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Project Noah Nature School
Opheodrys aestivus
A rough green snake slithers across the aptly named Snake Road in the Shawnee National Forest - LaRue Pine HIlls, Illinois, USA.
On one side of Snake Road are rocky hillsides and tall bluffs. On the other side is a large swamp. The rough green snake's preferred habitat is moist meadows and woodlands, often near water. It is highly arboreal, frequently found climbing in low vegetation, and is also a good swimmer. However, it is often found on the ground as well. Unlike many snakes, it is largely diurnal.
In the spring, snakes migrate from their wintering dens in the bluffs to the swamp. In the fall they cross Snake Road again to return to the bluffs. The Illinois Forest Service closes a 2.5 mile section of this road to vehicles for 2 months in the spring and 2 months in the fall to protect the migrating snakes. Collecting and harassing of the reptiles and amphibians in this area is prohibited and monitored. See sign in 5th photo for more information.
Spotted on Jun 10, 2012
Submitted on Jun 11, 2012
24 Comments
Thanks Kevin and Noah_Citizen!
Adorable
great pictures and information!
Thank you Maria and Shannon!
great shot!
love the pics! especially the first one, it's like "hey dude, what ya doing?" love the pretty curious face of this little dude. video's cool. thanks for sharing.
Thanks for those nice words Dan and Hugo!
parece que la serpiente esta muy divertida, excelente toma.
Great pics Neil! Really like the second and third.
Thanks Emma. I love this species!
A very pretty snake!!
I added a 1 minute video clip to this spotting. To watch, click the play button on the 6th photo spot.
Thanks Jinga! I like the 2nd photo a lot too! In fact, I just moved it over to now be the 1st / featured photo. :)
love this!! (Especially the second photograph)
Thank Janson! Did you read the sign in the 5th photo? They close down this road to vehicular traffic 2 times a year to protect the 56 herp species that are commonly seen crossing the road to get to the swampy habitat on one side of the road (Spring) and then back again to the other side where there is a rocky forest habitat with huge bluffs (Fall).
One of my favorites too Karen! Initially I was hoping to find and photo something big and macho, like a cottonmouth or timber rattlesnake. But, this little green snake surpasses all of those other badboys in the beauty department. :) I'm really glad I found this one. They are so camera friendly!
This is my favorite species of snake! The one I found was so docile & seemed really curious when I picked it up - checking me & the camera out!
Thanks Carol. There is another species of green snake called the SMOOTH green snake. Yeah, you have them where you are. It is one of my favorites because of their color, and because they are docile and never bite! They like to climb and are often found in bushes and tree branches. You can also find them on the ground too. This one was small! Maybe 12 inches. I shot some video too. I'll have to edit it and add it to this spotting.
LOL!!!!!! The last photo!
AHHH! He doesn't look so ROUGH to me. A cutie. I think we have these around here hopefully. He looks friendly enough.
Thank you Mary, Satyen, and Atul!
Stunning photos and great information!
Fantastic series!
cool!