Nature clicks #227 - Milk Snake

 

Sometimes it is just bizarre how close the good things are situated to the sad moments. Yesterday I found for the first time a Milk Snake here up on the bluffs of the Little Maquoketa River. I’m always happy if I discover a new species that has its habitat in the woods around our house and if you followed my blog since a while you know that I get excited about it. The snake was laying on the road just in front of our driveway. Pretty soon I found out that it was dead. There is probably nobody to blame ( I really hate the thought that somebody drove over it on purpose!). Our road is a private loop and not very busy. The survival chance if a critter crosses the road is probably a lot higher than at any other public road. There was no visible injury, but if somebody accidentally drove over it it probably would have killed the Milk Snake.

I was hesitating if I should post this image. It’s not really wildlife anymore but at the other hand my blog is also about documenting what happens in our environment and how human intervention influences the nature here in Eastern Iowa. I placed the snake on some of the rocks we have here and made the click. Oh no, I’m not proud, I’m just dealing with a sad reality and I pay my tribute to a critter that deserves a much better display than this...

Garter Snake's dinner

 

I promised you yesterday some more exciting things from my trip to the Green Island Wetlands last Sunday. While driving slowly on a dam between two ponds I suddenly saw a Garter Snake on the gravel road. The snake didn’t move away because it was busy with a Leopard Frog. The frog didn’t look too good, it was already dead, probably hit by a car. The Garter Snake didn’t care about how the dinner looked and starting swallowing its prey.

The snake didn’t worry too much about my presence, neither did I worry about the snake. Garter Snakes are harmless for humans and we see this species more than any other snake in our area. Shooting from above didn’t appeal to me and the only option to get an interesting perspective was to put my belly in the dirt.

It wasn’t long before only a frog leg stuck out of its mouth that the snake moved to the water and disappeared between the reeds…

Nature clicks #176 - Black Rat Snake

 

In my last post about the House Wrens that raised their offspring in two nest boxes around our house, I talked about another predator beside the raccoon that is a threat for the life of the young wrens. I was reading on the porch when my attention was drawn away by the very loud and nervous chatter of the male wren. The cause was a Black Rat Snake that had climbed the trellis at the side of our porch only a few feet away from me. According to the DNR brochure about snakes in Iowa, Black Rat Snakes are rare, except for a few locations. Well, we must live in such a location because we have seen this species here before numerous times. It seems during some years they are more abundant than during others. Black Rat Snakes are up to 72 inches (183 cm) but this one was maybe about 5 foot (153 cm) long. They are adapted to a life in the forest and climb trees. This snake consumes rodents, like mice, but would not hesitate to go for birds, especially young ones. These powerful black constructors prefer relatively undisturbed forest areas and this may tell you much about the habitat we are blessed to have here above the valley of the Little Maquoketa River.

After inspecting the trellis at our porch the snake slid to the ground and moved back into the woods. The wrens calmed down and life went on. After my return from a business trip last Friday night both nest boxes were empty and we now can hear the wrens chatter in the woods. The males started courtship again and hopefully we may have a second brood growing up here soon...

Nature clicks #89 - Garter Snake, early appearance

I was able to spent some time in the Green Island Wetlands again. Didn't have much luck with birds today but saw lots of Painted Turtles that were out of the water and enjoyed the sun as much as I did. Unfortunately the water level in the wetlands is very low right now and if that persists we may not have the same good shooting opportunities for waterfowl as in the spring last year. We will see.

This Garter Snake crossed my way today. It stopped and gave me the time to get out of the car, to go on the ground, and to make some clicks. Back home I checked my photo library, just to find confirmation that March 16th is the earliest I have ever seen a Garter Snake in spring during the last eight years I lived in Iowa.

Nature clicks #59 - First wildlife shot with the D300s

Nikon D300s, Nikkor 24-120, f/4

One question I was hoping to get answered during our time in the Great Smoky Mountains was, how would the new Nikon D300s perform for wildlife photography?

The first animal I had the pleasure to put my lens on was a five foot long Black Snake laying across the trail. I was on my way back from a tiresome hike and to be honest, I didn't really put too much effort in this shot. Now, three weeks later, seeing this picture on my screen it bothers me that I didn't try to get a shot with the snakes tongue out of its mouth. I guess my mind was already back in the campsite!

More to come about wildlife in the Smokies, so please stay tuned…

Nature clicks #37 - Snake in the bush

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 mm f/4.0-6.3, 370 mm (555 mm FX), 1/200s, f/8, -1 EV, ISO 100

After a rainy morning the weather became nicer and nicer with every hour today. At noon I had enough from sitting in my office and processing images from the last few weeks. I went to the Green Island Wetlands again. The water was very high, the highest I have ever seen it so far. There wasn't much waterfowl. It seems that many nesting places are flooded and except for two couples of Wood Ducks, a few Canada Geese, and some Pied-billed Grebes I haven't seen much else.

I discovered a big snake hanging in a bush that was standing in the water near the shore line. I believe it is a Black Rat Snake but still need to make more research to confirm it. A few weeks ago a very friendly DNR warden gave me a brochure "The Snakes of Iowa". It says Rat Snakes are rare in Iowa, except for a few locations. However, we had one around the house a few years ago until some dude killed it by driving over it…

Nikon D200, Sigma 50-500 mm f/4.0-6.3, 500 mm (750 mm FX), 1/640s, f/6.3, -1 EV, ISO 200

Despite the snake was moving very slowly or just resting, it wasn't very easy to get a clean shot. Too many little branches blocked the view to the head and eyes quite often. There was only one direction to shoot from because the bush was in the water. It just took patience to wait until the snake moved to a different position.

I had another encounter of a new bird species, but this is for another "Nature Clicks" post. So please stay tuned and have a great Sunday.