Hike #33: McLean Game Refuge - Granby, CT

Date Hiked: Saturday, June 18, 2016
Estimated distance: 2.76 miles
Weather: 80°F, partly cloudy
Resources:  McLean Game Refuge, Map,
Highlights of the trip:  milk snake, kingfisher
Progress toward 2016 hiking goals:  33/52 hikes; 129.32/250 miles; 31.37/25 miles on Tunxis Trail

Just a short hike today in the refuge.  I did one of my usual loops and, after going up the hill past Kettle Pond and taking the trail that skirts the field, I walked by a "stick".  Wait a second.  Let me turn around and look again.  As you can see below, it was not a stick, but a snake.

It did not move as I approached.  Was it dead?  I crouched nearby and watched and eventually tossed a few pine needles in its direction.  It "rattled" its tail.  It is not a rattlesnake, but the vibration of the tail must have been hitting some dried leaves and it certainly gave me pause.  Checked - no rattle on tail.

Milksnake

I walked around to the other side of the snake and now I could see it kind of roll a little.  I am not sure why it was not moving away from me.  I couldn't see any injury.  I decided to let it be.  After comparing my pictures to a reference book, I believe it is a milksnake (see the "V" on the back of its head).  Here is a great guide to snakes in CT.

A few pink waterlilies.

As I walked along Spring Pond, I flushed three kingfishers from their perches.  Two flew across the pond, but the third was probably trying to figure out why the other two flew off and only went as far as the end of a log below the trail.  I tried to get a picture, but the camera on my phone doesn't zoom as much as I'd like.

 

Mountain laurel in bloom around Spring Pond.

The snake and the kingfisher reminded me that even for short hikes I should at least take my phone so I can take pictures if something interesting shows up.