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Index of Subjects Ken McKenna Box 218 Stellarton NS B0K 1S0 902 752-7644 Hi Charlie Received merlin, Harrier, walkers, Phoebe and Kingfisher. Nice shots. Kingfisher a little out of focus, but a hard bird to photograph! Looking forward to seignGrouse and PUSA. Had Lesser-blacked Gull at Pier C in Pictou this evening and a Sora at the marsh on Rte. 6 near Caribou. I was inside today till 5 only out earlier for church. cheers ken ----- Original Message ----- From: "Frederick W. Schueler" <bckcdb@istar.ca> To: <naturens@chebucto.ns.ca> Sent: Sunday, May 01, 2011 8:46 PM Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Snake in Timberlea > On 5/1/2011 12:22 PM, Brian Bartlett wrote: >> John, Unfortunately I didn't know to look for the three yellow spots -- >> maybe one of those cases of not seeing what you're not looking for. My >> guess is that in the shade at the trail's side yellow spots may have not >> been terribly distinct from the orange. > > * if you had a copper-coloured Redbbelly, the occipital spots (the > "occipitomaculata" in the species name) would not have been at all > conspicuous. There is variation in the brightness of the red belly, and > even more variation in the dorsal colour, which ranges from black to ashy > to brown to a bright orangey brown; what's traditionally called in eastern > Ontario the "deadly copper snake," on the widely endorsed principle that > any unfamiliar-looking snake must be poisonous. > > fred schueler > ==================================================== > > > Certainly they're not that >> obvious in the photos I referred to -- they would stand out more in a >> darker variation. As I mentioned, process of elimination encourages me >> to think it was a Red-bellied -- don't see how it could be any of the >> other few Nova Scotian snakes. >> >> *From:* John and Nhung <mailto:nhungjohn@eastlink.ca> >> *Sent:* Sunday, May 01, 2011 12:15 PM >> *To:* naturens@chebucto.ns.ca <mailto:naturens@chebucto.ns.ca> >> *Subject:* RE: [NatureNS] Snake in Timberlea >> >> Did the snake have three yellowish spots around the neck? That’s >> diagnostic for a red-belly. They are very common, but secretive, and are >> our smallest snake species. Seems to me, as well, there’s usually silver >> and black speckling on either side of the belly, but am not sure if that >> is always present. >> >> Also, if you pick one up, they tend to smear you with a characteristic >> stench, similar to eau de garter snake but worse! >> >> John S. >> >> *From:* naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca >> [mailto:naturens-owner@chebucto.ns.ca] *On Behalf Of *Brian Bartlett >> *Sent:* May-01-11 11:44 AM >> *To:* naturens@chebucto.ns.ca >> *Subject:* [NatureNS] Snake in Timberlea >> >> Yesterday in Timberlea, Halifax County, on the BLT trail near the >> beginning of the Bluff Wilderness Trail, I saw what was for me a >> puzzling snake -- about 10-12 inches long, thinner than an adult Garter >> S and not striped. I gently turned part of the snake over with one stem >> of my sunglasses and saw little colour difference between the top and >> the belly -- a dull orange. At home I checked 3 books & 3 on-line >> sources. Peterson Guide to Reptiles & Amphibians (3rd ed.) says that the >> Redbelly (Red-bellied) Snake is "subject to great variations," and that >> "the belly colour, normally bright red, may vary through orange to pale >> yellow" -- so I'm guessing, also with process of elimination and the >> resemblance of what I saw to the Redbelly in the photos on p. 309 in >> Peterson and the photos (but not the illustrations) on the NS Museum >> website, that this must've been a Redbelly. Those I've seen before had >> genuine red bellies. (Wouldn't you know it, this was one day I hadn't >> taken my camera.) If any herpitology buffs have other ideas, I'd >> appreciate hearing. >> >> Brian Bartlett, Halifax >> > > > -- > > fred schueler > ------------------------------------------------------------ > Frederick W. Schueler & Aleta Karstad > Bishops Mills Natural History Centre - http://pinicola.ca/bmnhc.htm > now in the field on the Thirty Years Later Expedition - > http://fragileinheritance.org/projects/thirty/thirtyintro.htm > Daily Paintings - http://karstaddailypaintings.blogspot.com/ > RR#2 Bishops Mills, Ontario, Canada K0G 1T0 > on the Smiths Falls Limestone Plain 44* 52'N 75* 42'W > (613)258-3107 <bckcdb at istar.ca> http://pinicola.ca/ > ------------------------------------------------------------ > ------------------------------------------------------------ >
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