June 23 Sunning Snake

I am in Washington, D.C. this week to train more SCA crew leaders and working in a county park called Cabin John. Walking along the Cabin John Creek this morning we saw this snake sunning just off the trail and got wildly excited about possibly seeing a new species! Looking at pictures later was a disappointment: turns out this is most likely just an eastern garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis). Just an eastern garter snake! OK yes they are very common but if you catch them during mating season between March and May, you might just see a breeding ball of several hundred snakes, all slithering around wildly. I'd like to see that someday. Also worth noting, above this snake is an odd bamboo forest about 20 feet tall and 100 feet long down the trail. We thought that someone living uphill from the creek planted bamboo and it has made its way down to its present wet floodplain where it is thriving.