The Case of the Lazy Snake

April 18. The northward bound warblers are passing through Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge at this time of year. The Woodland Trail, a walking loop along the Wildlife Drive, often a good place to spot these frenetically flitting fliers, called me in for a short hike. The patch of woodland was surprisingly quiet, a temporary ornithological desert. So in keeping with my motto "It's the small stuff that counts" I found enjoyment in checking the greenness of the spring moss along the path and the emerging shoots of woodland flowers to be.

I was so focused on the plant life that I almost missed something moving twenty feet down the trail. It was a gopher snake, also called a bull snake because it is one of the largest snakes in North America. Gopher snakes are non-venomous snakes that have a diet high in small mammals, thus are extremely valuable for rodent control. While these snakes do a very good rattlesnake imitation when threatened, I have been able to get quite near to them in the wild without arousing their "fight or flight" mode by simply being quiet and moving very slowly, or not at all. To read more about these most interesting animals go to:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullsnake

I slowly walked up to where this snake stretched out across the trail. Unfortunately it saw me coming, turned back, and disappeared behind a fallen tree that paralleled the trail. I could hear it rustling through the oak leaf litter and quickly determined it was going my way. Sure enough it reemerged ten yards further down the trail, apparently still determined to cross over. How are you as an observer? Can you spot the snake in the picture below?

Gopher Snake Emerging Downtrail

 

 I stood still to let the snake cross without disturbance. It's scales, beautifully patterned in brown, black, and gray, reflected the bright morning sun.  I estimated the length at close to six feet, the diameter at about two inches.

 Usually when we meet snakes they are hurrying away from us and our meeting is fleeting. I decided this snake was hunting for lunch and by being unobtrusive I might have a great opportunity to get some interesting pictures. Once I had watched a Florida coral snake as it went about its foraging, but that had been for just a few short minutes before it disappeared from sight. This was going to be different. This snake was in no hurry as it rustled through the oak leaf litter flicking its tongue in and out with a rhythm as regular as a metronome. And it was oblivious to me, so here was an opportunity to find out what everyday life is like for a snake this size in the wild.

The snake poked it's head under the leaf litter here and there, then withdrew and altered course a bit. It never went more than a few feet from the trail, so following along was easy.

Gopher Snake Paralleling the Trail

At one point the snake entered a crack in a hollow downed tree. I expected to see it come out with some unfortunate rodent in its jaws. I gripped the camera tighter in anticipation. Ready, focus, ---

Gopher Snake Exploring A Hollow Log

But my anticipation vanished as the snake made a U-turn somewhere in the log and reemerged, passing over its own middle section like some Chinese acrobat.

Gopher Snake Reemerging from Log

We traveled along the trail together for another ten minutes. A lot of poking around under piles of rustling leaves and a few more leisurely excursions over and along more downed trees turned up no lunch.

 More Downed Trees to Explore

We came up to another fallen oak, and again snake started exploring along one side, poking its head under the snag wherever there was space. I began to wonder how much longer we would have to spend before finding lunch. Snake had the answer in just a few minutes. It found  a patch of bright sun shining down through the newly leafing trees. There it curled up, piling itself on top of itself in the center of that sunny spot. Then it rested its head and went to sleep. At least as far as I could tell it was asleep. I waited about five minutes but the snake was as still as a stone. I walked up the trail for about fifteen minutes looking for birds, but found only a few American robins. On the way back I noted the snake was still in the same sunny spot. "Get up and get moving you lazy snake" I thought as I walked past on the way to my truck. Then I was struck by the realization that the snake was enjoying the gift of spring sunshine every bit as much as I was. Maybe next time we'll have a successful hunt together.

A Good Place for A Nap if You're A Snake