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Subject:

Ferry Neck, Sept. 20-22

From:

Henry Armistead

Reply-To:

Henry Armistead

Date:

Sat, 23 Sep 2006 10:33:17 -0400

HELP!!  Can someone please ID the SNAKE described below at the end of this
posting?


RIGBY'S FOLLY, Armistead property on Ferry Neck, Talbot County, MD, 25124
West Ferry Neck Road near Royal Oak but nearer still to Bellevue. 

Special trip to take advantage of the cold front but the intensity of the
flight was disappointing.  Too much wind night of Sept. 20-21, no wind
night of Sept. 21-22.

WED., SEPT. 20, 2006.  2:45-7:30 P.M. only.  Fair, NW wind 15-20, 70-66
degrees F.

Bald Eagle 2.  5 Great & 14 Snowy egrets.  A single Bobolink decends into
Field 4.  7 bluebirds.  14 Mourning Doves.  2 adult Ospreys.  

THU., SEPT. 21.  63 species.  The number of birds so disappointing I spent
from 9 AM until noon doing brush work on the Olszewski trails.  57-74
degrees, winds NW 20-5, fair or clear variously.  

Canada Goose, "real" CG migrants, up very high, incl. flocks of 30, 20, 14
and 4.  Wood Duck 3.  1 Green Heron, last bird of the day.  Bald Eagle 5. 
5 Sharp-shinned & 1 Cooper's hawk.  1 screech-owl in Woods 2.  1 phoebe.  1
Barn Swallow.  1 gnatcatcher.  4 Swainson's Thrushes, 3 heard in the
pre-dawn darkness, 1 later seen.  11 waxwings.  1 Scarlet Tanager with a
trace of his scarlet still showing.  1 Rose-breasted Grosbeak.  1 Baltimore
Oriole.  

WARBLERS:  2 Chestnut-sided, 2 Magnolia, 1 Black-throated Blue, 2
Black-throated Green, 2 Pine, 1 Western Palm, 1 Blackpoll plus 2 Northern
Parula, 2 redstarts and a yellowthroat.  

FRI., SEPT. 22.  6-10 A.M. only.  Fair, 57-63 degrees, wind calm becoming
southerly, light.  51 species.  

8 Snowy Egrets.  1 imm. Bald Eagle.  1 BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO, only the 3rd
property record.  1 Great Horned Owl, a juvenile calling.  1 hummingbird. 
12 flickers.  1 wood pewee.  4 catbirds.  1 Yellow-rumped Warbler (it's
starting).  1 SUMMER TANAGER, only the 9th property record.    

BUTTERFLIES for this period of 3 days.  Few.  8 Monarchs on Thu., and 1 of
Friday's was migrating high before sunrise.  Cloudless Sulphurs. 
Pearlcrescents.  A few Buckeyes.  1 Cabbage White.  

DEER:  6 on Thu. incl. 2 fawns still with spots.    

GRAY SQUIRREL NEWS.  Saw 6 on Thursday, 7 on Friday.  Six of the Friday
squirrels involved 3 twosomes, each involved in elaborate chases up and
down and around tree trunks with much vocalization and scolding, one reason
I call this species "Bark Rocket".  I assume they were either pairs or
there was some territorial dispute going on.  The 7th one on Friday was a
yearling.  All were bright eyed and bushy-tailed.  No hapless ear of corn,
unsecured walnut, or unalert acorn is safe from their fussy depredations. 
 

UNIDENTIFIED SNAKE:  When I first saw it I knew immediately I'd never seen
anything like it before.  I am unable to find anything similar in the 2
references cited below.  I'd be grateful to anyone who could suggest what
species this is.

ATTN:  Ferry Neck residents.  Please let me know in the unlikely event that
you may have had this snake in captivity and it escaped, since it does not
seem to be a species that is native to this area.

Date & time:  Thursday, September 21, 2006, noon.  

Weather:  fair, sunny, cool NW wind, temperature in the low 70s.

Location:  Talbot County, MD, Ferry Neck, on our property in a c. 14 acre
tract lumbered in 1996.  Seen near our northeast boundary adjacent to
Michael Davidson's property.

From my notes taken at the time: 

Length:  at least 36 inches.

Coloration:  upperparts were uniform tan (light brown) and totally without
pattern.  The lower sides and under the chin, and the underparts (lower
sides, really), in as much as they were visible at all, were suffused with
a subtle, diffuse, blueish-whitish cast, a rather striking color.  I am
absoluetly certain of the blueish color.

Head:  narrow, somewhat elongate, gently rounded.  No wider, perhaps
narrower than most of its body, about as narrow as the neck.

Eyes:  clouded, milky.  getting ready to shed?

Scaling:  scales seemed smooth, without keels, and fine.

Habitat: in partial sun on floor of forest lumbered exactly 10 years ago,
and now with predominantly Loblolly Pine and Sweet Gum new growth.

Behavior:  was resting, perhaps sunning.  Seemed to be dozing but was aware
of me.  When I tried to catch it by hand it quickly slithered away.  It
showed none of the sluggishess or torpor some snakes display when they are
shedding or when it is cool.  The snake's skin was intact and showed no
signs of starting to shed.  

Observation:  for about 5 minutes at 15 feet or less, some of which was
through my 10 X 42 Swarovski EL binoculars.  The sun was behind me.  I had
been lopping small overhanging branches on the 0.5 mile trail system in
this wooded parcel, which I call our Woods 2, and had just cut some right
near the snake when I noticed it lying there.

Overall impression:  a slender snake, slimmer than a Black Rat Snake, but
not as slim as some other species (i.e, greensnakes, most of the racers,
whipsnakes, coachwhips, worm snakes & ring-necked snakes - would all be
more slender).  Had a somewhat glassy, glossy sheen.  Smooth.

Posture:  was not coiled or curled but formed a typical "serpentine" shape
when discovered, the curves more rounded, less angular, than Black Rat
Snakes usually are.  

My experience.  In 57 years as a very active birder and amateur
ornithologist in MD mostly I am familiar with the commoner snakes of the
area.  On our property we have only seen Black Ratsnake, Northern Rough
Greensnake, Eastern Gartersnake, and Eastern Watersnake.  Ratsnakes are
common at Rigby's Folly and every year I hand catch one or two and remove
them from our house.  In Dorchester County I have seen Eastern Kingsnakes
and Red-bellied Watersnakes.  Here in Philadelphia Northern Brownsnakes are
common in our yard.  I am NOT very knowledgeable about snakes but having
done writing, editing, and compiling work with birds for several decades,
including serving on an avian records/rarities committee, I am aware of the
importance of documentation and careful observation in securing an ID and
valid record.   

References consulted:  Conant & Collins.  3rd ed. of "A field guide to
reptiles and amphibians of Eastern and Central North America" (Houghton
Mifflin, 1991).  White & White, "Amphibians and reptiles of Delmarva"
(Tidewater Publishers, 2002).  


I'll be at KIPTOPEKE STATE PARK, VA, Sept. 30 through October 14 staying in
the park and haunting the hawkwatch platform.  Would be glad to see any
birders who want to visit there.

Best to all.-Henry ("Harry") T. Armistead, 523 E. Durham St., Philadelphia,
PA 19119-1225.  215-248-4120.  Please, any off-list replies to: 
harryarmistead at hotmail dot com  (never, please, to 74077.3176 ....)