Today’s post includes a couple of images of a Diamondback Water Snake (Nerodia rhombifera) that I came upon during one of my kayak outings. The Diamondback is a non-venomous water snake, but is purported to have a vicious bite when defending itself. So my advice … don’t try to pick one up!
One of my favorite kayak locations has a well-established population of these snakes. And I have found out that sitting quietly in the kayak, you must be “on guard” at all times. On more than one occasion, I have looked around to see one next to Rubber Ducky and even attempting to climb aboard! But movement on my part gets them scampering away. Sure takes the incentive to dose off away from you!
This first image was taken just before the sun rose above the trees, so the light was very low, but even:
A few minutes later, and from a slightly different perspective, the sun was rising above the trees and casting a nice, warm light on him and the surroundings:
For tomorrow’s post, I’m planning on including some pronghorn images from Custer State Park (South Dakota).
