northeast-flora-and-fauna

I spotted these Northern Watersnakes in ... <Surprise!> ... the water! Although I almost always find these snakes near water, most of my photos tend to be of them out of water ( sometimes involuntarily ), partly because they're easier to notice there and partly because photographing animals in water doesn't always work out well. (FWIW I have taken some pictures of them out for a swim .) Though it's easy to see 1 snake in the 1st picture, if you look in the center of the picture a little to the right of the "main" snake, you'll see the head of another one. This was probably still mating season [1], so a romantic relationship between the 2 snakes cannot be ruled out. May 11, 2023 at Great Swamp Photo 282421560, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) May 11, 2023 at Great Swamp Photo 282421605, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) [1] Two years prior, amorous watersnakes were clearly evident in late April, about 2 weeks before these pic...

This post shows 2 different snakes slithering around a drained pool at Bamboo Brook. This is the exact same drained pool I talked about in a recent post . It's possible the Northern Watersnake in that post is the same 1 in this post [1] [2], though the bands seem quite a bit more pronounced in this post's Northern Watersnake [3]. This is my 1st picture of this Eastern Garter Snake though; I didn't see 1 of those earlier in the day. I have to admit that I was a little concerned for the safety of the Eastern Garter Snake. Snakes will eat snakes, and the Eastern Garter Snake was clearly a smaller snake. But when they crossed paths, they really didn't pay much attention to 1 another, sort of like commuters in a subway. Garter snakes and watersnakes are relatives, and both are good swimmers, give birth to live young, and are common in New Jersey. May 8, 2023 at Bamboo Brook Photo 282305418, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) May 8, 2023 at Bamboo Brook Photo 2...

Bamboo Brook was draining some small pools last spring, and this resident Northern Watersnake wasn't crazy about it. I'm sure the pool [1] needs to be cleaned periodically so dirt doesn't slowly fill it, and potentially to rid it of unwanted plants. While the watersnake probably didn't appreciate its favorite pool getting drained, it was a good opportunity for me. Many times when I'm trying to photograph them, the watersnakes are either partly obscured by vegetation or they simply jump/fall into the water and glide away from me. This watersnake simply had few options for hiding or fleeing from my camera. I did tell some of the people who were cleaning the pool - I assume they were simply taking a break - about the snake, and she managed to scoop the snake (and some mud) up in a shovel and deposited it in the grass surrounding the pool [2]. May 8, 2023 at Bamboo Brook Photo 282304330, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) [1] This wasn't a swimming poo...

In warmer weather when I go to the Sourland Mountain Preserve I'll usually look around for frogs and (as recent posts demonstrate) toads around a small pond located near the parking lot. I'm always hoping to get a picture of these amphibian friends of ours. Here's someone else that's looking for frogs and toads but for more dietary reasons, an Eastern Garter Snake . Eastern Garter Snakes have familial ties to our Northern Watersnakes (including this one from the same pond ); apparently some garter snake and watersnake species have been reclassified as the other [1]. Both species are pretty comfortable in the water [2]. It not only provides them with a fairly good way to escape terrestrial threats, but also has the allure of nearby amphibians to eat. Similar to Northern Watersnakes, they'll also participate in mating balls . They'll also crowd together over the winter when brumating. Although there are warmth, moisture, and safety reasons to do this, it's ...

This April I went to Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge with the hope (among other hopes) of seeing the Northern Watersnakes during mating season. There were 2 problems with this: I think it was slightly late in the season for this. The boardwalk trail where I had seen them in the past was partially closed due to repairs. So although I didn't see any of the 2+ intertwined snakes that I'd seen in the past, but there were still Northern Watersnakes warming themselves in the sun: April 13, 2023 at Great Swamp Photo 272117862, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) And here's another one coming out of the water. April 13, 2023 at Great Swamp Photo 272119139, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

For at least a couple years Duke Farms has had educational meadow posters that talk about the Eastern Milksnake . While I've had to confess to passersby that I've never seen one at Duke Farms, I've now seen them elsewhere in the county: at Washington Valley Park. (I always mention that it's hard to know everything that's going on in the middle of a meadow.) This snake is pretty distinctive with its brownish-red blotches outlined in black, though the "Y" or "V" pattern on the back of the head is also a good field mark. Unlike our 2 most common (AFAIK) snakes - the Eastern Garter Snake and the Northern Watersnake - the Eastern Milksnake is oviparous (egg-laying). They generally hatch in the autumn at around 4 inches in length, but if they live long enough they can get a little over 4 feet long. The one in my pictures was pretty small and so must have been 1-2 years old. The Eastern Milksnake constricts its prey to subdue it, a little like a very...

Last year I went to Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in mid-April and saw a bunch of Northern Watersnakes ( some apparently mating ). This year I didn't get up there until almost a month later and only saw 3 individuals. That's still more than I'm likely to see in most places, but I suspect this was past their peak time when they're driven both to seek sunlight and to breed, both of which probably bring them out into the open. Although I doubt they're as common as our garter snakes , I think I've seen more of our watersnakes . These 2 types of snakes are in the same subfamily  so perhaps it's unsurprising that they're both considered semiaquatic and both give birth to live snakelets . I suspect that if a Northern Watersnake invited a Common Garter Snake over for lunch, the garter snake would be happy with the menu (mostly amphibians). Though most of the individuals I've seen were at Great Swamp, I've seen them at a Sourland Mountain Preser...

Here's an Eastern Garter Snake I encountered in May. Though it's possible to see quite a few Northern Watersnakes if you live near water, the Eastern Garter Snake is probably the most encountered snake in New Jersey, Connecticut, and probably most of the northeast. They get their name from garters , bands used primarily to hold up socks/stockings, presumably by someone who thought these striped snakes resembled some striped garters they saw/owned. Though I thought the term Garter Snake referred to a single species, it appears that both the Common Garter Snake (of which the Eastern Garter Snake is a subspecies) and the very similar looking Ribbon Snake are both snakes in my area that are in the genus that comprises the Garter Snakes. This video says that I've got a Common Garter Snake rather than a Ribbon Snake because of stripes under the mouth in my snake. Another good video for Garter Snake fans is here . Although you should consider Garter Snakes to be harmless, th...

Here's a Northern Watersnake swimming in the small pond at Sourland Mountain Preserve. I had just gotten pictures of a couple of Canada Goose families, a possible breeding pair of Mallards, and a mudpuddling Eastern Tiger Swallowtail butterfly when I spotted this snake in a muddy area adjacent to the pond. Northern Watersnakes are pretty comfortable in the water, and this fella immediately escaped the area by swimming into the pond. Though my documentation says the Northern Watersnake can have a mean disposition and has some tendency to bite - they're non-venomous - all of them that I've run across either fled from me or (perhaps because I wasn't deemed to be too close) ignored me. May 27, 2021 at Sourland Mountain Preserve Photo 133210590, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

Since Northern Watersnakes were the stars of my trip to Great Swamp, and have also showed up along the Delaware-Raritan Canal, I wanted to give snake lovers a chance to see the whole suite of them . Despite a lot of mating going on, we're not going to see slithering baby snakelets for a while; the snakelets won't be born until 3-5 months after mating. If all goes well, some should be making their appearance in a July-September timeframe. The moms will usually give birth to about 8 snakelets, but a large Northern Watersnake could give birth to as many as 30 snakelets. The snake below lives along the Delaware-Raritan Canal in Franklin Township. Similar to turtles and frogs, watersnakes are usually found over or very near to water, and they'll try and escape there if a threat (or frequently a photographer) comes along. April 27, 2021 at the Delaware-Raritan Canal Photo 127320684, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)

Here are pictures of Northern Watersnakes mating. (They are a subspecies of the Common Watersnake .) Generally speaking the females will grow larger than the males. I'm assuming these snake tangles all have 1 female and 1+ males. Ultimately all this romance should lead to the females giving birth to little snakelets ; Northern Watersnake females don't lay eggs but practice ovoviviparity . Though these snake babies get to meet their mother, that's generally the end of the relationship; the mother doesn't actively raise her young. In this first picture I was initially wondering if this was just one (long) snake, but eventually noticed two heads in there. April 14, 2021 at Great Swamp Photo 121032715, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) This seemed to be the most populated coil, with 4 different snakes tangled together. April 14, 2021 at Great Swamp Photo 121033742, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) Here's another pair, much less spread out. A...

Last week I went to Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in hopes of getting some frog and turtle pictures, but neither was around that day in any numbers. A couple people told me about "snakes" along a part of the boardwalk, so I went along the boardwalk fairly slowly to see if I could spot them. The snakes made the trip worthwhile. Ultimately I would see approximately 20 Northern Watersnakes out attempting to sun themselves (and maybe do some fraternizing). (It was overcast, and even rained lightly this day.) One thing that a clumsy photographer like me can appreciate is that the snakes were fairly willing to let me take pictures; I think only one snake dived into the water to avoid me. Here are pictures of the first 2 snakes I saw. April 14, 2021 at Great Swamp Photo 121032491, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC) April 14, 2021 at Great Swamp Photo 121032520, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)