Its Snakey Out There!

  My hike around the hillside could have turned out a lot differently had I not been alert.  In a matter of thirty minutes, I came across seven different snakes.  While most of these were nonvenomous Diamondback Water Snakes, two were Cottonmouth Moccasins.  Had I not been careful, one of those moccasins could have dealt me a mighty blow. Snakes are out.  Due to the unreasonable amount of rainfall we have had and, also, due to the crazy high tides, the snakes are being flooded out of their natural habitats and into mine.  They are seeking higher ground like most everything else.

  The only thing I can see bad about having the snakes out of their normal territory is that they will be hunting food and the baby birds do not stand a chance.  Not many adult birds can do a thing if a snake decides to raid a nest.  The birds can swoop, dive and peck but most of this is to no avail against a predator with determination.  I have had to literally pull snakes from nests and that is no easy task!  Pulling a snake from a bunch of vines is sort of like what I would imagine trying to move a stubborn elephant by pulling its trunk!  Snakes twist and turn around vines and tree limbs making it almost impossible to move.  Add to this the chance of getting bitten (even by a nonvenomous snake) and things get a bit hairier!  I am no fan of tangling with any snake when it is angry and pulling that tail might just be what it takes to rile even the most docile of beings.

  All in all, it was a fine day for snake watching but I do warn folks that the snakes are being pushed out of their environments.  They will be where you least expect them so be careful!