Loading...
August 10, 2000 - Give a snake a breakAugust 10, 2000 • The Suffolk Times • SA Give a snake a break Suffolk Times photo by Paul Stoutenburgh This brown water snake was picked up by a few boys in a rubber raft in the Peconic River In Riverhead. Here one of the boys shows us the underside with its unusual markings. A call came the other night trom an old friend but I wasn't at home to take it. (I'm away getting my other knee replaced so I will have two good legs to walk on and be better able to "focus on nature "!) My concerned and anxious caller told of a snake he FOCUS found that evening in his sis- ON ter's back yard, NATURE one he had never b Paul seen before. Stoutenbu h Could it be poiso- � nous, he wanted to know, because it acted so vicious. He was trying to contact the Bronx Zoo and other places in hopes they might be able to help him identify it _ Long Island, as we all know, even though many years ago there were rattlesnakes reported along the rocky highlands of the Sound. Today we have a number of snakes we see fairly often: the common garter, black snake, hog- nosed, milk snake, and some less often seen like the king, ring- necked, green and DeKay's snakes. You, too, might one day be surprised as Bill was when he turned over a plank and saw a four - foot -long, rusty- brown - colored snake all coiled up seeming ready to strike. With the help of Ditmar's reference book we found it was most likely a brown water snake. 1t 1b Lne largest of the North American water snakes, attaining a length in excess of five feet. It has a very stout body, a long tapering tail and produces a large number of Young. Some snakes bear live oun while others lay eggs. Their eggs are not hard like a chicken egg but more or less pliable. This elasticity lets the egg actually expand as the young inside devel- op. This brown water snake is not a wanderer, as most to i- viduals remain for years in one small area. This one was found by a man- made pond that backs up to the pine barrens. Bill's family had been looking for worms to feed the frogs along the shore. There are also baby goldfish in the pond and perhaps the snake was after them. Since they usually don't move too far, Bill feels he might be seein the snake again. Having lived on Long Island all his life and familiar with our more com- mon snakes, Bill was surprised when this unfamiliar snake became vicious, darting at him much like a venomous snake would do. When he put it in. a bucket to keep it until he could identi- fy it, it quickly slithered out and got away. Bill thought I might want to photo- graph it if he found it again. However, in looking through my collection of slides, I found a photo I had taken in 1990 of some kids we met in a rubber raft while we were canoe- ing on the Peconic River. I asked them what they had caught and one of the boys pulled a brown water snake out of a pail and then turned it over to show me the colorful underside, which I pho- tographed. I also remember Bill Christopher, a biolo- gy teacher at - Southold High School at one time, finding a brown water snake swim- ming in the Cranberry Bog in Riverhead when on a field trip with his stu- dents. "Both in appear- ance and disposition, this is one of the most ugly of American snakes, says. Ditmar in his "The Reptiles of North America." He goes on to say that "Most water snakes become tame in cap- tivity but when cornered this snake will lie partially coiled making such rapid darts at moving objects that its actions resemble those of a venomous snake." Bill saw this kind of behavior, making him want to be sure of its identity because of the chil- dren living in the area. My black- and -white negative file has a few shots of a brown water snake taken at the Quogue Wildlife Refuge in 1978, so you see, while we are famil- iar with some snakes here on the East End, there is always that chance you might come across a surprise such as Bill did when he turned over that plank and there was the "coiled up" brown water snake. On further researching this unusual snake, we found that they have the habit of coil- ing in nearly circular fashion, and when in this position assume a striking similarity to small examples of the banded rattlesnake, hence another name given them of "water rattle." How seldom we see a snake today. We used to see garter snakes in our garden or along the driveway sunning tnemselves but that is an unIthey. igh today. You may remember g about a lady who called me he had a "ball" of garter snake bush, and sure enough, Bar I drove to her house and therwere all wrapped up in a big her bush, probably in a mati My son recently spotted the dry, crumpled -up skin of a large snake. All snakes shed their skin as they grow larger. They usually do this by rubbing against a stone or log or bush that holds the skin as they squirm out of it. After walking a short distance he spot= ted a four -foot -long black snake all - fresh and shiny after having removed its old skin. You can tell when a snake is just about to shed its skin as there is a milky covering over their eyes, a sure sign of a shedding snake. Actually the snake that my caller found was in this state of shedding as its eye had the milky covering over it. My first experience with a black snake was when I was a kid collecting wild asparagus along the edge of Wickham's Creek in Cutchogue. My ears were much better in those days and I heard a "rattle" in the bushes and looked down to see a huge snake. Of course, I thought it was a rat- tlesnake and took off as fast as I could. Later I would learn that snakes vibrate their tail that often moves a stick or bush to make a rattling sound and so my "rattler" turned out to be a good old black snake which, by the way, I have not seen in the area since that time. However, in areas where progress hasn't taken its toll, the black snake is doing well. Out on Gardiners Island I have actually photographed two 41/2- foot -long black snakes mat- ing. One particular time that stands out in my mind regarding snakes and our family was years ago when we took a camping trip down to the Blue Ridge Mountains. We had taken a long walk Easter Sunday morning and along the way we came ,upon garter snakes com- ing out of their winter hibernation. One after another they kept coming aut of the hole in the ground as we all >tood and watched in amazement. Snakes are part of the natural vorld, so keep your eyes open and lon't be afraid of a snake if you houdd come across one. Better yet, ry to remember what it looked like nd see if you can later identify it. It ion't hurt you and will probably just Y to go the other way if you give it a Nance. Snakes have rights, too. August 10, 2000 • The Suffolk Times • SA Give a snake a break Suffolk Times photo by Paul Stoutenburgh This brown water snake was picked up by a few boys in a rubber raft in the Peconic River In Riverhead. Here one of the boys shows us the underside with its unusual markings. A call came the other night trom an old friend but I wasn't at home to take it. (I'm away getting my other knee replaced so I will have two good legs to walk on and be better able to "focus on nature "!) My concerned and anxious caller told of a snake he FOCUS found that evening in his sis- ON ter's back yard, NATURE one he had never b Paul seen before. Stoutenbu h Could it be poiso- � nous, he wanted to know, because it acted so vicious. He was trying to contact the Bronx Zoo and other places in hopes they might be able to help him identify it _ Long Island, as we all know, even though many years ago there were rattlesnakes reported along the rocky highlands of the Sound. Today we have a number of snakes we see fairly often: the common garter, black snake, hog- nosed, milk snake, and some less often seen like the king, ring- necked, green and DeKay's snakes. You, too, might one day be surprised as Bill was when he turned over a plank and saw a four - foot -long, rusty- brown - colored snake all coiled up seeming ready to strike. With the help of Ditmar's reference book we found it was most likely a brown water snake. 1t 1b Lne largest of the North American water snakes, attaining a length in excess of five feet. It has a very stout body, a long tapering tail and produces a large number of Young. Some snakes bear live oun while others lay eggs. Their eggs are not hard like a chicken egg but more or less pliable. This elasticity lets the egg actually expand as the young inside devel- op. This brown water snake is not a wanderer, as most to i- viduals remain for years in one small area. This one was found by a man- made pond that backs up to the pine barrens. Bill's family had been looking for worms to feed the frogs along the shore. There are also baby goldfish in the pond and perhaps the snake was after them. Since they usually don't move too far, Bill feels he might be seein the snake again. Having lived on Long Island all his life and familiar with our more com- mon snakes, Bill was surprised when this unfamiliar snake became vicious, darting at him much like a venomous snake would do. When he put it in. a bucket to keep it until he could identi- fy it, it quickly slithered out and got away. Bill thought I might want to photo- graph it if he found it again. However, in looking through my collection of slides, I found a photo I had taken in 1990 of some kids we met in a rubber raft while we were canoe- ing on the Peconic River. I asked them what they had caught and one of the boys pulled a brown water snake out of a pail and then turned it over to show me the colorful underside, which I pho- tographed. I also remember Bill Christopher, a biolo- gy teacher at - Southold High School at one time, finding a brown water snake swim- ming in the Cranberry Bog in Riverhead when on a field trip with his stu- dents. "Both in appear- ance and disposition, this is one of the most ugly of American snakes, says. Ditmar in his "The Reptiles of North America." He goes on to say that "Most water snakes become tame in cap- tivity but when cornered this snake will lie partially coiled making such rapid darts at moving objects that its actions resemble those of a venomous snake." Bill saw this kind of behavior, making him want to be sure of its identity because of the chil- dren living in the area. My black- and -white negative file has a few shots of a brown water snake taken at the Quogue Wildlife Refuge in 1978, so you see, while we are famil- iar with some snakes here on the East End, there is always that chance you might come across a surprise such as Bill did when he turned over that plank and there was the "coiled up" brown water snake. On further researching this unusual snake, we found that they have the habit of coil- ing in nearly circular fashion, and when in this position assume a striking similarity to small examples of the banded rattlesnake, hence another name given them of "water rattle." How seldom we see a snake today. We used to see garter snakes in our garden or along the driveway sunning tnemselves but that is an unIthey. igh today. You may remember g about a lady who called me he had a "ball" of garter snake bush, and sure enough, Bar I drove to her house and therwere all wrapped up in a big her bush, probably in a mati My son recently spotted the dry, crumpled -up skin of a large snake. All snakes shed their skin as they grow larger. They usually do this by rubbing against a stone or log or bush that holds the skin as they squirm out of it. After walking a short distance he spot= ted a four -foot -long black snake all - fresh and shiny after having removed its old skin. You can tell when a snake is just about to shed its skin as there is a milky covering over their eyes, a sure sign of a shedding snake. Actually the snake that my caller found was in this state of shedding as its eye had the milky covering over it. My first experience with a black snake was when I was a kid collecting wild asparagus along the edge of Wickham's Creek in Cutchogue. My ears were much better in those days and I heard a "rattle" in the bushes and looked down to see a huge snake. Of course, I thought it was a rat- tlesnake and took off as fast as I could. Later I would learn that snakes vibrate their tail that often moves a stick or bush to make a rattling sound and so my "rattler" turned out to be a good old black snake which, by the way, I have not seen in the area since that time. However, in areas where progress hasn't taken its toll, the black snake is doing well. Out on Gardiners Island I have actually photographed two 41/2- foot -long black snakes mat- ing. One particular time that stands out in my mind regarding snakes and our family was years ago when we took a camping trip down to the Blue Ridge Mountains. We had taken a long walk Easter Sunday morning and along the way we came ,upon garter snakes com- ing out of their winter hibernation. One after another they kept coming aut of the hole in the ground as we all >tood and watched in amazement. Snakes are part of the natural vorld, so keep your eyes open and lon't be afraid of a snake if you houdd come across one. Better yet, ry to remember what it looked like nd see if you can later identify it. It ion't hurt you and will probably just Y to go the other way if you give it a Nance. Snakes have rights, too. August 10, 2000 • The Suffolk Times • SA Give a snake a break Suffolk Times photo by Paul Stoutenburgh This brown water snake was picked up by a few boys in a rubber raft in the Peconic River In Riverhead. Here one of the boys shows us the underside with its unusual markings. A call came the other night trom an old friend but I wasn't at home to take it. (I'm away getting my other knee replaced so I will have two good legs to walk on and be better able to "focus on nature "!) My concerned and anxious caller told of a snake he FOCUS found that evening in his sis- ON ter's back yard, NATURE one he had never b Paul seen before. Stoutenbu h Could it be poiso- � nous, he wanted to know, because it acted so vicious. He was trying to contact the Bronx Zoo and other places in hopes they might be able to help him identify it _ Long Island, as we all know, even though many years ago there were rattlesnakes reported along the rocky highlands of the Sound. Today we have a number of snakes we see fairly often: the common garter, black snake, hog- nosed, milk snake, and some less often seen like the king, ring- necked, green and DeKay's snakes. You, too, might one day be surprised as Bill was when he turned over a plank and saw a four - foot -long, rusty- brown - colored snake all coiled up seeming ready to strike. With the help of Ditmar's reference book we found it was most likely a brown water snake. 1t 1b Lne largest of the North American water snakes, attaining a length in excess of five feet. It has a very stout body, a long tapering tail and produces a large number of Young. Some snakes bear live oun while others lay eggs. Their eggs are not hard like a chicken egg but more or less pliable. This elasticity lets the egg actually expand as the young inside devel- op. This brown water snake is not a wanderer, as most to i- viduals remain for years in one small area. This one was found by a man- made pond that backs up to the pine barrens. Bill's family had been looking for worms to feed the frogs along the shore. There are also baby goldfish in the pond and perhaps the snake was after them. Since they usually don't move too far, Bill feels he might be seein the snake again. Having lived on Long Island all his life and familiar with our more com- mon snakes, Bill was surprised when this unfamiliar snake became vicious, darting at him much like a venomous snake would do. When he put it in. a bucket to keep it until he could identi- fy it, it quickly slithered out and got away. Bill thought I might want to photo- graph it if he found it again. However, in looking through my collection of slides, I found a photo I had taken in 1990 of some kids we met in a rubber raft while we were canoe- ing on the Peconic River. I asked them what they had caught and one of the boys pulled a brown water snake out of a pail and then turned it over to show me the colorful underside, which I pho- tographed. I also remember Bill Christopher, a biolo- gy teacher at - Southold High School at one time, finding a brown water snake swim- ming in the Cranberry Bog in Riverhead when on a field trip with his stu- dents. "Both in appear- ance and disposition, this is one of the most ugly of American snakes, says. Ditmar in his "The Reptiles of North America." He goes on to say that "Most water snakes become tame in cap- tivity but when cornered this snake will lie partially coiled making such rapid darts at moving objects that its actions resemble those of a venomous snake." Bill saw this kind of behavior, making him want to be sure of its identity because of the chil- dren living in the area. My black- and -white negative file has a few shots of a brown water snake taken at the Quogue Wildlife Refuge in 1978, so you see, while we are famil- iar with some snakes here on the East End, there is always that chance you might come across a surprise such as Bill did when he turned over that plank and there was the "coiled up" brown water snake. On further researching this unusual snake, we found that they have the habit of coil- ing in nearly circular fashion, and when in this position assume a striking similarity to small examples of the banded rattlesnake, hence another name given them of "water rattle." How seldom we see a snake today. We used to see garter snakes in our garden or along the driveway sunning tnemselves but that is an unIthey. igh today. You may remember g about a lady who called me he had a "ball" of garter snake bush, and sure enough, Bar I drove to her house and therwere all wrapped up in a big her bush, probably in a mati My son recently spotted the dry, crumpled -up skin of a large snake. All snakes shed their skin as they grow larger. They usually do this by rubbing against a stone or log or bush that holds the skin as they squirm out of it. After walking a short distance he spot= ted a four -foot -long black snake all - fresh and shiny after having removed its old skin. You can tell when a snake is just about to shed its skin as there is a milky covering over their eyes, a sure sign of a shedding snake. Actually the snake that my caller found was in this state of shedding as its eye had the milky covering over it. My first experience with a black snake was when I was a kid collecting wild asparagus along the edge of Wickham's Creek in Cutchogue. My ears were much better in those days and I heard a "rattle" in the bushes and looked down to see a huge snake. Of course, I thought it was a rat- tlesnake and took off as fast as I could. Later I would learn that snakes vibrate their tail that often moves a stick or bush to make a rattling sound and so my "rattler" turned out to be a good old black snake which, by the way, I have not seen in the area since that time. However, in areas where progress hasn't taken its toll, the black snake is doing well. Out on Gardiners Island I have actually photographed two 41/2- foot -long black snakes mat- ing. One particular time that stands out in my mind regarding snakes and our family was years ago when we took a camping trip down to the Blue Ridge Mountains. We had taken a long walk Easter Sunday morning and along the way we came ,upon garter snakes com- ing out of their winter hibernation. One after another they kept coming aut of the hole in the ground as we all >tood and watched in amazement. Snakes are part of the natural vorld, so keep your eyes open and lon't be afraid of a snake if you houdd come across one. Better yet, ry to remember what it looked like nd see if you can later identify it. It ion't hurt you and will probably just Y to go the other way if you give it a Nance. Snakes have rights, too.