Brown snake I found on the road. I moved it to a safe place.
I spotted this Brown Snake (Storeria dekayi) today on the road while I was taking a walk. Almost all the snakes I’ve seen on roads in my neighborhood have been Brown Snakes. I’ve wondered if Brown Snakes enjoy basking on warm pavement more than most snakes. Or is it just that they tolerate human development better than most snakes, and they’re the only snakes left in my neighborhood?
Probably both. I used to see Worm Snakes, Earth Snakes, Garter Snakes, Black Rat Snakes, and even one Rough Green Snake in my own yard – over the last 20 some years.
But in the last ten years or so, the only snakes I’ve seen in my entire neighborhood have been Brown Snakes. And all of them were on roads. (On second thought, I have seen two Black Rat Snakes nearby. One of them was on the road. Black Rat Snakes are common predators of mice living in crawl spaces under houses.)
Makes me sad that the all the wooded areas in my neighborhood are being developed. Or have been developed. Hardly any habitat left in the city.
I understand that being on roads makes snakes much more visible, so I’m much more likely to see them. Dead or alive.
But that doesn’t explain why all of them are Brown Snakes.
