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Northern Water Snake

Nerodia sipedon

Description:

This snake thought for sure that it had the perfect hiding spot! I spotted it basking in the sun on the side of a pond. When it saw me, it slithered over to the edge of the water so that it could both hide from and watch me. It seemed pretty curious, confident, and calm. I sat down right in front of it and we had a staring contest for about 5 minutes.

Its dorsum was strongly keeled and was a dark grayish color. It had a pattern of reddish brown bands on its venter.

Habitat:

I spotted it basking in the sun on the side of a pond.

Notes:

This snake is currently secure in Connecticut, but many are killed each year as they are mistaken for venomous snakes.

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10 Comments

Christine Y.
Christine Y. 5 years ago

Thanks Maria!

Maria dB
Maria dB 5 years ago

Love the first photo of the snake peeking at you from behind the shrubbery!

Christine Y.
Christine Y. 5 years ago

Thanks for the nomination!

DanielePralong
DanielePralong 5 years ago

Your spotting has been nominated for the Spotting of the Week. The winner will be chosen by the Project Noah Rangers based on a combination of factors including: uniqueness of the shot, status of the organism (for example, rare or endangered), quality of the information provided in the habitat and description sections. There is a subjective element, of course; the spotting with the highest number of Ranger votes is chosen. Congratulations on being nominated a second time this week Christine!

Christine Y.
Christine Y. 5 years ago

Thank you Mark!

Mark Ridgway
Mark Ridgway 5 years ago

That first shot is fantastic. Great spotting.

Christine Y.
Christine Y. 5 years ago

Thanks everyone :)



This snake had the curiosity of a cat and the ssstealth of a sssnake!

DanielePralong
DanielePralong 5 years ago

Another beautiful composition, and a nice read :-)

Jim Nelson
Jim Nelson 5 years ago

Nice spotting, Christine...well done with the photos as well.

SukanyaDatta
SukanyaDatta 5 years ago

Intersting encounter...loved reading about it.

Christine Y.
Spotted by
Christine Y.

Connecticut, USA

Spotted on Jun 24, 2018
Submitted on Jun 26, 2018

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