A Hognose Snake by the Side of the Road

Broad-winged Hawk Kettling Over Maxville

Spring visited the Lower Chippewa River Valley today.  Not a cloud in the sky.  Temps in the 60s.   I hopped in the Prius and headed out to see who's out - before spring goes into hiding again tomorrow.

And what a day it was!

Barn Swallows on Kings Highway.  Hawks kettling over the coulees - with surprisingly good looks at Broad-wings.   The midge emergence is over.  Only a few Yellow-rumps flitting around in the trees, hawking insects in the popping buds.  The first warbler wave has moved on.

Butterflies were out and flitting on Rustic Road 107.  Very flighty - difficult to get close enough for an identification.  Nearly impossible to get a good photo.

"Spring" Spring Azure

Mustard White

Gray Comma

I pulled over to take a photo of an orange butterfly and as I walked in front of my Prius, I discovered this big brown snake sunning itself in the grass.

Hognose Snake

I didn't recognize it right away, so I carefully moved in closer to take some photos.  As I did, the snake made like a cobra!  I kid you not.  Right in front of me.  Out came the cowl, then an audible "hissss" as the snake lifted its head off the ground and flicked its tongue out.

Eastern Hognose Snake

Eastern Hognose Snake

Eastern Hognose Snake

Eastern Hognose Snake

Eastern Hognose Snake

Eastern Hognose Snake

Eastern Hognose Snake

There shouldn't be any cobras in Wisconsin, and this snake had round eyes.   I knew it wasn't venomous.   But what is it?  

The "frightening" display and a stubby snout are all the clues I needed.  It's an Eastern Hognose also known as a "puff adder."   If the cobra routine doesn't scare you off, the Hognose might try its "roll over and play dead" routine.  This one didn't - it was all huff and puff.  

And then it took off and disappeared in the prairie grasses.  

Awesome!

Bull Snakes on the Road!

Blue skies, 65ºF.  Very nice weather.  Tom and I took a Sunday afternoon drive on RR107 to Meridean. 

The woods were full of Dutchman's Breeches, Spring Beauties and Bloodroot.

I stopped when we heard the drumming then calls of a Pileated Woodpecker.  Time to pull out the iPod.  I found the call and played it.   He was there in seconds.  Way before I was ready with my camera.  He looked at me as I fumbled with my camera, and flew off.

As we headed up to the prairie and pine grove where we'd seen the Bull Snake last fall, I wondered when and if we'd see one again.

Then - right in front of us was a huge snake - at least 6-feet long.  Sure enough, it was a Bull Snake.  This one was not as docile as the one we spotted in almost the same location last September.

It didn't let me get very close before it slithered across the road and disappeared into the pine forest.

Just down the road I noticed what looked like a bag or rope along side the road.  It was another snake.  This one was dead.  Curious, I got out of the car to get a closer look.  I thought maybe it got hit by a car.

  

The snake's neck was crushed and there was a hole straight through the head just below the jaw.

Bull Snakes, the longest heavy bodied snakes in Wisconsin, feed on rodents - and they're not venomous.  There's no reason to kill them.

Their skin pattern changes along the length of their bodies - so they look like they were put together by an assembly-line that hadn't been given clear instructions:

Down the road, I stopped to try to photograph that day-flying moth again, but it saw me coming.   As I got back to my car, I noticed an odd shaped stick in the road.  I walked over and looked.  

It was a tiny Northern Red-bellied Snake.  They eat earthworms, beetle larvae and slugs. Like Garter Snakes, they give birth to live young.  

These snakes are known for their habit of sunning themselves on rural roads.   This one had been crushed by a car.   Zoom, Zoom.

Bullsnake: The Big Stick in the Road

After our week-long road trip, we returned home to an empty refrigerator.  It was time for a grocery run to the big city:  Eau Claire. 

If we stick to the main highway (State Road 84),  it's about an hour drive.  But ever since we discovered Rustic Road #107 through Meridean, the ride can take a couple of hours or more, especially during migration.  We just never know what we're going to see.

We left Nelson around 11am.  We didn't see much on the ride east through the riparian woods and prairies along the Chippewa River.  It was hot and the birds were taking their mid-day siesta.

It's been a relatively rain-less summer and the water levels in the ponds and creeks along the Chippewa are way down. It was a very dusty drive.  The corn is stunted and dry.  Leaves are withered and yellow.

We didn't see much on the ride back to Nelson - until around 6pm, when I spotted a big stick in the road ahead near a stretch of prairie grasses.   A shovel or limb must have fallen out of a pickup.

Then it moved!   It's a SNAKE!  A big one.

I pulled the car to the side of the road, grabbed my little SONY Cyber-shot and ran up to it.

I'm not a snake "person," but I know enough to check out the eyes first.  This one had round eyes.  Non-venomous.  Safe. 

But I didn't have to fight the urge to grab it for a closer look.  Unless someone else is holding it and passes it over to me, I'm a very reluctant snake handler.

I blame my wicked brother, Martin.  Back when we were kids playing in the garden, he tossed a garter snake at me.  I caught it.  It bit me, then for good measure, it defecated on me. 

To this day, even though I "know" better, I don't go out of my way to pick up a snake.  I've just never had a mentor and the motivation to get over it.

I will, however, pick up a bat - even though I've been bitten many times.  (Please don't pick up a bat unless you have training and the pre-exposure shots).  The more you know about a critter, the less you fear it.   Right?

Back to the snake, about which I don't know much.

Looks like a bullsnake.  As I got close enough to get a photo, it immediately did what most snakes do when confronted by a human:  it slithered off... back into the prairie.

When I got home, I "googled" bull snake, and discovered that it's a species of interest to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.  They have a page for reporting bullsnake sightings.  I did my duty and reported it.