From a distance I did not notice the large snake coiled up in the grass near the bank of the river—I spotted it only when I was a footstep or two away from stepping on it. My first thought was that it was probably a non-poisonous Northern Watersnake (Nerodia sipedon). After my encounter with an Eastern Copperhead snake last year, though, I have been a little more anxious to get a good look at any snake that I see, especially its head, in order to assess my relative risk—the copperhead has a large angular head and its eyes have a vertical pupil.
So my eyes began to trace the coils of the snake, trying to find its head. This image gives you a pretty good idea of the view that I had as I bent over slightly to look at the snake. In the photo, it is easy to be distracted by the beautiful colors and pattern of its scales and by the sinuous curves of its body. I was a bit relieved when my eyes finally found the round pupils of the eye of this snake which, believe it or not, is visible in this image. Can you find it?
In case you are curious, I took this photo this past Tuesday when I was exploring in the wilds of Fairfax County, Virginia, hunting for dragonflies with my friend and fellow dragonfly enthusiast Walter Sanford. Although our primary target was dragonflies, my eyes were always scanning surrounding areas for other interesting creatures. (If you still have not found the snake’s eye in the image, here is a clue—look near the extreme left in the photo towards the middle.)
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Mike Powell 
I found the head first, and then the eye. The shape of the head was the tip-off. It’s a beautiful creature.
Thanks. You get a gold star. That’s exactly how I too found the eye. Some folks are more adept at spotting details than others–I love the page in our Sunday newspaper that has two photos and you are asked to spot the differences between the two of them. I think I could have easily focused my entire posting on the fascinatingly beautiful scales of the snake. 🙂
Yes! I see those round, friendly eyes! Pretty snake.
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Thanks, Mitzy. So many people find snakes to be creepy that they won’t even look at them. You seem to have some experience with them and realize they can be pretty and even friendly. 🙂
I had to enlarge the photo to see the eye. It is a beautiful creature and a great photo. Thank you.
Thanks, Ann. I woke up this morning feeling a little playful and decided to have a little fun with my blog posting. I am glad that you enjoyed playing the little game. Like most photographers, I like it when I can get a viewer to linger on a photo and explore it, rather than giving it a quick look and moving on.
Very cool and very beautiful, Mike.
Nice Mike! Did not spot the head right away! But found it when I enlarges it a little!
Thanks, Reed. When I woke up this morning I decided to have a little fun with today’s postings. Most of the time I know what photo or photos I plan to use for a posting, but don’t decide on the approach until I sit down and start writing. That is why the tone and content often is a partial reflection of my mood at that moment.
Not looking long enough to find anything identifiable.
Ah, yes, Dan. I forgot about your feelings about snakes. 🙂
😏
First thing I look for… no slit 😀😀
That’s my approach too, but when a snake is coiled up, it is sometimes a challenge to find its head. 🙂
Around here I assume it’s a Cottonmouth until proven different. Almost stepped on a small one Thursday, or assumed it was one 😂
Yes, also. It would have been easier if it winked at us. 🙂 I’ve photographed a few Northern Water Snakes so recognized it. Have never had the good fortune, so to speak, to see a Copperhead. Have never posted one so maybe I’ll do that as an archival post to share with you.
Found it! I’ve had to make some of these distinctions myself as I live in a forest.
The only alternative is to run away from all snakes, but I think that is a bit of an overreaction. 🙂
No, no, no. I do not want to look at that. Primal fear here.
No problem, Molly. I think I may have some flowers coming soon.
I found the eye… seeing the scales up close is fascinating. (I generally give snakes a wide berth!)
Nice to know about the eyes. Cool snake.
That was a challenge, but I found it after enlarging twice.
The eye was definitely well hidden. Thanks, Nina, for playing my little game.
It’s good that you saw it before you might have stepped on it. And an added bonus–for both of you–that it stayed still enough for you to get a good portrait shot!
I am pretty attentive when I am walking and have gotten used to moving rather slowly as I scan my surroundings. The snake seemed pretty comfortable all coiled up and remained in place as I moved on. In some ways, that is the idea scenario in being able to get my shots without disturbing the subject.
Whew, that took a minute. I zoomed in, I swished the image around a few times, but I found the eye. I could tell it was going to be on the left because I could follow the scales’ changes, but you put my eyeballs to the test. They’re not getting younger. That is a beautiful being!