©Chris Spohn
February 25, 2021
Orange Snake in the Orange State
- as seen by -
Chris Spohn
I had read that Sanibel, Florida is a good place to find mangrove saltmarsh watersnakes, Nerodia clarkii compressicauda, but finding what I’m looking for is never a guarantee.
We walked a little over a mile through J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge. Just as we thought it might be the wrong time of day and the wrong time of year to find this snake, I saw a little squiggle on the ground about the size of a piece of licorice. It was a little too small in size and too dark out to tell the species for sure, but when I got close, it was my target species.
There are several subspecies of watersnakes. I was not aware at the time that they could be candy-colored as most nerodia species tend to be a variation of browns.
I had found this orange snake in the orange state.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This photo was chosen as one of the top submissions for Wild View’s A Pop of Color assignment. Congratulations!
Pentax k-1, Pentax d-fa 100mm Macro Lens
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