thamnophis sirtalis semifasciata
Monday, May 26, 2008 — 10:35 am
McHenry County, Illinois — Hickory Grove Conservation Area
OK, this is just embarrassing. I’ve seen hundreds of Garter Snakes. When I went to add a photo to the post today, I discovered that I’d never gotten around to officially adding it. So here it is.
This Garter Snake was lying on the trail in a wet grassy field. It was perhaps 18 inches long, and the middle section seemed unusually thick for the size of its head. It let me get a photo from about three feet away, but when I tried to get closer, it dashed off into the tall grass along the trail — and it moved fast.
What identifies it as the Chicago subspecies is the presence of the black spots on the yellow sides near the head.
maybe it was prego.