Over the last few weeks, I’ve repeatedly seen a Northern Watersnake (Nerodia sipedon) sunning itself on a log at my local marsh. I don’t know whether it was hunger or boredom that prompted it to move, but I was utterly fascinated this past weekend as I watched the snake make preparations to dive into the water.
The snake initially sensed the conditions by sticking out its tongue and then gradually slid its head into the water. After testing the water with its head, it slowly slithered into the muddy waters of the marsh, probably in search of fish or frogs.
I’ve never before used the slideshow feature on my blog, but decided to try it out here to show a sequence of shots of the snake diving into the water. (I think the slide show starts automatically. If not, click on one of the photos and it should start.)
The alternative to the slide show is to do the gallery look, in which you click through the images at your own pace (and the images show up a lot bigger). Here’s the same images in that format. You start by clicking on any one of the images. Do you prefer this look?
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- Sunning on a log
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- Testing the water with tongue
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- Tentative entry
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- Going deeper
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- Fully commited
Just for fun, here’s a blown-up view of the image in which the snake is sticking out its tongue. Click on the image (if you dare) to see a higher resolution view of the snake.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
With either the photos or the video, this is a stunning display of art, and a beautiful snake. 🙂
I liked the slide show. I have never seen a water snake so it was interesting for me to view the sequence like that. Great photographs of the behaviour. Amelia
Thanks. It’s amazing to watch these snakes actually swimming in the water–they can go pretty fast.
Fantastic series. A snake’s movement is fascinating.
I have a few shots of a snake swimming in more open water and I was amazed to see how quickly they can go. I may have to post one soon.
Hmm that would give me some pause …
And thanks, Lyle, for your encouraging words.
It is such a interesting series; I find myself wanting to know how this story ends.
The snake simply slid into the water and swam away. I don’t know if he was successful in catch a meal, but I did notice that there were a lot of frogs around, a favorite treat for these water snakes.
The slide show worked fine. It’s great that you were able to get the entire sequence. He must have moved somewhat slower than a turtle. I’ve found that they can get off a log in a hurry when they want to. That snake looks big!
It’s funny that a turtle moves faster than a snake in a situation like this. The snake seemed to take its time in deciding to get back in the water. I was a pretty good ways away from the snake, so it’s hard to tell how big it was, but I suspect it was about 2 feet long.
What a beautiful snake. I liked the slide show very much. I’m not sure whether to be pleased or disappointed that we don’t have snakes like that here in England. The only snake we have is the adder and you hardly ever see them.
Thanks. We have a number of different snakes in the marshland park where I spent a lot of my shooting time. I never know for sure whether to post shots of snakes, because some people feel they are creepy–I think they are beautiful.
Me too