Maggie's Farm

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Thursday, May 25. 2017

Black Snakes

There are several black-colored snakes in the US.  Notably, the Eastern Black Rat Snake, the Western Black Rat Snake, and the Black Racer.


Maybe the southern Indigo Snake can sometimes look like a black snake. 


They are all wonderful, large critters and all can climb, but the Racers less so. They tend not to be wanderers, with home ranges of only around 30 acres so they know their way around. Naturally, they prefer rodent-rich home ranges, but they will always raid bird nests for eggs or babies in the Spring.


The Black Rat Snakes seem to prefer a mixed habitat with woodland edges, fields, plenty of brambles, and a pond, stream, or marsh. 


Is that a frightening photo? Only if you identify with the baby birds instead of with the hungry snake. Or is it strangely sexual? Why are gals so often afraid of snakes while guys find them interesting?


Can you ID that snake? 


And have you seen any cool snakes lately? 

Posted by Bird Dog in Natural History and Conservation at 17:51 | Comments (22) | Trackbacks (0)

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The Water Moccasin (or Cotton Mouth) can appear to be black.
#1 Fred on 2017-05-25 18:57 (Reply)
Missouri has a bunch of water moccasins and cotton mouths so you have to be careful around our rivers, lakes and creeks. When we canoe we keep an eye out for them in the trees above the water.
#1.1 JC on 2017-05-25 19:15 (Reply)
We have had a "pet" black (rat) snake for years. It loves to climb trees to get the eggs and baby birds and roams all over the roof. Even got into the house a couple of years ago and somehow manged to get back out. I looked for it for weeks after finding it's shed skin in the back room. It isn't afraid of us as we just leave it alone but keeps an eye on us when it is right around the house. I haven't seen it so far this year but have heard the small birds mobbing something far up in our walnut tree. When it is hot it sleeps in the shelves in the garage so you have to watch where you reach or you might get a "start". I just wish it ate squirrels.
#2 JC on 2017-05-25 19:12 (Reply)
The only snake we have around here (it is black though). Relatively rare to come across one unless you are working in the garden and looking for it, they tend to hang out under rocks and dead leaves. They are often confused with earthworms.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=690rLdHnBfc

The one in the video is about as big as they get, at least that I've seen. Totally harmless.
#3 Jim on 2017-05-25 20:29 (Reply)
We have some tiny ones too, called prairie ring neck, are grey with a yellow ring behind the head. They get a little thicker than the one in the video when they are older, about the size of a night crawler.
#3.1 JC on 2017-05-25 21:02 (Reply)
Wow, cool little bugger,
#3.2 BD on 2017-05-26 16:00 (Reply)
Moccasins get that black thing going after they get old. They kind of look like black cable. I usually happens after they get over 4' 6" long.
#4 Sennacherib on 2017-05-25 20:48 (Reply)
I think men are only slightly less likely to be bothered by snakes as women, and I have known women entirely comfortable with them.
#5 Assistant Village Idiot (Link) on 2017-05-25 22:27 (Reply)
Stayed at a VERY nice golf country club resort south of Melbourne Australia. Every day when they cleaned the room the housekeeper would replace the sheet of paper in a plastic case. It was the daily sightings of extremely poisonous snakes on or around the golf course. "Brown snake on hole 8. Also another one at the tee on 15. Don't go into the bush at either of these places today." Every day it would be a record of the most recent sightings. Very popular golf course because it was on the ocean. Those folks down there (the Aussies) are a tough crowd! Love em!
#6 another one on 2017-05-26 00:32 (Reply)
Eastern Kingsnakes are black with bands of yellow -- in some individuals, the yellow markings are so thin that the snake can appear black overall.

Impossible to tell what species the pictured snake is without information on location.

Do I find the photo frightening? No. I find it annoying, because whatever careless dolt put up that bird-box didn't take basic antipredator precautions.
#7 wolfwalker on 2017-05-26 04:07 (Reply)
You would hope that the snake is actually going after the squirrel that got into the bird house looking for bird seed.
#7.1 Jim on 2017-05-26 14:45 (Reply)
I turn up a garter snake a couple times a year scything the lawn. Curiously they just get deposited on the left on top of the windrow and seem to be unhurt and just scramble away.
#8 rhhardin (Link) on 2017-05-26 06:41 (Reply)
From the length of it I'd say it's an Indigo. They are the longest snake in the USA.
#9 oolioo (Link) on 2017-05-26 09:31 (Reply)
Nope. Black Rat Snake.
#9.1 Bird Dog on 2017-05-26 10:01 (Reply)
Found a black rat snake in my window.
I'm three stories from the ground, so this had to come from the roof or a tree.
Those things are climbers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7Q8U7kselM
#10 LS (Link) on 2017-05-26 13:02 (Reply)
wonderful
#10.1 Bird Dog on 2017-05-26 15:13 (Reply)
No snakes here in Alaska except politicians, progressives, lawyers......
#11 Jim O'Neil (Link) on 2017-05-26 14:13 (Reply)
Growing up we were conditioned to kill any snake on sight. Finally, I killed a cotton mouth on a farmer's land, and he tore into me. He said the snake wasn't hurting anyone and controlled rodents. Changed my thinking.

In high school I worked on a land survey party in the Florida swamps. Our Party Chief was deathly afraid of snakes. Caused some comical moments when he encountered one by surprise--which wasn't unusual.
#12 bob on 2017-05-27 12:49 (Reply)
We don't let anyone molest our snakes. We get a lot of cottonmouths, mostly black. The other day there was a hognose in the chicken coop that had just swallowed an egg. My husband went to get gloves and some tongs to remove him gently, and by the time he got back the snake had decided to upchuck the egg, which was unharmed. My husband scooped him out of there and the snake slid quickly into the woods.
#13 Texan99 on 2017-05-27 19:41 (Reply)
In the late 70s I was instrument man on a survey party in the swampy coast of SC. There were two black chainmen (yes, we still pulled a chain then) and they had the normal widespread hatred of snakes shown by southern country blacks. They were great guys but my favorite was Buster, in his 60s and the head chainman who had been surveying since before I was born (I was almost 30 then). Often I would pick the instrument up and move forward behind the chainmen only to find a dead snake on the line--Buster was here!
One day i passed a black ratsnake rendered into beanie weenie chunks with Buster's ditchbank blade and HAD to kid him about it.
"Buster, why you kill that black snake. He coulsn't harm you?"
"He las' name snake ainty!"
#14 Dink Newcomb on 2017-05-28 16:25 (Reply)
Sorry for the redundancy but I just had to thank you for stimulating those memories. Those two men were the BEST group I ever worked with-- they were kind, calm and perceptive while providing me with plenty of insights I could never have come to on my own.
Thinking of them has me sitting here grinning and chuckling to myself. That story was about my failed attempt at kidding Buster but I have a hundred more where he succeeded in nailing me and leaving me speechless. I truly loved that ol' guy and lost something important when he was killed in a hunting accident several years later. All of my anxiety over The Donald, the Wicked Witch of Chappaqua and the "Ghost President On Vacation" has now evaporated for the moment and short of illicit drugs, I could not buy that.
#14.1 Dink Newcomb on 2017-05-28 16:41 (Reply)
When the weather is chilly they like to snuggle in the warmth of the compost bin. Had one take off for the bushes once when I opened the lid.
#15 Ben David on 2017-05-29 06:59 (Reply)

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