On August 28th I checked on a location where I knew Hog-nosed Snakes had nested and was surprised to see some animal diggings and some eggshells on the surface. I was disheartened at first because I thought they had been predated but when I showed them to my friend Jon he explained that the snakes had already hatched. The snakes hatched, shed their skin, and hopefully slithered away safely. A predator like a skunk or raccoon came along, sniffed out the nest, and dug up the already hatched eggs. The eggs were deflated, didn't show any bite marks, and there were shed skins around the nesting site. We found two nests, one with 26 eggs, and the other with 8. The 26 eggs may have been laid by one big mama, or perhaps several females using the same site.
Generally open sandy habitat with diggings and a few scattered egg shells.
We further dug up the nest to count the already hatched eggs.
Hard to see, but there are some small snake skins in this photo.
Other random photos and ramblings:
This robber fly was flying around with this Cabbage White and it kind of startled me. It looked like a big cotton ball was just whizzing around and I had no idea what I was looking at.
Saw these guys while paddling around Long Point Bay. Northern Map Turtle above and a Blanding's Turtle below.
Recent Eared Grebe and Short-billed Dowitchers at Townsend
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