Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: Red-sided Garter Snake

May 1st, 2011 was the start of Snake Monitoring in a local park. We get both the Red-sided Garter Snake and the Wandering Garter Snake - thankfully, not the size seen in my macro photo, lol! Each snake was measured and, starting that year, weighed (i.e. gently placed in a tall plastic container which was then placed on a scale). They were also marked behind the head with green felt marker of some kind, so that we could tell if we got a recaptured snake. The monitoring season started late that year because of the endless winter. I didn't check how many snakes were found and recorded (my guess would be about a dozen+), but just as we were leaving the area, one of the team members did a great job of spotting two mating balls high on the slope, barely visible amongst the trees, shrubs and dead leaves. We left them alone, of course. On our first day of monitoring the previous year, we had 107 snakes to catch (not me, I only took photos, if I got the chance!) and record!! The reason that I originally joined this program was to see if it would help me be less fearful of snakes - they are most definitely not my favourite things. Just imagine being afraid and having 107 snakes slithering down the hillside towards where you were standing, ha!

LOL, we recorded about 105 Garter Snakes on Monday in roughly a two-hour period. Unfortunately, they were almost all at the top of a small hill, and I found the crumbling climb just too risky. So, this was the only photo I was able to take, of a Red-sided Garter Snake that was found at the bottom of the hill - and I'm going to post it, even though I think I would normally delete it! Hope I get somewhat better luck next time! Just about all the snakes were male Wandering Garter Snakes.

This Red-sided Garter Snake was the only one that "cooperated" yesterday on our Snake Monitoring session. Usually, after they have been measured, recorded and released on the far side of the metal fence in the hibernaculum, they slither away at top speed. This one stayed right where it was, giving me a rare chance to get a few shots. Red-sided Garter Snakes are common but in localized populations in Alberta.

This is a beautiful (can't believe I can actually call a snake "beautiful"!) Red-sided Garter Snake that has slithered into a wooden trap through the wire cone. Several of these boxes are placed in a hibernaculum and people record the number of snakes and their length and then the snakes are free to go on their merry way.

A Red-sided Garter Snake being held so that it could be measured, marked and recorded. These really are attractive snakes - and those are words coming from someone with a fear of snakes, LOL! The Wandering Garter Snakes are a different matter - I just cannot get comfortable with those AT ALL, especially the larger, fat females - ugh! We saw about 57 snakes yesterday, a mixture of both species of Garter Snake. For anyone who has never tried to photograph a snake, you (or at least I) have to take lots of shots in the hope of getting one half decent image. These reptiles do not like being held and they writhe and twist. Every once in a while, one will be a bit calmer, thank goodness.

A friend took me for a walk this afternoon to one of his favourite areas of the park. We climbed a clay bank looking for Tiger Beetles and came across about eight snakes. Both kinds were seen; the Wandering Garter Snake and the Red-sided Garter Snake. This one is a Red-sided - quite beautiful, really. I can tell you that a steep, crumbling cliff is not the ideal place to walk for someone who has a fear of snakes and of heights, LOL! It is good, though, to know that there seems to be a healthy number of these reptiles already. Thanks, D, for showing these to me : )

We saw this single Red-sided Garter Snake yesterday morning at Confluence Park, while on a Botany walk. Yes, it was being gently held, but NOT by me!!! That will NEVER happen, LOL!

Hope I might be able to get a few different photos next week, when I go to the Snake Monitoring again. On walks with a friend recently, I am seeing that there are a LOT more snakes "out there" than I ever realized before. Yikes! It's one thing seeing them in a hibernaculum when you are expecting them, and a very different thing when you come across one unexpectedly while out for a nice walk!

Didn't want to crop this any more, so unfortunately it is a rather distant photo. However, it shows a Red-sided Garter Snake, which is one of our two kinds of snake - the other is a Wandering Garter Snake. Today was the first session of Snake Monitoring in a local park. We found about 32 snakes, I think, which were measured and recorded, roughly half of each type of snake. My reasons for going are to hopefully get the occasional photo worth posting and also in the hope that I will lessen my fear of snakes!

There were something like eight or nine of these snakes caught inside one of the wooden traps at a hibernaculum that I was at two days ago. I was attempting to get a few photos, while others caught, measured and recorded each snake found.

Another photo of one of the Red-sided Garter Snakes found in the hibernaculum in a local park. Think I might just have to ask a trusted friend to hold one of these snakes for me on one of the monitoring days, in the hope that I might even be able to get a supermacro image! Not that I exactly fancy being a couple of inches away from a snake! Anything for a photo, right? Maybe... Red Sided Garter Snake Identifying Features: Body is very slender, average length is 460 to 1300 mm Background colour is dark olive green to black Dull yellow or brown stripe on the back fades towards the tail Red or orange bars appear on the sides Dark spots appear on the back, throat is whitish Females are larger than males Diet is insects, worms, fish, amphibians, small birds and mammals Jaws can dislocate to spread far apart, enabling the snake to consume prey larger than its mouth Information from www.friendsoffishcreek.org/

A friend held this Red-sided Garter Snake today after it had been measured and recorded, so that I could try and take a photo of it. Almost impossible to get a focus on it, as it was constantly swaying.

A more distant view of the brightest Red-sided Garter Snake that we monitored yesterday.

Despite my fear of snakes, I have to say that this Red-sided Garter Snake seen today on our Snake Monitoring session, was absolutely beautiful. It had just been caught, measured, recorded and released over the hibernaculum fence.

Another composition of the beautiful Red-sided Garter Snake that we saw on Monday during our Snake Monitoring.

Though I prefer a photo of a snake in its natural environment, a hand (not mine!) does lend a sense of size.