Snake ID, and day hike pics

stingray4540

stingray4540

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Mar 26, 2007
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I'm glad to see a lot of us seem to have gotten out this last week, I love all the pics, so here is my contribution.

Ok, snake experts, can you help me Id this snake. First thought was a gopher snake, but I'm no snake expert...
Almost stepped on this guy on our hike Saturday:

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Some of the other wildlife we ran into included a red tailed hawk, some wild pigs, and turkey.
Sorry for the poor quality of pics, I had to use all of my available zoom, up to 40x digital just to make the animals distinguishable. The animals you see are always on the next hillside, which is not conducive to good photographs, at least not from a point and shoot.
I like this park, as we usually see some kind of wildlife, although I admit this hike was our most profitable. The only thing we didn't see on this hike, which we usually do, is deer. The park is also home to coyotes, mountain lions, and rattlesnakes. We haven't come across any of these yet, maybe next time...

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Competing for the ladies...

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And how about a little scenery:

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A couple more shots, for kicks:
The California poppies are very much in bloom.

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The way back was along the top of a ridge, that was quite... how do you say... Blustery.

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Santa Clara County for as far as the eye can see...
Actually on slightly clearer days, you can see all the way to fremont from this ~1100ft. peak. (Coyote Peak)

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I'm not sure on the snake, but I'd say Corn snake.


Great pics! That was a productive hike' you came out with alot of excellent shots!
 
Some sort of rat snake, of which family the corn snake is a member. I don't have any books on West Coast critters so I can't get any more specific than that. Perhaps one of my western brethren will be more helpful. Lovely scenery as well. California has some wonderful country.
 
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Corn snake, Rat snake, Gopher snake, you guys are killing me...

Thanks guys, I really like this park, as it is almost litterally right behind my dad's house, so we hike it a couple times a week, in fact we will probably go back today. And, we almost always see wildlife of some sort.
 
non posionus snake is the main thing...constrictor,gopher,king,milk,rat,chicken ,corn many names for same snake in different regions...Excellent pictures thanks for sharing...
 
Really, it's a gopher snake.

I was born in San Jose, and grew up in the SF Bay area many decades ago. In my youth, I caught more of those than I can remember. Gopher snakes were (are?) about the most common snake in the area.

They are pretty easy to catch, and while they may do an aggressive bit right at first, they gentle down very quickly. It was always fun to walk around with one coiled around my arm!

Funniest gopher snake experience was when I was working as the camp naturalist at a summer camp, and the assistant director had a real thing about snakes. One day I happened across a nice gopher snake, coiled him up and tucked him under my hat. When I saw the assistant director, I walked up to him, said "Hi!" and lifted my hat - the snake slid his coils down across my face and the guy totally freaked out!:eek::eek::eek:


I'm much more civilized now! ;)




p.s. For the Sierra Clubbers and PETA folk, I never kept the snakes for more than an hour or two, and always released them in the same area I found them.
 
Thanks for the ID Grandpa, and the pics Tonym!


Grampa said:
p.s. For the Sierra Clubbers and PETA folk, I never kept the snakes for more than an hour or two, and always released them in the same area I found them.
Click to expand...

Suurrre... we know you've still got a couple in a big tank in your living room...


Lol, at the summer camp story, I would have loved to be there to see his face!

My brother and I once did something similar to my aunt with a fake snake. She is deathly afraid, phobic actually, and she always keeps her PJs under her pillow. A coiled rubber snake on the PJs will illicit quite the scream followed by a shower of vulgarities...:D
 
The gopher snakes in so cal are more yellow and black and not brownish with their markings, however, gramps is right.
 
That my good friend, is a gopher snake, as gramps confirmed! One of my best friends when I lived in California!!! I don't know how many times i've had one %&#@ all over me. He however, is quite darker than most specimens I've seen.

Do you have any more pics of gopher snakes from santa clara?


I may need to get one of my old 110 film pictures from back in the day and post it up.
yee paw! good find!
 
I'm thinking I'd like to go-fer those pigs and gobble me down some smoked sausage! Or would you call me a snake for being such a hawk?

Way cool hike!!! Thanks for sharing.
 
Joezilla said:
That my good friend, is a gopher snake, as gramps confirmed! One of my best friends when I lived in California!!! I don't know how many times i've had one %&#@ all over me. He however, is quite darker than most specimens I've seen.

Do you have any more pics of gopher snakes from santa clara?


I may need to get one of my old 110 film pictures from back in the day and post it up.
yee paw! good find!
Click to expand...

Nope, this is the first gopher snake I have come across, in the wild anyway. I once came upon a beautiful California King in the Sierras, but didn't have a camera with me.

If you've got pics, please share!

Farmer Phil said:
I'm thinking I'd like to go-fer those pigs and gobble me down some smoked sausage! Or would you call me a snake for being such a hawk?

Way cool hike!!! Thanks for sharing.
Click to expand...

LOL!:rolleyes:

Unfortunately, the rangers might not take to kindly to that, being this is a park, but just across the valley, there are tons of hills just like these were you can get all the sausage you want. My dad's been wanting to do that, I know my Grandma goes with her friends once or twice a year.
 
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