Snake in January

[lynnmor 6,762]

Walked a trail today and saw a deer, a hawk and an eastern garter snake.  I have never seen a garter snake in the middle of January, he was in the middle of the trail and was very stiff, but very much alive. I moved him off the trail in hopes that he wouldn't get smashed by other hikers or become a lunch for the hawk.  

[ebinmaine 62,958]

15 minutes ago, lynnmor said:

. I moved him off the trail

Thanks for doing that. Snakes are a much maligned creature that deserve none of the bad rep. 

I wish we had a few more mouse lovin' serpents around the acreage here. 

[WHNJ701 4,164]

I remember we had to set monument/property corners in January one year, one was in stone row, I remember moving a big rock and there were about 50 garters all huddled together hibernating 

[Pullstart 59,549]

12 hours ago, lynnmor said:

Walked a trail today and saw a deer, a hawk and an eastern garter snake.  I have never seen a garter snake in the middle of January, he was in the middle of the trail and was very stiff, but very much alive. I moved him off the trail in hopes that he wouldn't get smashed by other hikers or become a lunch for the hawk.  

Would you remind me to move my chickens out of the openings too?  The hawks have been circling quite close and I interrupted an ambush the other day.  I don’t want to, but I have the right to take lethal force in the very event of my livestock being attacked.  A shotgun blast would likely take out both birds anyway.

[DennisThornton 4,769]

Garters love to come in the greenhouse and curl up in the Sun but not this late in the season!  I haven't see one in months!  Shocked that a Garter would be seen in January that far north or anywhere close really!  I never bother them and I'm sad everytime I fail to see one while mowing. 

 

And for hawks!  I've lost several young and even full grown Roosters right in my yard surrounded by big pines!  Sometimes the flock would sound the alarm and they would ALL shoot for the closest cover!  We'd look up and see a hawk, sometimes circling and sometimes sitting on a branch.  Seems to be seasonal attacks in the Spring and early summer from both hawks and foxes, I suppose feeding their young.  I haven't retaliated but it's cost me several chickens!

Edited January 15, 2021 by DennisThornton
spelling

[rmaynard 14,864]

If you all remember the Pennsylvania Bald Eagle cam from the past couple of years, there was always a disclaimer that said, "nature can be difficult to watch". That being said, hawks need to eat too.

[pacer 3,159]

A few years back I had an unusual number of the spotted king snake (dont know the real name!) In trying to get the guys out of the yard and back into the brush, I quickly found these guys had a real testy disposition, they DID NOT like to be messed with, making it difficult to get em moved. I dont find that with the other many types of common snakes - I can usually get them back to the brush without problems. Now a copper head, moccasin, or rattler I will more often get rid of them from around the house, just to risky to have one of those snuggled up in a flower pot or ... 

 

I had a good friends wife get a nasty bite from a copper head from just that, moving a flower pot. Got her on the thigh and left her with an ugly sunken area where the bite was.

[lynnmor 6,762]

23 minutes ago, rmaynard said:

If you all remember the Pennsylvania Bald Eagle cam from the past couple of years, there was always a disclaimer that said, "nature can be difficult to watch". That being said, hawks need to eat too.

 

The hawks are welcome to all the rats and mice they can eat, I'm not sure that they have any other useful purpose, our forefathers kept their numbers in check.  Recently there seems to be way too many in my area.

[DennisThornton 4,769]

1 hour ago, lynnmor said:

 

The hawks are welcome to all the rats and mice they can eat, I'm not sure that they have any other useful purpose, our forefathers kept their numbers in check.  Recently there seems to be way too many in my area.

I have 40 acres and I don't hunt any predators including coyotes.  YET!  They can have 39 acres but leave my stock alone on this one acre.

[WHNJ701 4,164]

I hear more stories of these so called copperheads, everyone sadly assumes that's what they are and need to chop there heads off to protect the world.  Most of the time they either have a milk snake, juvenile black racer or a northern water snake or some other snake that appears to be a copperhead

[oldredrider 2,547]

Had a run of copperheads on my property a few years back. Company about 100 yards away was doing blasting to make room for a large apartment complex. Musta rocked their world.

Terminated all I could find with extreme prejudice. 

Seen the damage a copperhead can do...not pretty and permanent too.

[ebinmaine 62,958]

I guess I'm not exactly upset that we don't have any poisonous snakes in Maine

[WHNJ701 4,164]

36 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

I guess I'm not exactly upset that we don't have any poisonous snakes in Maine

Timber rattlesnake? I am not sure the range how far north.  An old surveyor told me stories how some of the early surveyors would wear pieces of stove pipe from the knee down to boot when they were choping line

[ebinmaine 62,958]

2 minutes ago, jabelman said:

Timber rattlesnake? I am not sure the range how far north.  An old surveyor told me stories how some of the early surveyors would wear pieces of stove pipe from the knee down to boot when they were choping line

 

 

Timber Rattlers have the same status in Maine as wolves and mountain lions. 

 

 

Here's a quote from NH Fish And Game:

 

In New England, timber rattlesnakes are listed as EXTIRPATED in Maine and Rhode Island, and endangered in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, and New Hampshire. In New Hampshire, the timber rattlesnake is likely the most endangered of any wildlife species, as there is only one known extant population. 

 

Note that I highlighted the word extirpated.

Definition:

Seek out and remove.

 

 

There's a family up the street from me who's been in possession of the same land for a little over a hundred years. The guy who lives there that I spoke to a few years back was some in excess of 70 and he said his grandparents used to talk about them having timber rattlers on that property. So I know they're native to my own mountainside. 

 

I had a road killed snake about a mile away that was telephone identified by Inland Fisheries And Wildlife as "likely to be a timber rattler."

They're nearly identical in markings to one of the milk snakes that we have. This particular snake had a bear spot on its tail that was likely occupied by two or four rattles.

 

The IFW ranger that I spoke to on the phone told me that all three of the above listed animals have known individuals occasionally appearing in the state but there is no breeding population of any of them and they are ultra rare so they can't be listed in any other way. 

[WVHillbilly520H 10,369]

This "yellow" timber rattler was from every bit of 30 years ago at my homeplace in WV (my 5' 2" tall mother modeling it next to a 4' tall fence post), if I don't see them anywhere near the house or  buildings they are safe to roam as they please, this one in particular was trying to make a meal out of one of our younger cats so I dispatched of it, didn't remove the rattlers as it was time for me to leave work (mid shift at the time) and we hung it on the fence by the next morning the whole carcass had disappeared.   The black snake was found on an old cast iron stove on property we rode ATVs on by my (now departed friend) who decided to "play" with it, the "non venomous" snake bit him on the hand and a few days later became infected enough he had to get a shot of penicillin, anyways he put him back to help keep the rodent population in the cabin down.

Edited January 15, 2021 by WVHillbilly520H

[DennisThornton 4,769]

I spent a lot of time in my childhood and teens stomping up and down the local creeks in very rural southern KY.  Saw LOTs of snakes, maybe a copperhead but never a rattler.  And I'm OK with that!  Even though I was near areas that were said to have had them I still tried to avoid the higher risks and again, I'm OK with that!  Not suppose to be anywhere in upstate NY but I spoke to a fellow that told me he killed one not to far away AND that he could show me one anytime I wanted.  Haven't wanted yet...

[tom2p 2,393]

I see snakes now and then on our property - but this past summer was the first time we had not just one - but two - on the driveway .. (few weeks apart)

 

this past summer (sw PA) was very hot and dry - possibly this had something to do with it ?

 

but our house (including driveway) is basically in the open with little shade - I've heard snakes like sun (?) but in very hot weather my guess is they would prefer shade (?)

one time I was cutting wood with a power saw on the driveway - and I spotted one around 20 feet away (toward car parked in driveway)

 

wth ?

 

it's possible the snake was surprised to see me cutting wood with a power saw ? ... and wanted to get a closer look to be sure ? ... I'm the carpenter's son that rarely uses a power saw  lol

 

Edited January 16, 2021 by tom2p