August 5, 2017

It was a muggy night at the lake but the recent rain showers cooled things down a bit. The moon was bright and peeking in and out of clouds as the sun fully set. The lake is low, almost dry on the south end. We were able to walk out into the center of the lake looking for frogs. The only frogs calling were Blanchard’s Cricket Frogs at a C=3. There were several near the shore, but we were unable to catch any to take photos. After walking along the lake to the creek, which is also dry, we heard rustling in the bushes and an armadillo came out on the path and did not notice us at all. Our lights spooked it back into the bushes. After an hour of nothing more than one frog species, we decided to head back along the shore one last time on the way back to the parking lot, hoping for something. Our diligence was not unrewarded. We were treated to an amazing site! Resting in the grass, a few feet from the water was a 3 foot long Diamond-backed water snake (Nerodia rhombifer). As I approached, I was expecting it to slither off into the water, but instead it stayed put. It looked well fed, so I figured its lack of movement was due to digesting a recent meal. However, Christie noticed another snake (very small and coiled) under the tail of the larger one. Our lights then shone out and we noticed 5 coiled baby snakes all very near the adult snake. I noticed they seemed to be coated in gel, and then I noticed a blob of gel in front of one of the smaller snakes. We realized the adult snake was gravid and giving birth. As we looked at the adult female, she slowly moved, inching along and 2 more snakes were born. We watched in fascination for several minutes, took pictures, and moved on so as not to disturb her further. Truly a once in a lifetime moment. Heading back to the car, we did spot a Gulf Coast Toad and took pictures for documentation. Thank you Christie G., Ginger and Violet D. for coming out to take part in the awesome evening.