more fun than finding a snake? I’ll bet the first answer that popped into your head was finding two snakes. You’re probably right. I had the good fortune to find this beautiful Northern Ring-Necked Snake yesterday evening. This is the first of its kind found at Blue Jay Barrens, so the find was doubly exciting.
This specimen measured in at about eleven inches, a typical adult size for this species. One look at the neck and it’s easy to see how the snake got its name.
When I found it, the snake was poking its head under and between the rocks of the creek bed. I imagine it was hunting. Normal prey items are worms, slugs and small reptiles and amphibians. That chunky tail looks to me like it could be mistaken for a food item.
Here’s where I found it. There are probably a lot of things to eat under those rocks. This snake spends a lot of time sheltered under rocks or logs and may have spent the day beneath one of those flat slabs. It was nearing sundown when I happened by and the snake had probably just come out of hiding.
The snake pulled itself into a semi-coil at my approach, but didn’t seem disturbed by my presence. I didn’t try to pick it up. Like many species of snakes, this one defends itself by putting a foul smelling substance on the attacker. The air was cool and clean and I didn’t want to smell snake stink for the rest of my walk, so I just looked at him and he just looked at me.
When he did decide to depart, it was done rapidly and straight in my direction. I wanted to get a shot of him stretched out, but I was on hands and knees and he was hurrying off between my legs. I didn’t want to risk hurting him by scrambling to turn around. A glance over my shoulder let me see him disappear beneath a big flat rock.
