6.26.2009

Same Road, Different Snake

In just a few minutes Treebeard and I are heading off to the city to see our "baby" -- all 6'3" of him ;) It's hard to believe that our little Flamebrain turns 25 today. Where does time go?

Before we go I wanted to share a few images of another snake I saw this past week in the work swamp. It was on the same road as the rattler -- the work swamp is a snaky place, doncha know :) This one is an eastern kingsnake. When I saw it, it was quite busy pushing its way into a turtle nest to get the eggs.

 

 

 
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Have a terrific Friday.

9 comments:

Pablo said...

Our babies (twins) turn 25 next month. At times I never thought they'd grow up and at times I never wished they would.

Sally said...

Little pig! Hope he didn't eat all of the them... looks like maybe some shell remains around; did some hatch already?

Fabulous photos! Love these snakey posts. What is a "work swamp"?

Ellen Rathbone said...

What a glorious snake! Such stunning colors!

nfmgirl said...

Thanks to you, I dreamed about a rattler last night! Good thing I like snakes!

My mom had a turtle lay eggs next to her house. Last time this happened a raccoon got into them within a day or two. So this time they built a chicken-wire/wood box and staked it down over the nest, leaving a little one inch space at the bottom for the babies to get out when they hatch. There is a sign on it saying "DO NOT DISTURB" for the landscapers. Guess it won't keep out the snakes though! So far so good, and it's been probably over a month now. I hope she doesn't plan on bringing me the babies! She keeps giving me baby turtles. I told her any more of them and I will have to build a pond so big it takes up my whole backyard. No more! Two is the limit!

Jenn said...

He's a BEAUT!

Bird said...

What a handsome snake - and it must have some strength to push it's way into the sand like that! A fascinating find. here in the UK I've seen adders basking and spotted my first grass snake last week, but I often wish we had more snake species here.

swamp4me said...

Pablo,
Isn't it odd how our children age and we remain the same... ;)

Sally,
He probably polished off the whole nest once he got into it. Those white bits you see around the nest are actually parts of sea shells from when the swamp was under the ocean many, many years ago.
The "work swamp" is what I call the park I work in whereas the "home swamp" denotes the swampland that surrounds my house.

Ellen R.,
Kingsnakes are one of my favorites. I think they look very dashing in there black and white colors.

nfmgirl,
Rattlesnake dreams, eh? As you say, at least you like snakes!
Good luck with the turtles. We have had at least three turtles to nest in our yard this year -- all the nests were raided :( Of course, around here if all the nests were successful we would be knee deep in turtles!

Jenn,
I thought the same thing!

Bird,
I am always amazed at the strength and determination of snakes. We have the potential for about 24 different species here. We regularly observed around half that number.

Unknown said...

Awesome sequence! Thanks for sharing. Kingsnakes are my fave.

swamp4me said...

David,
I'm partial to kingsnakes as well. It was very interesting to watch the snake as it pushed into the nest. I took some video of it swallowing the egg -- unfortunately it's a tad long to post.