Snake watching you!

well hidden, nice capture

I see another one at lower left frame!

Another one at the top possibly two. One in center the other to the right side . Dang you were in a nest of them ; I hope you saw them . I would have freaked out had I not and one crawled up my leg.....lol

hunterdace wrote in post #14120838
Another one at the top possibly two. One in center the other to the right side . Dang you were in a nest of them ; I hope you saw them . I would have freaked out had I not and one crawled up my leg.....lol

Yeah, noticed that the one too. It's nest for sure....

where is this place?

There were 6 or 7 total, all slithering around each other. Ill post another pic showing more of their heads.

It was taken along a rails to trails path. They were just off to the side of the path, I heard noise in the leaves, looked and there was a whole swarm of em.

hunterdace wrote in post #14120838
Another one at the top possibly two. One in center the other to the right side . Dang you were in a nest of them ; I hope you saw them . I would have freaked out had I not and one crawled up my leg.....lol

They are gardner snakes, no venomous. Used to catch em all the time when I was a kid, their bites are painless, and just barely break the skin.

Aren't they the type that play dead when caught ? I live in Metro D too, btw, and see them all the time during my bike rides.

These guys didnt seem to care that I was there. I got down to about 2 feet from them. They looked at me for a minute (like the guy in the first photo) and then went on slithering around each other like I wasnt even there.

Ah Snakes my favorite ... Not... Nice pics though..
From Warren MI.. too haven't seen any so far this year

Nice! Pics brought back memories. I use to wade in a swamp to catch them as a kid myself, until I broke out with a rash all over my legs. Wish I had had a camera back then.

Amamba wrote in post #14121131
Aren't they the type that play dead when caught ? I live in Metro D too, btw, and see them all the time during my bike rides.

The fakers are the hog nose snake. GARTER snakes will usually try to run away but if cornered will attempt to make you think they are tough. When mating, they just don't care.

Great shot OP. I have only seen them mating like this one time myself and I am in the outdoors quite a bit. Great capture.

I wonder if you were near a hibernaculum. The males will gather and await the emergence of females, and mob them when they come out. Check out this link- Narcisse Snake Dens
Mike

grendel64 wrote in post #14127847
I wonder if you were near a hibernaculum. The males will gather and await the emergence of females, and mob them when they come out. Check out this link- Narcisse Snake Dens
Mike

Thanks for posting that link. I was impressed when I ran across them on the side of the trail, after reading that link, I feel lucky to have actually seen them.

I didn't know snakes came out this early in the year.. especially in Michigan.

I too probably would have freaked until I saw the stripes. Garter snakes, with their stripes running the length of their bodies, are about the only snakes that I can accurately identify. Well, I suppose I could recognize a rattlesnake and/or a cobra if I ever came across one, fortunately I don't think I will ever come across a cobra.

hairy_moth wrote in post #14128241
I didn't know snakes came out this early in the year.. especially in Michigan.

I too probably would have freaked until I saw the stripes. Garter snakes, with their stripes running the length of their bodies, are about the only snakes that I can accurately identify. Well, I suppose I could recognize a rattlesnake and/or a cobra if I ever came across one, fortunately I don't think I will ever come across a cobra.

We've had a summer like weather (in the 80s) for the last couple of weeks, they must've got fooled.

Also had a tornado hit a residential area & damage over 120 homes, some practically demolished... also not something you'd expect to happen in Michigan. Miraculously nobody was seriously hurt.