Finally Caught on Camera
Some of the species around here are notoriously camera-shy. Here are two snakes that I have glimpsed for years, but have never been able to get really good pictures of. Thanks to my alert husband, I finally got pictures!
The first one was this beautiful Eastern Yellow-bellied Racer. Back in May, my husband was digging in a flower bed and found it and followed it through the yard until I could get there with my camera. He held it down gently for just a second with the shovel, so you can see some sand on its head in these pictures.
Eastern Yellow-bellied Racer, Coluber constrictor flaviventrus.
Close up.
This snake was not very big; I would say about 20 inches long and maybe an inch in diameter. It was so glossy and fresh looking — it made me think that this is who had left the shed skin I had found a few weeks earlier.
Zooming in on the head, you can even see the scales that covered the eyes.
And a few days after this, I found another shed in the woods that looks to me to be from the same kind of snake.
Look for the long thin shed skin near the log.
Delicate shed skin.
I had found and photographed a juvenile of this species, back in January of 2011! I am glad I finally got good pictures of an adult.
Eastern Yellow-bellied Racer juvenile
This next one has been very elusive over the years. I have seen it swanning around on our sidewalk, and swimming in the pond, but I could never get a good shot. A few weeks ago, my husband saw it going from the pond to beneath our deck. We were both upstairs in the house — I got a look at it from the window, enough to see that it was relatively short and heavy-bodied (especially compared to the snakes I am most used to, the rat snakes that I see almost weekly, as seen below).
Another rat snake trying to get my chicken eggs. This mockingbird alerted me to its presence by jumping up and down on the chicken run roof.
I couldn’t tell for sure if it was a water snake (non-venomous) or a water moccasin (venomous), and by the time I got downstairs with my camera, it was gone.
Then this week, my husband saw it in the yard and called me.
At first I couldn’t even see it; then I really wasn’t sure what it was.
“I don’t see a snake anywhere.”
I could see vertical dark marks on its jaw area.
Then I saw the little vertical markings on its jaw, which our other water snakes have (I don’t know if all snakes in the Nerodia family have them, but the ones here do), but still, I ran for my snake ID books, just to be sure.
So here is something irritating — I only own two snake books, Texas Snakes by Alan Tennant, and National Audubon Society Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians, and the Tennant one doesn’t even have an index, and the Audubon one does not index all snakes together! You have to look them up by family, or by individual species name. So you look in the “snake” section, but things like “rattlesnake” and “copperhead” and “cottonmouth” are not anywhere to be found! Pretty time-consuming when you are trying to figure out if you are looking at a venomous snake. (Also, we call cottonmouths “water moccasins” and that is not even in the index at all.)
This pose was not helpful in getting a quick ID.
Finally, I saw a hint of its yellow belly.
Just a small amount of yellow belly showing.
Once I could sit at the computer and compare these photos to ones I had taken of real Cottonmouths, I could see the differences. I will remember their characteristics next time I see them in the wild, but for me, it takes lots of reading and research time to get familiar with the different species.
Water Snake head looks much more rounded to me.
In Texas Snakes, Alan Tennant writes that although these snakes look similar, “unlike any water snake, the cottonmouth has a triangular, slab-sided head.” [p.111]
According to Herps of Texas, Yellow-bellied Water Snakes and Blotched Water Snakes are two subspecies of Plain-bellied Water Snake. Alan Tennant says their juveniles are indistinguishable, so that is helpful information about this juvenile snake I found here in November of 2015 — apparently it could be either species. (And also, the terms Water Snake and Watersnake are both used by these authorities.)
This snake could grow up to become a Blotched Water Snake or a Yellow-bellied Water Snake.
I am glad to have finally gotten good evidence of these species.
Great photos and good information to know. I’ve encountered a few snakes I determined to be rat snakes or speckled king snakes, non-venomous. I’ve never seen a water moccasin, fortunately!
It has been really interesting to notice spotting “trends” – in 2011, I saw eastern hognose snakes everywhere, but haven’t seen them since. The rat snakes come out in droves whenever I have chickens. I would love to see a speckled king snake!
Good thing the snakes weren’t waving at your husband or he would have never seen them…. 😛
Maybe if he is the one standing still, and the other individual is the one moving, he notices. 🙂
Great post. Never have much problem with snake id here in the UK, we only three species!
Wow! I did not know that!
Yes, the Grass Snake (harmless), Adder (venomous) and the rare Smooth Snake (harmless).
These are wonderful photos. You may be more up to speed on this than I’ve been, but have you tried iNaturalist for identification? There are all sorts of ways to search: county, species, suspected species (!) I’ve found it so useful for identifying flowers, and if you post a photo, someone often shows up to confirm or suggest your ID.
I looked at iNaturalist one time, but it seemed so involved to me! I am used to eBird where I list what birds I have seen — as I remember on iNaturalist, you couldn’t just record your sightings without 2 other people confirming that your identification was correct. Also, I thought you had to take the pictures with your phone, and then it would upload your GPS info and so on, and I do not have a smart phone. But do you think I should take another look?
I do use BugGuide for insect IDs though, because I just don’t know anything about insects.
It may have changed over time. I don’t have a smart phone, either. I take photos with my regular camera, put them on my computer hard drive, and upload them from there. When you indicate where your sighting was (e.g., “Montgomery County,” or “FM 39782”, the coordinates are automatically provided.
You can post whatever you like. If two other people confirm your ID, then it’s considered “research grade,” but that’s not necessary. And if you don’t know what you have, you can post it with your best guess as to genus, or even just as “water snake” or “east Texas snake.”
I’ve not been very active — I’ve only posted twice! — but I’m going to try and begin using it more, too. If you find someone in your area who seems to be knowledgeable, you can follow them, and get emailed updates of their sightings. And there are lists you can follow. I follow one called “Plants found in Tyler County, around the Watson Rare Plant Preserve.” You can make lists of your own, too, like “Snakes” or “Native Grasses” or whatever.
It did seem quite complicated to me, too, and in some ways still does, but it’s a heck of a useful tool!
OK, thank you, I will definitely give it a try! I just checked my list of user names and it looks like I never signed up for an account there, but I will follow you when I get signed up! 🙂
Two people I follow for east Texas information are lauramorganclark and mattbuckingham. They really know their stuff, and post all kinds of things — reptiles, flowers, insects, etc.
One more tidbit — my user name on the site is lindaleinen. If you join, let me know what you’ve chosen, so I can follow you.
Fascinating . . . and creepy. We just don’t have many snakes around here so I have never gotten used to them! That photo of the rat snake on the coop may give me nightmares . . .
Other than the rat snakes,I really don’t see any of the others much at all. The rat snakes are after the chicken eggs; if I kept the chickens in a closed run, I think I could keep the snakes out entirely. But I open the run door every day to let the chickens out, and a snake can just saunter in any old time. And they are amazingly good at getting in through small spaces. If I catch one in the coop, I scoop it out and drop it in a wheeled trash can, and then pull the trash can far away and dump the snake out. It is an experiment to see how fast they learn that a chicken coop is not a pleasant place to be. So far they are slow learners. 🙂