Michigan Herp Trips

On a warm sunny April afternoon, I decided to take a walk at a local creek which has a lot of Northern Water Snakes. With lots of boulders to sun on and flat rocks to hide under, and an abundance of fish and frogs to feed on, it's no wonder why so many Nerodia inhabit the area. The slow moving deep pools seem to be popular hangouts for the snakes, in particular the one at the bottom end of the dam.

Fleming Creek - Washtenaw County, MI

I began to walk the edges of the creek, flipping rocks here and there. It didn't take long to stir up some amphibians. I found this Northern Green Frog in some slackish water near the creek edge.

Northern Green Frog - Rana clamitans melanota

A little farther up the creek I came across and area up on the bank which had tons of wildflowers, I took advantage of the opportunity and photographed some gorgeous spring bloomers.

Marsh Marigolds

Spring Beauty

Violet

As I was photographing the wildflowers, I heard a familiar sliding sound nearby. When I checked out what it was, I turned up a healthy adult female Eastern Garter Snake.

Eastern Garter Snake - Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis

A little further up the creek I noitced a large two foot snake laying on the bank sunning itself. I figured it was a normal sized Northern Water Snake, but I decided to check it out anyway. And this is what I came up onto.

At first, I wasn't sure what I was looking at. It seemed a little odd coloring for a Water Snake and it definitely wasn't a Garter Snake. Thats when I realized what I had found. A QUEEN SNAKE! Queen snakes inhabit rocky sides creeks throughout the midwest and are excellent feeders of crayfish. They can be common locally, but are generally uncommon throughout the state of Michigan. This was a lifer for me and a huge find for early 2008!

Queen Snake - Regina septemvittata

Queen of Fleming Creek

Speces Observed:

• Northern Green Frog
• Eastern Garter Snake
• Queen Snake 

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