Hog-nosed Snakes hatch; random stuff

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

Blanding`s Turtle and Foxsnake

Turtles have been up laying eggs for a while now (evident by all the predated nests) and many are still to lay. This is of course the most dangerous time for the turtles as gravid females are crossing roadways looking for a suitable nesting site and many get smucked by vehicles. Today in a very short span I came across 2 Blanding's Turtles and 3 Painted Turtles. They were very near to roadways either coming from or going to a nesting site. Blanding's Turtles are a threatened species and can wander very far from water. They can be identified by their high-domed, helmet-like shell, and bright yellow throat.

The big surprise of the day was finding a rather large (~4 foot) Eastern Foxsnake, an endangered species that I don't find too often. This guy was laying completely outstretched across the left tire track of a busy road so I was very lucky to find him before he got ran over. He wasn't headed anywhere in a hurry and I suspect he was just hanging out on the road absorbing the heat from the asphalt. I tried to encourage him off the road with my shoe but that just seemed to upset him so I quickly got a stick to help move him. I got him onto the shoulder, took some photos, and then moved him into some vegetation where he quickly slithered away. Hopefully it stays off the road...