My focus has been on birds as throughout their season, but to borrow a phrase: now for something completely different.
Snakes.
In particular, a copperhead snake, which is a species I have never before seen in the wild. I knew they were present in the region, along with rattlesnakes and a myrid of lesser or non-venomous species, but in all my time in the field I had never before encountered one.
And I wasn’t exactly “in the field” – I was walking the municipal paths around Lake Scranton looking for some exercise more than any critters, and had the camera with me just in case I spotted any birds. There were no birds, but we did find an older gentleman stopped in the path to warn other walks of this fellow.
Sitting in the dappled light on the pavement, the copperhead was surprisingly difficult to see. He was just about in the middle of the broad trail, stretched out and likely enjoying the warmth of the pavement in the late morning. We made our way very carefully around behind him, and then of course I stopped for photos.
At 400mm with plenty of distance between us!
I would have loved to have gotten a head-on look, to see the full length of him in the fame, but alas that wasn’t how he posed, and I wasn’t about to intrude on his space or patience. So I took what I could get and went on my way happy to have seen him at all – and with a reminder to be more alert, even when walking a paved path through the forest.