Holter Lake

We stopped at Holter Lake (near Helena, Montana) hoping I could do a hike-and-fly. I found this spot by chance several years ago. The hill is only 350 m (1000 ft) high so it's a short flight, but it's a nice hike and the wild flowers are nice in the spring. Another attraction is that there is a nice small quiet campground (Log Gulch) just near the hill. I photographed a few birds around the campsite.

Early the next morning I hiked up the hill although I had a feeling the wind wasn't going to work. Sure enough it was too strong and too cross. (You want to launch facing into the wind.) Despite not flying, I still got some adrenaline. I was near the top when I spotted this snake. I couldn't make out the head or tail, but it looked like a rattlesnake. I got my phone out and took this photo. Then something disturbed it and it started rattling at me. It was actually more of a loud buzz than a "rattle" but it definitely woke me up. iNaturalist confirmed it was a Prairie Rattlesnake. I back away and took a different route to the top. There's no trail up this hill and it's rocks and tall grass. I was paranoid that I'd step on (or too close to) another rattlesnake. I was just starting to relax and stepped up on a large slab of rock. I heard loud rattling, but I couldn't see the rattlesnake this time. I assume it must have been somewhere around the edge of the rock. I jumped back a step and just about fell off the rock. Hoping that it wasn't behind me, I backed up and again took another route. Needless to say I was quite nervous on the hike down, but luckily I didn't have any more encounters.

Apparently rattlesnakes are one creature that may benefit from climate change. Hopefully that doesn't mean I'll be seeing more of them!

Garter Snakes

I was heading home after photographing the crocuses (see yesterday's post) when I heard a familiar rustle in the dry grass. It sounds a bit far fetched, but I swear garter snakes make a recognizable sound as they move through the grass. I suspect they make a bit more noise when you've startled them and they are "running" away. I've been a fan of snakes, and garter snakes in particular, since I was a kid. I spent many happy hours searching for them at Cranberry Flats and Beaver Creek.



I managed to snap a few shots as it fled, but I had the closeup macro lens on the camera, which wasn't ideal. But I assumed it wasn't worth changing lenses since it was likely the only one I'd see. It was suitable conditions - a day that had started off cool but was warm in the sun. Those conditions bring them out to lie in the sun and raise their body temperature. (They're of course cold blooded like all reptiles.)



But then I saw a second one, and then a third. So I backed away and changed to my telephoto lens. It's a zoom and focuses quite close, so it would handle whether they were near or far.





I sat down to wait and see it any others would come along. My father always used to say the best way to see wildlife was to sit quietly and wait. He was talking about East Africa, but it applies anywhere. When he told me that, I was a kid and sitting patiently didn't sound like much fun. Now that I'm older I'm more amenable :-) Of course, now that I was ready, no snakes came along and the question became how long to wait? Thankfully, another one came along. They were still hard to photograph sliding quite rapidly through the grass. I've got hundreds (literally) of out of focus shots of glimpses of snakes.



Soon I saw where they were going, and why the unusual congregation. Right in front of me, under some small bushes and grass, was a tangled mass of mating garter snakes. Garter snakes mate in the first couple of weeks after emerging from hibernation, multiple males mobbing a single female. It was hard to tell how many were in the ball - maybe a dozen? Strangely, as more males arrived, the ball didn't get noticeably bigger. And I didn't see any leave. It wasn't like the hundreds or even thousands at the big hibernaculum. Although perhaps there was a smaller hibernaculum nearby? It was funny to see the males arrive in the vicinity. They were obviously following the scent of the female, and it took some circling before they found the mass. Even after the female "escaped" (with the males in hot pursuit) new males showed up following the scent.



I don't know if it was me moving or something else that triggered it, but all of a sudden the mass of snakes took off. I think the female might have tried to escape but didn't get far (a few feet) before the males mobbed her again.



It was nice to see that there are still quite a few garter snakes around. I almost never see more than one at a time, so it's very hard to judge the population.



I was only about 10 feet off the paved trail, which was busy on a sunny warm day. Humorously, everyone assumed that someone with a camera must be out taking photos of the crocuses. Multiple people "helpfully" told me I was in the wrong place. A few people saw I was taking pictures of something and looked curious, but people aren't always too friendly towards snakes and a lot of people had dogs so I didn't enlighten them. I don't think anyone actually noticed the snakes I was photographing.



When you see their bright orange and yellow stripes they don't seem very well camouflaged. You'd think they'd stand out clearly. But in practice, unless they're moving, they're very hard to spot. If you hear one and can't see it, it's often because it's frozen. Stepping towards it will often cause it to move and that's when you have a better chance at seeing it, albeit usually fleetingly. Of course, that makes them hard to photograph since they're either invisible or disappearing into the distance. And the photographs are a bit misleading because I obviously choose the ones where the snake is more visible. Some of them have much brighter colors than others. They do tend to have duller colors when they are getting ready to shed their skin. Also, I notice in the photos that the colors seem brighter towards the head and duller towards the tail.



I realized afterwards that I should have shot some video. I'm not sure why I didn't think of it since I just shot video of the salamander the other day.

See all 22 photos

Garter Snakes

Hiking along the Trans Canada Trail on Vancouver Island, I spotted this medium sized (75cm / 2.5ft) garter snake in the grass and I managed to get some decent photographs of it.



A woman came along on a bicycle, and to her credit she slowed down to see what I was looking at. And amazingly, she didn't say "eek!" or "yuck". She stopped and said she'd like to get a photograph of it too. Thankfully I was pretty much finished photographing it so I backed away. Since she seemed to be a nature lover I thought she would approach carefully, but no, she jumped off her bike, pulled out her phone, and proceeded to shove it about six inches from the snake. Like any self respecting snake, it immediately disappeared into the bush. I think the woman was a bit put out - why did the snake let me photograph it, but not her? What she hadn't seen was my approach. As soon as I'd seen the snake (from about 10 feet away) I'd stopped and slowly backed up to 20 feet away, taken off my pack, got out my camera, and then approached very slowly, not making any sudden movements. I took photographs as I approached, knowing that it could "run" away at any time. I was lucky I had spotted it from a decent distance. Often you only see the movement as they leave the scene.



A bit later I was taking photographs of these Spring Azure butterflies puddling. (They're a brilliant blue on the top of their wings when they're flying but not very colorful on the ground.) I was so focused on the butterflies that it wasn't till I finished taking a whole series of photographs that I realized there was a small garter snake (about 30cm / 1ft long) just past them. I'd moved slowly approaching the butterflies so I hadn't spooked it. It had quite different coloring from the larger one. I don't think this was age related since I saw other larger ones with even darker coloring. Garter snakes have quite a range of coloring. There are even some totally black melanistic ones. (the opposite of albino)



These ones were close to the water where there was ample food in the form of tadpoles and frogs. (Garter snakes are excellent swimmers.) But I also saw some in quite dry areas where they probably eat insects and worms.

The Way to Work

It might still be August, but when it's only +2c when I get up, you know autumn is coming! But cool mornings mean the garter snakes seek the sunshine to warm themselves. Unless they're actually on the path I usually hear them before I see them. They make a distinctive rustling in the undergrowth. Then the trick is to spot them since they blend in well. This one paused just long enough for me to grab a quick photo.



When I got to work I went to check on the progress of the lotus flower bud I'd seen the day before. I was surprised to see it was already fully open.

Skaha, Snakes, and Skinks

Today was our last day climbing at Skaha Bluffs. As we hiked in, Shelley stopped in front of me and said she could hear something moving in the grass in front of her, maybe a bird. I couldn't see anything at first. Then a snake appeared, and then a second one. They weren't rattle snakes so we moved in for a closer look. I pulled out my camera, but they were hiding in the vegetation. Shelley tried to get them to come out but they were in "freeze" mode. She got a stick and started moving it towards them. Eventually they did move but, of course, not into the open. They disappeared into cracks in the rock. We waited and they reappeared and one of them cooperated enough to get a few shots. I think they were Western Yellow-bellied Racers.

Later in the day, I was belaying Shelley on a climb and I heard something moving in the grass at the base of the cliff. Again, at first I couldn't see anything. But I caught a slight movement and picked out a tail. I thought it was another snake, but when I looked closer (while still paying attention to belaying Shelley!) I saw it was a skink (a kind of lizard). I was a little surprised - up till now I hadn't seen any skinks at Skaha Bluffs. Once Shelley was off belay I ran down to our packs and got my camera. (When Shelley saw me running to get my camera, at first she thought I was getting it to take pictures of her, but she soon realized it must be some creature.) When I got back with the camera the skink was gone. But I figured it probably hadn't gone far. Sure enough, when I got closer I spotted it. But again, like the snakes, it was buried in the vegetation. I took a couple of shots but couldn't get a clear angle. I tried to use a stick to get it to move, but I was a little too successful - it shot out like a rocket and went straight under a rock. But I was patient and like the snakes eventually it emerged and I got a few good shots of it. I think it's a Western Skink which is a common species found all the way from BC to Baja (where I've also seen them).

I'm glad to be able to balance all the recent flower shots with something more interesting!

(click to view photos)