Water Snakes in Courtship

I met a couple of Northern Water snakes on a sunny morning at the end of May. I was searching for amphibians on the vernal side of Lily pond after a cool night in the 40's and not having much luck when I noticed him in the shallows near the bank. It seemed odd that he was sticking around given my close proximity so I invited myself in even closer to take a few photographs. He let me know that I had trespassed by swimming away.  Not wanting to end our encounter, I initially held my ground and continued to watch and take pictures. I thought it was strange that he didn't go very far before he started back to his spot.

Stepping back to dryer land I saw him swim over what I had thought was a branch before, but now it definitely looked like a much bigger snake. He slid his head under her body and then back out again. She stayed motionless with the exception of her tongue. If it wasn't for her tongue I would have thought that she was dead. Her eyes were milky and her coloration on her head was closer to grey mud. The male continued to glide next to and over her for the duration of my observation. I took several videos one showed tadpoles (a food source) swimming around them which they ignored. In another video he quickly slides onto her back then she suddenly belly roles and he is flipped away. It was so quick that I only realized that it had happened after watching my videos several times. It was me who eventually moved away leaving them to do what snakes do on a sunny morning at the end of May.

I found several sources that seem to confirm my hunch that the smaller, brighter and more active snake was the male and that they they were possibly ready to mate as these snakes mate when they come out of hibernation in the early spring and into June. The female will carry and hatch her eggs internally giving birth to live young that are independent at birth.  I found a great video on water snakes and I encourage you to watch it. While Northern Water Snakes are not endangered as a group they are often mistaken for venomous Copperheads and unfortunately killed out of fear because of it. Northern Water Snakes are harmless to humans and we have proven ourselves the more dangerous of the two species.

I have heard in response to my last blog on another snake encounter, that the water snakes at Lily pond are huge and indeed they can reach almost five long. I think that I have finally found my answer to why I never see locals cooling off in the pond. -Norma Manning

The male sliding up her back

When they mate, he will wrap his tail around hers

He goes under her and over her

Female on the left, male on the right

A large variation in color and pattern exists among the species

His color seemed to change depending on where he was

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Definitely Not a Garter Snake

This evening while walking my dogs on Pond road I came across a hefty snake that had recently been struck by a car. The snake appeared to be mortally wounded at first look but then it coiled when the dogs got too close. Not recognizing what kind of snake it was, I stood there not wanting to see the animal suffer but also not wanting to get close enough to move it.

Growing up with three brothers, I had handled my share of snakes without much discomfort. As an adult it was in Florida and South Carolina that I learned to be wary of  snakes and once had such a close call at Cypress Swamp that occasionally it still causes me to pause even when seeing  a common Garter snake. We were walking around the swamp when I noticed something moving in the water. I took a step off the path only to be frozen with fear when Wayne shouted, "Don't move!" At that moment I think that I would have rather seen a gator than that snake poised to strike just inches from my foot. After what seemed to be an eternity, the snake simply went on its way.

A motorist slowed down to see what I was doing in the road. She got out of her car to take a look at the unusual snake, expressed regret at not being able to help with the situation but did take a few pictures. Shortly after I flagged down a friend who was looking like she needed an adventure just about then and so I invited her over by yelling, "There's an injured animal here!" Okay so I didn't exactly tell her that it was a snake but I was wanting her help and I thought that yelling snake might send her back up her driveway.  Now I'm not a total jerk so when she was fully committed to heading my way, I confessed that it was a snake.

You have to know someone pretty well to ask them to rescue an injured snake with nothing more than their bare hands and ingenuity and Cheryl seeing the poor thing went straight to work at finding a solution. As I mentioned before this was a hefty snake and not one you just reach out and grab by the tail or behind the head. "It's probably going to die, I just don't want it to suffer more than it has to." Cheryl and I bantered back and forth while sizing up the situation. The snake had a dull red background with a cloud shaped pattern. The clouds were bordered with a thin line of white and a black middle. "I don't know what kind it is, do you think it's a Milk Snake?" (It was not)

It was much more feisty than it should have been given the state it was in, so Cheryl picked up a couple of old corn stalk pieces out of the field and gently attempted to coax the snake towards the field. "It has a viper shaped head." I observed and it coiled to striking position. Cheryl gave it another gentle tap and WHACK it struck at her causing me to scream like a little kid in a haunted house who just had a monster jump out of a dark corner.  Cheryl on the other hand with cat like reflexes calmly spoke to the snake explaining to it that she only wanted it to move out of the road. Eventually the snake complied, stretched out and slithered off the road and into the field. Cheryl then went back to move the expelled innards of the snake off the road too. I don't know how many brothers Cheryl grew up with but I bet it was more than twelve. - Norma Manning