Wildlife mid 2009

[Ragged Robin]

Both males.

Does that signify anything Anthony?   

[Ragged Robin]

What a surprise when I came up the steps to see a snake on the rocks - it slithered past me and was just under a metre long!!! Is it a grass snake?  Longer than I thought but a greenish head and dark back, very beautiful.... anyway I think I'll be rather cautious about weeding in the rockery as it seemed to disappear into the wall   

[Anthony Darby]

Both males.

Does that signify anything Anthony?   

Not really.

What a surprise when I came up the steps to see a snake on the rocks - it slithered past me and was just under a metre long!!! Is it a grass snake?  Longer than I thought but a greenish head and dark back, very beautiful.... anyway I think I'll be rather cautious about weeding in the rockery as it seemed to disappear into the wall   

The only dark snake that I can find living in Switzerland is the black phase of the Asp (Vipera aspis) . Grass snakes are characterised by the yellow neck (collar) marks and are usually well patterned.

[Ragged Robin]

oOOO errrr...better be more careful in future - was surprised at the size of the snake  - quite comical watching i try to negotiate the steps and we only caught the middle section slithering away - can't think that the holes in the rockery are big enough to house a snake but will not be sticking my fingers in any    thanks for your quick response, Anthony.  I'd better read up on snakes here but it was difficult to search for info about snakes found in Alps on Google.

[Lesley Cox]

Be very careful, Cleopatra

[johnw]

Anthony & Cleopatra may be interested in the melanistic snakes on a small island in Halifax Harbour known as George's Island and the site of Fort Charlotte.  They come in a fantastic array of colours.

The island:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Island_(Nova_Scotia)

The snakes:

http://museum.gov.ns.ca/mnh/nature/snakes/melanist.htm

johnw

[Anthony Darby]

Fascinating John. [I prefer the island's original name. ] A similar situation occurs with inbreeding in the colony of Meadow Brown butterflies (Maniola jurtina) on Crammond Island. This tiny island is connected at low tide by a causeway to the mainland, is a small island in the River Forth. Forms of the butterfly with multiple spots occur in larger numbers than on the mainland.

[Ulla Hansson]

I have the last 3 years had a snake (Natrix Natrix) in the garden. It is a melanistic form. 
 Last year changed the snake skins on the terrace. This skin was 96cm long.
This year, my cat had a fight with the snake, then moved it over to a neighbour’s land.
Ulla

[Ragged Robin]

Anthony & Cleopatra may be interested in the melanistic snakes on a small island in Halifax Harbour known as George's Island and the site of Fort Charlotte.  They come in a fantastic array of colours.

The island:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Island_(Nova_Scotia)

The snakes:

http://museum.gov.ns.ca/mnh/nature/snakes/melanist.htm

johnw

John, thanks so much for posting the links above - really interesting and very well documented....we are still unsure of the snake we saw but
as Anthony demonstrated to Cleopatra this morning it was actually over a metre long!  Funnily enough to Cleo (from below) it had a creamy under chin very like the Garter snake in the pic and to Ant (from above) it looked very black (like the black garter snake pic)  However the size is not the same (as Anthony pointed out!) Anyway it is fascinating to investigate a species of wild life with which one had a close encounter   

Atttached for interest is a CU of the snakes skin on its back/side

[Anthony Darby]

The head is the key. Adders have a slit pupil, indicative of nocturnal activity; whip snakes, rat snakes and grass snakes all have round pupils.

[Ragged Robin]

I'm pretty sure it had round pupils, Anthony, set on a streamline head and it didn't look sinister just alarmed at my presence....it moved in a meandering way....but quite speedy!  Anyway, thanks for your input  - I'll just be more aware of what is lurking on/in the rocks 

[Ragged Robin]

Nothing moving today as the weather is cold and wet again - hard to believe that yesterday my lavender was covered in bees of all bee-shapes and sizes...
and a butterfly 

[Anthony Darby]

I'm pretty sure it had round pupils, Anthony, set on a streamline head and it didn't look sinister just alarmed at my presence....it moved in a meandering way....but quite speedy!  Anyway, thanks for your input  - I'll just be more aware of what is lurking on/in the rocks 

Some kind of colubrid then?

[Ragged Robin]

Some kind of colubrid then?

Anthony,
Looking at the Wiki page for your suggestion:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Coluber_caspius.jpg

When I first saw it at the top of the steps it was coiled in a loose heap just like this and the photo is remarkably similar (but darker) to what I remember about its head and proportions but I have no idea if this type of snake lives here?

[Armin]

Hallo Robin & Anthony,

in below link (sorry in German language only) it is written that black coloured forms of the Grass Snake (Natrix natrix natrix) is occasional seen all over the Swiss. In Simmental there is a population of only black form.
Female snakes can reach 1.30m in lenght.

http://www.reptiles.de/Natrix%20natrix.htm

The picture I've from wikipedia.