Feature Article May 1, 2003
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Eastern Garter SnakeThe warm weather on April 15 brought out an Eastern Garter Snake on Armstrong Road - lively enough that it did not want to have me come close and quickly slithered away. It had probably only emerged from winter hibernation a few days before or even that day, and was quite probably looking for a mate. Mating occurs in the spring soon after they emerge from their underground shelter. The female will give birth to live young, which are immediately independent and receive no care from their mother.
Our Eastern Garter Snake is one of five subspecies of Garter Snakes and is our most common snake. It is not dangerous, and if you are one of those who fear or dislike snakes, why not take time to learn more about it, and in doing so perhaps overcome any aversion you have. That tongue that you see flicking in and out of its mouth cannot harm you. It is the snakes way of gaining information about its environment as it picks up scent molecules from the air. There is a special sense organ on the roof of the mouth called Jacobsons organ which will read the information on the tongue, and help the snake locate its food.
Pick up the snake and it will feel smooth and dry, but be careful not to hold it too tightly and injure it (it may bite and draw blood as my daughter discovered - but it is only trying to protect itself). Its eyes are covered with a clear, non-moveable scale. It has no legs, but has upwards of 200 vertebrae which make it extremely flexible, and it can move with ease with a side-to-side or straight line motion, literally walking on its vertebrae. Like all snakes, it can swim.
The Eastern Garter Snake will eat insects, worms, fish, amphibians and sometimes mice. Snakes must swallow their food whole, and some can engulf animals three times the diameter of the snake's head. The lower jaws of snakes are loosely joined to the skull and the upper jaws are movable. A snake grasps its prey (fish, frog, mouse) by the head and engulfs it by advancing first one side of the jaw and then the other. The snake's teeth also help it swallow. The teeth are sharp and curve toward the rear of the mouth. They hold the prey and prevent its escape.
All snakes shed their outer layer of skin periodically as they grow. Young ones (which take 2 to 3 years to mature) usually shed once every four or five weeks during warm months, whereas adults may shed once every six, or eight weeks during their active season. If you find a shed skin, leave it in a conspicuous place and you may have a Great Crested Flycatcher take it away to line its nest.
Observations - Many migrants are returning, including Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Winter Wren, White-throated Sparrow, Belted Kingfisher, Hermit Thrush, Field Sparrow, Pine Warbler, Chipping Sparrow and Brown Thrasher. An early Blandings Turtle was daring to cross Armstrong Line Apr. 25th, and the Painted Turtles were out sunning themselves in various areas. In bloom - Speckled Alder on Apr 14, Trembling Aspen and Beaked Hazelnut, on Apr 15. Apr. 27, Bill Kennett, Maberly has Pied-billed Grebes in a pond near his house. Ruth and Tom Dowdell watched a Black Bear in their back yard for several minutes. Apr 28 - Helm, Oconto, had 4 Ospreys calling and circling, with 2 landing in a tree. What have you seen? Call Jean Griffin, 268-2518.
