Vacation...


night in the salt marsh


up the creek...


food for a Salt Marsh Snake

The sun was off to bed, and now it was time to release one of the Nerodia clarkii at a nearby salt marsh.  Small tidal creeks crossed the marsh, and I was surprised to find a sandy bottom when we jumped into one. I suppose the incoming and outgoing tides helped to scour the thick mud away. We took some pictures before releasing the snake, and when I handled the animal I was a bit surprised - it seemed more like a Queen Snake to me, more slender, more gracile than a typical water snake.  This species was once considered a subspecies of the Banded Water Snake, Nerodia fasciata, and often interbreeds with fasciata after hurricanes and tropical storms. The storm surges bring the saltwater snake and the freshwater snake into contact, resulting in a 'hybrid swarm', as Conant and Collins put it in their field guide.

It never fails to amaze me what an impact there is when you put your hands on an animal, and step into the habitat they live in.  Words and pictures pale in comparison to actually being there.  Questions bubble up, one after another - how does this snake cope with salt water?  Why is it diminished in size and girth?  What are they eating?

We let the snake go at its capture point, and I walked further up the creek in search of more of them.  There were just a few inches of water running, and there were a lot of small fish wiggling and jumping about, answering the question of what Nerodia clarkii eat. The snakes take advantage of low tide to catch their dinner in the shallow waters.

I walked down the creek for a hundred yards or so, but failed to turn up any snakes.  Crabs scuttled and fish fled at my approach; overhead the Milky Way shone with a brilliance city dwellers never see. A breeze carried the earthy tang of the salt marsh to my nose. This passion of mine produces many quiet moments to remember, even when the herps are not present.

 
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