It took me a while to see this one.
Get your lean on. A nice ~50 incher encountered randomly in fall 2013.
Hanging out.
Inside a palette under a tarp along with a racer and slimy salamander.
I was explaining to a new guy not to worry about finding timbers while we were flipping rocks in a clearing looking for milks/greens/etc. when I flipped a rock and found this 2nd year. Oops!
I wish I took a better photo of this guy, as this does no justice to his color. I flipped him in a friend's yard and used him for an educational program, where he shed in captivity. I also fed him a mouse before I released him, which he struck and ate within 2 minutes to my surprise (I heard wild ones don't eat too well in captivity).
A very gravid female.
The old "slit eyes" trick doesn't work for this lady.
Best of bi-racial friends.
My first of 2014, April 24.
The last snake of 2013, I found him on the first day of PA archery season. I took a couple from Sweden hiking and we ran into this guy along the trail ten minutes into the hike. What a first timber for them!
A close up.
I unexpectedly flipped this copperhead in a predominately shady area, and after a few minutes of ill temperament, he/she coiled like a statue.
A few gravids overflowing.
A few more.
A few more.
And more.
Do you want a kiss?
Photobomb expert.
Posing.
Medusa.
Unfortunately not in situ, but this leaf made a nice boat. Northern Spring Salamander (Gyrinophilus p. porphyriticus)
A very brown colored YOTY timber rattler.
The elusive "black phase" Norther Red Bellied Snake (Storeria o. occipitomaculatus)
Flipped under a rock on a powerline, this copperhead is near the farthest north of their range in north central PA.
Mmmm lasagna. Eastern Hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis)
This was the third time in two years I ran into this monster male. The year before, I watched for nearly an hour as he fought with another male and attempted courting several already gravid females.
Emergence can be a neat time to see scenes such as this.
These whippoorwills aren't easy to see during night, let alone day.
The view from Hyner View State Park.
The scenic Wykoff Run.
The same area in 2013, with less water and less tripod.
Last but not least, the brightest yellow phase timber rattler I've ever seen. During ingress 2014.
