On June 14th, my mom, my friend, and I drove up to the Pocono Mountains in hopes of finally seeing our first venomous snake. We knew of a spot where Northern Copperheads are seen very often, and Timber Rattlesnakes can be reliable as well. Both of these species would be knew for us, and there were a couple other snakes that are found there which we had never seen. When we got there, we immediately started flipping rocks, logs, and all other debris. We were also scanning rock outcroppings and crevices. We quickly saw a Northern Black Racer make his way across the path, and a Black Rat Snake not long after him. We saw many Five-lined Skinks on the rocks and one huge Eastern Garter Snake. A few miles down the trial, I finally spotted a black phase Timber Rattlesnake sitting in a big crack of a stone wall. Only his tail was sticking out so we didn't spend much time looking at him. A little while later, we made it to a spot that is supposed to be the most reliable for Timber Rattlesnakes. We found two more Timber Rattlesnakes there. One black phase, and one yellow phase. We also saw a big Black Rat Snake.
Black Phase Timber Rattlesnake
Yellow Phase Timber Rattlesnake
After watching them for a while, we started heading back to the car, still flipping and scanning for more snakes. We re-found that first Timber Rattlesnake, except this time, it was coiled up and we could see the whole thing.
Black Phase Timber Rattlesnake
Black Phase Timber Rattlesnake
We walked the rest of the way back to the car with only more Black Rat Snakes to show for it, but then we checked one more spot near the parking lot and flipped a Northern Copperhead. We spent some time with him taking pictures before putting him back and leaving. It was a great way to end the day.
Northern Copperhead
Northern Copperhead
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