West Hill Dam, Uxbridge (4/16)

On Easter Sunday the whole Walker family got up early and took a drive out to West Hill Dam in Uxbridge in hopes of finding some Black Racers. The dam has been one of my favorite places ever since I found out it was a good place to find these snakes. The first time I saw a Black Racer two males were locked in a "battle" for dominance. Each was trying its best to raise its head higher than its rival. It might sound strange but it looked like a garbage bag rolling along the ground. When the pair saw me, the quickly disengaged and fleed into the forest.

Ever since I've tried to go back in the spring to find the snakes. This year the outlook was a bit bleak. The Corps. of Engineers have cut down a lot of the pines in the area where I reliably find the snakes. Its part of the effort to restore some meadow habitat to the properties. Whiel their intentions seem to be good I fear that these changes might adversely affect the Black Racer and Fowler's Toad populations there.

The day started slow. It's still early in the season for snakes and it was a bit cool. But we all fanned out and searched thru the grass. After an hour or so of searching we decided to turn back. Luckily we took the right fork in the path and my Mom game across a small Ribbon Snake. I was able to get in close and take some pretty good shots of the little guy before we moved on. While I was finishing up my "shoot" my sister finally found a Black Racer. We all gathered around it and admired the animal. After everyone had gotten a good look they stepped back to let me take some pictures. I got only so close to the snake before he got fed up and sped away.