Dangers Encountered While Out Hawking

[Eagle Owl]

Yesterday while hawking we came across a couple of dangers. When we first got to the field we were hawking, the drainage ditch had some standing water and all 3 birds went on a frog catching spree. While Krys was trying to trade the birds off the frogs, Mario took this picture of a cottonmouth slithering away from all the commotion.






Once we got all the birds away from the frog fest, we hit the field and then ran into this wasp nest.




We have run into quite a few wasp nests this year. Krys usually turns over rocks, boards, whatever we run into to see if there are any furry critters hiding. Well, after a couple of rocks yielded wasp nests, he stopped doing that.

[EricADugan]

Your snake is not a Cottonmouth, its a Water Snake.
Eric

[Roper]

this is why I dont usually get my birds going until after October 31 as this stuff has come and usually gone for the winter..

[Dirthawking]

Your snake is not a Cottonmouth, its a Water Snake.
Eric

No, Brandi identified it correctly. http://www.houstonherp.com/Cottonmouth.htm

[zx2run]

I would tend to agree with Eric on his ID.
http://www.houstonherp.com/BlotchedWS.html

But either way it is a cool pic!

[cwd56]

Looks like a water snake to me as well. We used to see ALOT of both out fishing when I lived in Arkansas, they will get after your fish on the stringer if you don't watch em. It's head doesn't appear to be the right shape and the stripes on the bottom jaw look to be more like a water snakes than that of a cottonmouths.

Brandi, do ya'll come across any rattlesnake's around there? I had never seen a rattler around Lubbock before, but almost stepped on a 5 footer a few weeks ago scouting a place out. Needless to say, I'll be avoiding any of our "canyon" areas until it gets cold.

[wyodjm]

It's a water snake. Among other things, the shape of the head and the striping on the lower labials on the bottom jaw.

Cool picture.

[Lowachi]

I would tend to agree with Eric on his ID.
http://www.houstonherp.com/BlotchedWS.html

But either way it is a cool pic!

from the pix, I'd say water snake as well. An open mouth shot would help, but..... Have lots of both up here on the river. That's what I like about snow,, ya don't see that stuff. You guys be careful. We got bunnies ta snuff in Dodge together. And I don't care who's watchin' the yard ta do it!!!

[Chris Proctor]

Your snake is not a Cottonmouth, its a Water Snake.
Eric

Exactly..

[nebli]

It's a water snake. Among other things, the shape of the head and the striping on the lower labials on the bottom jaw.

Cool picture.

right on spot

[Dakota]

Is this it?

[PeteJ]

It's a water snake. Among other things, the shape of the head and the striping on the lower labials on the bottom jaw.

Cool picture.

I would concur with the assessment by Dan. The dark edging to the scales on the lower lip are the give away on this species, not to mention the smooth edge of the spotting on the dorsal side of the snake's back. The cottonmouth has more jagged and less rounded markings.

[Eagle Owl]

Sorry for the miss ID on the snake. When I first saw it I thought it was a yellow-bellied water snake because that is what we usually see in the field. My birds have also caught several over the years. But when we saw the picture I was informed that I was wrong and it was a cottonmouth. Oh well. Live and learn.

Roper, we do have rattlesnakes here, but the are not real common here in the city. If you go just outside the city, you will find lots of them, though. My dad has a ranch just north of here, and he has lots of rattlers and copperheads there (been bitten 5 times by copperheads). Here are a couple of pictures taken at my dad's a couple of years ago.

[michaelberan]

Caught this big girl the other night after stepping on her!

[EricADugan]

Nice Rattlesnakes Brandi. I would love to have ranch land that has a good population of snakes.

Micheal, that's a water snake as well. You guys are finding alot of those things.

Thanks for posting the snake pics, I love to see what you guys are finding in other parts of the country.

Here are a couple more snake pics from in the field.

West Coast Parrot Snake - Navajoa, Sonora.


Baja Collard Lizard - Gonzaga Bay, Baja Norte. Not a snake but one of the coolest lizards in the west in my opinion. They prey mostly on smaller lizards.


Speckled Racer - Alamos, Sonora. You guys in South Texas have these down there as well. An insane snake for sure.

[tampamatt]

Looking at the racer is like one of those 3D popout images, messes up my eyes! Awesome pics.

[MarkT]

Looking at the racer is like one of those 3D popout images, messes up my eyes! Awesome pics.

Just imagine when it gets moving.

[wyodjm]

Here are a couple more snake pics from in the field.

Baja Collard Lizard - Gonzaga Bay, Baja Norte. Not a snake but one of the coolest lizards in the west in my opinion. They prey mostly on smaller lizards.

Beautiful lizard. Crotaphytus vestigium. At one time, I used to breed collared lizards. I used to have a large group of Bajas and some Baja intergrades. I used to get some wild looking collared lizard babies. Very, very cool animals.

Speckled Racer - Alamos, Sonora. You guys in South Texas have these down there as well. An insane snake for sure.

Another beautiful animal. They are also known as buttermilk snakes. Very cool animal also.

Thanks for sharing the pictures.

Dan

[longwinger2010]

You're right....it's a Common Water Snake...Natrix natrix. I've had enough bites by those little stinkers to know them from a Cottonmouth in a second.

Either way...I still avoid them only because if they don't bite you...they will most certainly musk all over you and STIIIIIIIINK up the place bigtime !

[Eagle Owl]

You're right....it's a Common Water Snake...Natrix natrix. I've had enough bites by those little stinkers to know them from a Cottonmouth in a second.

Either way...I still avoid them only because if they don't bite you...they will most certainly musk all over you and STIIIIIIIINK up the place bigtime !

I looked up Natrix natrix and the snake looks nothing like the one we saw and it says it is only found in the UK.

[Zarafia]

I am not so good with snake IDs.
Here we have a six foot girl who looks a lot like our diamondback. We have many "banded watersnakes,". They look nothing like our cottonmouth.
I always thought that cottonmouths would be dark colored. But the one we have isn't.
I will get pics if I can, I think that they might be a good thing. Our big girl looks so much like a rattlesnake that I doubt that anybody could make the mistake. She looks like nothing besides a big pit viper.

[PeteJ]

They changed the genera of our native water snake species many years ago. It is no longer in the Natrix genus. The Natrix of Europe is a much nicer snake, in many ways similar to our Garter Snake in disposition..not nearly as bitey. Get much larger in some cases. I caught one in the area north of Athens, Greece that was 5 feet long and quite thick...beautiful coloring with much smoother scales than our Garters have. Others were more in the size of Garter Snakes here...3 feet long was usual. They did come in a black morph too which was quite attractive. I cannot recall one ever biting me, but like a Garter it will musk you quite readily until used to be handled. This pic from the internet looks similar to the ones I used to find, although not quite as rich green as I remember them being. It also looks a bit like it is in lower condition to me. But, you can see how the lip has similar pattern of dark edging to the individual scales like our water snakes have...which was why ours were considered Natrix as well for generations. But their build is quite different as is their behaviors. Ours are hyper aggressive compared to the European Water Snake. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...rix_persa3.jpg

[longwinger2010]

I looked up Natrix natrix and the snake looks nothing like the one we saw and it says it is only found in the UK.

Yes I meant to refer to the Banded Water Snake..Natrix sipedon. My apologies !

[conorhawk]

Nice Rattlesnakes Brandi. I would love to have ranch land that has a good population of snakes.

Micheal, that's a water snake as well. You guys are finding alot of those things.

Thanks for posting the snake pics, I love to see what you guys are finding in other parts of the country.

Here are a couple more snake pics from in the field.

West Coast Parrot Snake - Navajoa, Sonora.


Baja Collard Lizard - Gonzaga Bay, Baja Norte. Not a snake but one of the coolest lizards in the west in my opinion. They prey mostly on smaller lizards.


Speckled Racer - Alamos, Sonora. You guys in South Texas have these down there as well. An insane snake for sure.

Eric what kind of camera are you using to take these photographs? They are amazing!

[Zarafia]

They changed the genera of our native water snake species many years ago. It is no longer in the Natrix genus. The Natrix of Europe is a much nicer snake, in many ways similar to our Garter Snake in disposition..not nearly as bitey. Get much larger in some cases. I caught one in the area north of Athens, Greece that was 5 feet long and quite thick...beautiful coloring with much smoother scales than our Garters have. Others were more in the size of Garter Snakes here...3 feet long was usual. They did come in a black morph too which was quite attractive. I cannot recall one ever biting me, but like a Garter it will musk you quite readily until used to be handled. This pic from the internet looks similar to the ones I used to find, although not quite as rich green as I remember them being. It also looks a bit like it is in lower condition to me. But, you can see how the lip has similar pattern of dark edging to the individual scales like our water snakes have...which was why ours were considered Natrix as well for generations. But their build is quite different as is their behaviors. Ours are hyper aggressive compared to the European Water Snake. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...rix_persa3.jpg

Our girl was never in trouble of mis-identification, she is part of a teaching program.
She is Agkistrodon piscivorous conanti.
Heat sensing pits between her eyes and nostrils. She looks like a venomous snake. No question about it IMHO.

[PeteJ]

Yes I meant to refer to the Banded Water Snake..Natrix sipedon. My apologies !

They have changed that to Nerodia sipedon.

[Jay]

Pete, isn't Nerodia fasciata the banded water snake, while Nerodia sipedon is the Northern Water Snake.

[PeteJ]

Pete, isn't Nerodia fasciata the banded water snake, while Nerodia sipedon is the Northern Water Snake.

Probably, my point was that none of ours are Natrix genus anymore. It's been a decade or so since they were all changed.

[sharpster]

yes, our 'grass snakes;natrix natrix,will musk you terribley as soon as you get your hands on them,a really big/aggresive one will hiss and dummy strike,but this is quite rare,if pushed they will feign death-roll over,tongue out!they are not as 'bulky' as your 'sipedon' and the u.s watersnakes i kept years ago,from imported wild stock,were way more aggresive!!!
we have a young captive natrix-they soon get used to being handled,and stop stinking-thank god!!

oh,and if all of you guys dont stop putting up pics of all the cracking snakes you have flaunting themselves,i will stop logging onto this site-its just not fair!!................

[EricADugan]

All the snake photos Conor were taken with a Sony F717.
Eric

[atcfalconry]

Hey Brandi

Do u ever take shots of the Frog Fest? I could imagine how tough it would be to get a cast of HH away from all that movement and commotion especially if they have their talons sunk into a big bull frog!!!!!

Pics please at least I know I would get a kick out of seeing that.

[Dirthawking]

Hey Brandi

Do u ever take shots of the Frog Fest? I could imagine how tough it would be to get a cast of HH away from all that movement and commotion especially if they have their talons sunk into a big bull frog!!!!!

Pics please at least I know I would get a kick out of seeing that.

http://www.nafex.net/showthread.php?...=wrecking+crew

Starts on post 67. Hard to get pictures of tons of little bull frogs hopping into the water. I was concentrating on the birds. Sorry.....

[Ally]

I have no idea about snake ID, but you guys catching them are either braver or crazier than me!
Beautiful animals though. Great pictures!

[atcfalconry]

http://www.nafex.net/showthread.php?...=wrecking+crew

Starts on post 67. Hard to get pictures of tons of little bull frogs hopping into the water. I was concentrating on the birds. Sorry.....

Thanks mario!!!

I wonder if I can get my Harris chasing Bullfrogs into water maybe it will get him to be less shy of the ducks when they do not clear water. It drives me nuts when he does not commit as they dive back down and sit in 3 inches of water!!!

[chamokane]

Identifying critters can be tough, and naming them can be even tougher since every generation of biologists wants to rename them themselves. There are a lot of experts.

When I was a kid, going to school in Barstow, a biology teacher brought in a snake he had caught the night before. It looked kind of like a cross between a bull snake and a rattle snake. He said that it was a perfect example of protective evolution, and that it was a bull snake that had evolved a wide head to look like a poisonous snake so predators would leave it alone.

That looked like pretty fast evolution for one individual to me, so the next time I was near the library, I looked it up and found that it was just a lyre snake, and that it's mama and daddy had looked like that too. Nice looking snake though.