Rattlesnakes

[tjm]

Some people eat rattlesnakes, probably other snakes as well, so that argument is out.  J walkers are   just as bad also, they are law breakers as well. And the guy that takes his pickup head lights out and switches them for LED is breaking Federal laws. We could make a long list of people who are just as bad and even worse, but should we throw stones? I think it's pretty ignorant of Leopold to presume he knows what constitutes ignorance. Guy with a foreign name like that couldn't begin to know how ignorant Americans can be if they try.

Wrench, that won't work, I seen it said and the guy was just ignorant the next day.

[Keiththom]

After spending a LOT of time climbing steep rocky hills, getting bit thousands of time from mosquitos,  scrapping off buckets of seed ticks and spending a small fortune on gas, I'm starting to see some results.  Here are some of them:

Here is a baby timber and a very large adult.

 

[snagged in outlet 3]

Nice!  Where do you find them?

[Keiththom]

I'm searching rocky outcrops. Places where they congregate in the fall for hibernation.

Here is a Pigmy I found:

[snagged in outlet 3]

I ride the Katy trail and cover a lot of miles.  Usually this time of year we see dozens of snakes.  Not this year though.  Haven't seen a one. 

Last year I saw the biggest hog nose snake ever.  It was on a trestle over Femme Osage Creek, just laying in the sun.  We watched it for quite a while and slithered to the edge of the trestle and jumped right in the creek and swam away.

[Gavin]

You might try the La Rue Pine Hills snake road in the Shawnee National Forest. They close the road in the spring and fall for the snake migration. A buddy was just there and he saw 6 venomous species, and a bunch of non-venomous species to boot. 

 

 

[fishinwrench]

Snakes migrate ?   In mass?  

Never heard of it.  

[BilletHead]

11 minutes ago, fishinwrench said:

Snakes migrate ?   In mass?  

Never heard of it.  

           Yes Wrench from summer grounds to wintering areas. I am not sure the distance Gavin is referring to but on the river I frequent there is a mass exodus from rocky bluffs the denning area to low swamp ground in the Spring and reverse in the Fall. You won't see them all summer but spring and Fall in certain sections 10 to 15 crossing the river. Pretty neat to see,

   BilletHead

[Johnsfolly]

2 hours ago, Keiththom said:

I'm searching rocky outcrops. Places where they congregate in the fall for hibernation.

Here is a Pigmy I found:

Very cool. Pygmy rattlesnakes are one of my favorite snakes.

[fishinwrench]

5 minutes ago, BilletHead said:

           Yes Wrench from summer grounds to wintering areas. I am not sure the distance Gavin is referring to but on the river I frequent there is a mass exodus from rocky bluffs the denning area to low swamp ground in the Spring and reverse in the Fall. You won't see them all summer but spring and Fall in certain sections 10 to 15 crossing the river. Pretty neat to see,

   BilletHead

Hmm, never seen that before.  Cool.

I remember finding a grassy hillside completely covered in Garter snakes when I was a kid.  We literally filled a trash can with them so full that 2 of us couldn't carry it.

It was awesome when we dumped it out.  Giant ball of snakes slowly spreading out everywhere.  The old neighborhood girls probably still have nightmares about that.  😄