snake walk

Yesterday was a good day overall.  But what made it REALLY good toward the end of the day was going on a snake walk and finding not one but two species seemingly in abundance right here in my city.  Although reptiles and amphibians have drastically declined in numbers since European colonization, some have adapted quite well to urban life, though they do seem to live in isolated sections of the city.  One of my snakey areas revealed about 25 plains garters (Thamnophis radix) and 2 brown snakes (Storeria dekayi).  I photographed a few of them, and like always, I take terrible pictures of snakes in hand.  I still haven't gotten good at photographing them in situ like some people can, but I'll keep at it.

A little guy and an adult:

A brown snake to top off the evening:

Each time I find reptiles and amphibians living in the city, it is a huge relief to me.  These animals have had to deal with swift urbanization, loss of habitat, draining of wetlands for development, overcollection for the pet trade, and ignorant people who kill these beautiful animals out of irrational fear and hate.  Unfortunately, some species, such as the Eastern milk snake, smooth green snake, fox snake, and others haven't been able to evolve quick enough and are far less common and in many cases gone in huge portions of their respective former ranges.  But, just for now, seeing these healthy animals really made my day.