NEBRASKAland Magazine is dedicated to outstanding photography and informative writing with an engaging mix of articles and photos highlighting Nebraska’s outdoor activities, parklands, wildlife, history and people.
Issue link: http://mag.outdoornebraska.gov/i/654753
16 NEBRASKAland • APRIL 2016 Snakes in Trees By Dan Fogell There I was, listening to a pair of blue jays screaming at the top of their lungs while frantically flapping around high up in a cottonwood tree. I'm not a birder, but everybody knows what a blue jay is, so I know I got the species right. But I don't know males from females because they look the same, so I assumed they were a couple of males fighting for the privilege of some lovely lady's company. But then I saw something I know a little more about: a snake. A large black rat snake to be precise. It maneuvered through branches and finally descended to the ground where, of course, I had to catch and play with it. Picking it up while trying to avoid a bite is always challenging, but once secured I noticed that it had recently eaten. And when I say recently, I mean like a few minutes ago. It turns out that those blue jays weren't combatting males but were a pair, defending their chicks in their nest. I have to say… they lost this battle. Black rat snakes, also called black snakes, pilot snakes and western rat snakes are well known for their climbing skills. Their body is even shaped to improve their talent for vertical ascent. Imagine chopping a snake in half (try not to enjoy it TOO much). In cross section, most snakes are round, or somewhat oval. But black rat snakes have a cross section shaped like a slice of bread: rounded on top with corners on the bottom. Those corners can grip vertical surface features and help propel the snake nearly straight up trees, walls, and other structures. As a result, even though they are called "rat snakes" they subsist on a diet of adult birds, chicks and bird eggs. Obviously, by virtue of their common name they are black in color and virtually patternless, though sometimes with a little red or white mixed in between their black scales. But only as adults, and as adults they are one of Nebraska's largest snakes – often approaching seven feet in length. When they hatch out of eggs they are strongly patterned with dark grayish-brown blotches on a light gray background, though they are no less arboreal. They just use smaller trees and bushes to climb in and hunt. In fact, the difference in color offers them a little camouflage in the brush while they are small and rather defenseless. Within two years or so, however, the blotches and background tend to darken to the adult black color. Then they start moving into bigger trees. Black rat snakes are not the only snakes that climb. In fact most snakes can, though they usually don't, and some are better at it than others. In Nebraska I have seen garter snakes, water snakes, brown snakes and even rattlesnakes up in trees. Most of them were probably not up there for food, so it's hard to know why an animal with no legs would opt to leave the safety of the ground. Maybe to avoid predators, or to thermoregulate out on the branches. Or maybe just simple curiosity. Whatever the reason, snakes climbing in trees seems unnatural. But they do it, and in Nebraska the black rat snakes are the best at it. And the next time you hear a couple of birds that won't stop screaming from high up in a tree, look up. Maybe you'll get a surprise. ■ PHOTO BY DAN FOGELL PHOT PHOT PHOTO BY O BY O BY DAN DAN DAN FOG FOG FOGELL While juvenile black rat snakes will sometimes have white mixed in between their black scales, within two years or so these blotches darken to their adult black color. Black rat snakes will climb trees in search of food, including birds, chicks and bird eggs.