On the topic of snakes, since Bob has seen a few recently, I thought I'd mention this as some may be interested.
I was able to observe, for 40+ minutes two Bull Snakes mating in Sherburne NWR. It was absolutely fascinating, as I have only seen garter snakes in Minnesota and a Black Racer in Costa Rica before in my lifetime. I don't go specifically searching for them, and snakes generally avoid people if possible, so they can be somewhat difficult to find. I was amazed at how placid they were, and how they completely ignored me no matter how close I got. Because they were on the road, I slowly helped them off of it, so they wouldn't get run over. In the process I was able to study them closely, and feel how incredibly strong a small (these were maybe 3 feet long) constrictor is. It is really quite amazing. It took quite a bit of effort with a golf club to actually move them even a little bit, and you could feel how the entire body was entirely muscle. The sticks I found nearby certainly weren't of any help, as I wanted to try to move them without actually picking them up and interrupting their activities. I eventually succeeded by gently using the club head end of a golf club. I was able to get some pretty nice images of the two, and have posted a few of them on my website at http://www.avianphotos.org. You can find them in the Reptiles section of the Gallery. Excuse the clutter as I re-work the gallery over the coming weeks. Chris Fagyal Senior Software Engineer BAE Systems - Armament Systems Fridley, MN (763)572-5320
