So many of the creatures that I encounter blend in so well with their environments, that I detect them only when they move. That was the case with this Eastern Ratsnake (Pantherophis alleghaniensis) last week that I spotted while I was exploring in Prince William County, Virginia.
I was a bit startled when the leaves started to rustle almost directly beneath my feet and my eyes detected the form of a large black snake slowly slithering away from me. The snake apparently had been sunning itself before I inadvertently disturbed it.
After the snake had moved some distance up the side of a small hill covered with fallen leaves and vegetation, it paused and turned to the side, allowing me to capture the first shot below. As those of you who know me might suspect, I too had been making my way up the hill parallel to the snake, waiting for such an opportunity to arise to get a shot of the snake’s head, which explains why I was able to take the shot from relatively close range.
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.
Mike Powell 
Amazing snake photos, so detailed!
Just to reassure you, Liz, I was not quite as close as it may look, though I did take the shots with my trusty 180mm macro lens, the same one I used for the mating dragonflies that I featured yesterday. I love to be able to see all of the details of the scales, especially on the head.
Yes. It’s great to see the detail, it seems a particularly fine looking snake. I like the way the top charcoal colour bleeds into the white underneath.
Nice Mike! But it does not have wings!😊
I sure hope that it does not have wings. 🙂 I am spending most of my time close to home, so I am willing to photograph almost any wild creature that I see when I make a foray out into the wild.
If anyone could bring us proof of a winged serpent, you’d be up there among my first choices. What an elegant portrait your first shot turned out to be!
Thanks, Gary. You may be the first person in history to use “elegant” to describe a photo of a snake. 🙂