In the spring of 2008, I decided to visited a site that I had gone to for several years previous. The area is a rocky creek that is home to a very healthy population of northern water snakes. One this particular day I noticed a snake basking on a rock that looked a little odd, it turned out to be my first ever queen snake. Over the summer of 2009, I made routine return visits to the site to figure out the viability of the population. The first snake I had seen there was an adult, so I was curious as to whether or not juveniles existed on site as well. The water is shallow and clear, and the creek has lots of crayfish, the queen snake's only food source.
I made several trips to the area over the summer and was delighted to encounter Queen Snakes each time I visited. Every age class was found as I found juveniles, sub-adults, and some nice healthy adults. All the right pieces exist for this population and its nice to see that the place I seemed to stumble upon is doing well. I figured I'd share a few photos of some Queens found there over the summer.
Queen Snakes - Regina septemvittata
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