April 18th, 2006
first snake of the season
On Sunday, while taking a siesta alongside Black Creek, our collie, Sabrina, spotted the first snake of the season — an Eastern Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis). Sabrina, ever the long-suffering photographer’s companion, often spots things for me when we’re out hiking. If she finds a frog, a snake, or any other object which she deems worthy of examination, she hovers over it while waiting for me to take notice. As soon as I walk over with my camera, she backs off and lies down somewhere nearby (see below). If I take too long shooting photos — for example, shooting many photos of a spider — she’ll make small noises that are, without a doubt, the canine version of impatient sighs, yawns and moans. If she’s really getting bugged, she has a “hurry-up” grumble which can’t be mistaken for anything else.
Anyhow, back to the snake. It was found in an area of jumbled piles of rock, so possibly there was a hibernaculum nearby. It seemed quite active and moved swiftly along over some fallen trees and a couple of rock piles. Its length was about 45 cm. (18 inches).
April 18th, 2006 at 1:52 pm
Nice dog! Is she a collie?
April 18th, 2006 at 1:58 pm
hi pablo – yes she is — a tricolor Rough collie (the ‘Lassie’ type collie). Very low key, gentle dog. We’ve had 4 of these collies (2 sables and 2 tricolors) since we came to the farm. Each had its own very distinct personality, but all shared some similarities — great around animals and they stick with you wherever you go. Wonderful dogs.
April 18th, 2006 at 1:58 pm
I’ve been very attentive during my walks in the last couple of weeks to the presence of snakes. So far, nothing. I have seen a couple of garter snakes in recent years, but for whatever reason, we just don’t seem to have the numbers I’d hope for. I’ve seen king snakes that come close to the dazzling showiness, but really, nothing quite matches garter snake beauties.
April 18th, 2006 at 2:19 pm
Wayne – Garter snakes are about the most common snake in this region so we see them quite frequently, especially in areas where there is a lot of rock. In spring and autumn, I often find them basking in quiet, open places on top of stone. I guess the next most common snake that we see is the Northern Water snake, but that’s probably because we spend quite a bit of time around water or out in our canoe. I agree that the garter snakes are beautiful. I’m also very partial to Smooth Green snakes which are beautiful but extremely shy and blend in so well with vegetation that they are not often seen.
June 25th, 2007 at 6:21 am
[…] Last weekend, while hiking along Black Ance Road at Murphy’s Point Provincial Park, we stopped for a siesta on the banks of Black Creek. This is the same location where Sabrina found our first snake of the season. […]