Solved: Serpent

[Tom]

   Does this look like Trumpet Creeper to you?

                         

                 

[swampwhiteoak]

I think a photo like that requires a story.  One of the few advantages I like about living up north is I don't have to worry about poisonous snakes.  

[Don P]

Have Mercy Tom,
That looks like rattles on his tail and diamonds on his back and big enough to take down your leg and spit out yer toes. One of our RA leaders talked about going fishing in places we wouldn't go. He wore stovepipe leggings and said he would hear them hit it every now and again. I'd get me a BIG cat before I went back in there again.

[Tom]

came out of my backyard.

I'll tell ya'll about later.

[L. Wakefield]

rotflmao- I kept looking and LOOKING at that pic- I was looking at the cables in the back of the truck, saying 'that's not a snake, I KNOW that's not a snake, that's not even an Indiana Jones PILE of snakes- and FINALLY I look at the tailgate and said-'oh- yeah'-   lw

[Tom]

I was cooking on our open pit in the backyard as usual when I noticed something that didn't belong out of the corner of my eye.  I turned my head to look and found this rascal stretched full length next to the wood pile and inching toward the swamp.

I hastily delivered supper to the kitchen, retrieved my trusty 90 year old shotgun from the closet and returned to the woodpile where I dispatched him with gusto.

I usually don't bother varmints in their own backyard, but when they are in mine, then, that's a different story.

[Ron Scott]

Are there more in the woodpile?? I've had such experiences in West Virginia. The reason I like Michigan woods and home sites. I'd rather have a bear in the yard.

[Jeff]

No kidding, At least with a bear, you at least get the satisfaction of being a meal. Besides, Bears have a hard time hiding in the lawn when you don't mow often enough.

[Texas Ranger]

I'll see your snake, and raise one!  Texas style!

[Bibbyman]

Back when I was a kid,  the hills and hollers were crawling with rattle snakes and copper heads.  We had water moccasins in the streams.  Hardly a day past working or playing in the woods that I didn't see one of those little green tree snakes or a striped racer.  Also, run-ins with black snakes and other not-poisonous snakes were very common.

We worked over the poisonous snakes with extreme prejudges but mostly left the non-poisonous ones alone - unless they decided to invade grandma's pantry.

Four or five years ago we had a 4' black snake that would crawl up a corner post in the sawshed and watch us saw.  It caused Mary to go "Eaek!"    more than once but we left it alone.  But we haven't seen it for a couple of years now.  I had to do a lot of P.R. work to get her to agree it was better to be frightened by a black snake than to have mice and poisonous snakes. (The old-timers always said black snakes would kill other snakes.)

We hardly ever see a snake these days.  The forestry department in Missouri has declared all snakes protected and it is illegal to kill even a poisonous one.  The few copper heads I've seen around my sawmill lately have all met some unfortunate accident of having something heavy fall on them.  (Accidents around the sawmill are far too common.)

The population in my area has increased exponentially the last 20 years until now it's 100 times what it was 40 years ago.  But most these new houses are clustered tight to the main blacktops and connecting gravel roads. There are still thousands of acres of timber, rough and rocky bluffs and overgrown field edges, etc. that would maintain a healthy population of snakes.  

One balance I've seen that may be the cause is the re-introduction of the wild turkey. We use to keep domestic turkeys, not just for eating, but to keep down the snakes in the yard area.  I've seen them many times flock together and work over a snake - even big ones. Then they would spend the rest of the day playing keep-away with it until it was consumed.

Another thing that has disappeared as the wild turkey gained population is the quail.  We probably had a good bevy off quail on each forty acres and hunted them each fall.  Last year I was totally shocked to see one lone quail run down the drive and fly off.  The only one I've seen on our property in the past 10 years.

A friend and avid hunter says that the turkey is basically a buzzard and will scavenge anything and is particularly hard on ground nesting birds as they find their nests and eat the eggs.  

Anyone else see a correlation with the decline of snakes and ground nesting birds and the increases of wild turkeys?



Son Chris and one of two tom turkeys he got in the spring 2000 season.

[Ron Wenrich]

The demise of the small game in PA came when they started to protect all the hawks.  

Pheasants are a real rarity, even though I have adequate habitat.  No turkey nearby. The other year, they stocked pheasant, and I fed them throughout the winter.  By spring, they were gone.

Quail have been gone for 40 years.  I've thought about stocking some, but the hawks would no doubt wipe them out.

A bigger problem for small game is the removal of the fencerows.  

But, that is an interesting correlation between turkey and snakes.  I've never thought about it in that light.  I hear hogs like to eat snakes as well.

[Bibbyman]

You're right about the hawks.  I grew up in the county where we didn't have locks on our doors - much less think they should be locked.   And talk about gun control,  trigger locks and keeping guns out of the reach of children,  dad had a Stevens 12 gage double loaded and leaning in the corner right behind the kitchen door.  We all knew not to touch it and what it was for.  It was to protect our chicken, ducks, turkeys and other food on the foot against hawks, owls, foxes, stray dogs and cats.

[Texas Ranger]

I just read this series again, and found Jeff's comment about at least with a bear you get something to eat.

Rattle snake aint bad, fried up like cat fish or chicken.  As long as you don't think about it.  Have a doc I go to that takes all the rattlers I bring in, his supper.

[Jeff]

Don, you read my post to fast, I actually said:

At least with a bear, you at least get the satisfaction of being a meal

[Texas Ranger]

Ah, never mind!  Reading comprehension not one of my strong points.  But I like bear, as well, not so much as elk, but good.  Wouldn't care to be dinner for bear or snake.  Sort of one sided thinking.

East Texas has lost  most of its quail population to fire ants.  They go for the chicks.  Tough on turkeys as well.  Have been known to take small mammal young.