Sssssnake spotting in Warner Parks

Shared by Melissa Donahue, Naturalist

melissa.donahue@nashville.gov

photos courtesy Warner Park archives

May 2021

You are walking along the trail or road and you hear a rustling.  Glancing around you notice a tail disappear under some leaves or a head sticking out of the wall. 

Milk snake (Can you spot the head?)

This is the time of year when snakes start to appear at Warner Park.  Before you head out on the trail to observe these interesting animals, let's learn a little bit about them.

Common Garter snake

This 18–26-inch snake is as likely to be seen in the garden as in the forest at Warner Parks.  The most common snake in suburban areas, a Garter snake can be found in a wide variety of habitats. Many species have two colored tongues.  Active both day and night, they eat worms, slugs, frogs, toads, salamanders, fish and tadpoles. These snakes give live birth and can have more than 50 babies.  

Ringneck Snake

Ringneck snakes are small (10 - 15 inches), slender snakes. Often seen in the leaves along the side of the trail or curled up in the roots of a tree, the Ringneck snake has one of the largest geographic ranges of any species of snake in North America. Like other small woodland snakes, Ringneck snakes spend most of their time underground or hidden under logs, rocks, leaf litter or debris. They use venom (not harmful to people or pets) to subdue their prey, which include a variety of invertebrates, amphibians, lizards, and other small snakes. In early summer, the females lay 2-7 eggs. 

Northern Water Snake

Often seen sunning on rocks near the Nature Center pond or creek, Northern Water Snakes are some of the most common water snakes in the United States. As adults, they have dark bands and are often mistaken for Copperheads or Cottonmouths. Although not venomous, when agitated they may flatten their bodies and bite. Fully grown water snakes are between 2 and 4.5 feet long and feed on fish and amphibians. Females give birth between late August and early October to live young, having anywhere between 12 and 36 at a time. 

Gray Rat Snake

Gray Rat snakes must be very curious because they are sometimes seen peeking in the doors of the Nature Center.  Adult rat snakes are typically 3-5 feet, but large individuals may be more than 6 feet long, and can also be seen in trees and the walls around the Old Roadway in Edwin Warner.  They lay up to 2 dozen eggs in July.  Adult rat snakes primarily eat mice, rats, squirrels and birds, as well as bird eggs. Juveniles eat small frogs, lizards and small rodents. When frightened they will vibrate their tail and expel malodorous musk.

Timber Rattle Snake

This shy snake is rarely seen but has been spied near the Mossy Ridge Trail.  The Timber Rattlesnake is, at 36 – 60 inches long, the largest of the 4 venomous snakes in Tennessee. Body coloration is highly variable but is usually gray with a black tail.  It eats mostly small rodents such as mice, rats, chipmunks and squirrels; occasionally they will consume birds, lizards, and other small mammals.  Females give live birth to 5-14 young in the late summer or early fall.  Mothers stay with young for 1-2 weeks until they shed.

Check out this Tennessee.gov website for more information about Timber Rattlers. 

These are just a few of the snakes that are found in Warner Park. Even though they may startle us at first, these shy creatures are fascinating to observe.  Please remember it is illegal to kill a snake in Tennessee.  

Want to learn more?  Join us for our FYI naturalist on Tuesday, May 11.  Sign up on our webpage.

A Naturalist in the Throes of Spring

A Naturalist in the Throes of Spring

Shared by Kim Bailey, Naturalist

kim.bailey@nashville.gov

Photos and video by Kim Bailey unless otherwise stated

Spring brings on a frenzy of activity in the natural world, so if you are a naturalist, you shift into high gear! Here's a glimpse of some of the natural wonders I saw in the first half of March:

Bluebells are blooming right now in Warner Parks!

The creee-eek of chorus frogs from the Burch Reserve provided the first hint that the earth was turning toward the spring equinox. In Edwin Warner Park, Butler Field was a cacophony of chorus frog calls. Maintenance had just mowed the field a few weeks prior, apparently creating the perfect little wetland for these tiny tree frogs.  They don't need much - a bit of water and temperatures above 42 degrees set the stage for these early spring Romeos.

Chorus Frogs call at night in early spring. 

My next stop was Shelby Bottoms at dusk. The wet temporary pools that line the Greenway were bursting with sound. As I crouched beside a chorus frog, I watched in amazement as his body became a bellows, his abdomen contracting rhythmically to push air from his lungs to his throat. Singing was truly a whole-body kind of thing! As I returned to the parking lot, I heard leopard frogs and spring peepers competing for air space in the wetlands nearby. Each species was attuned to their own version of love song, able to distinguish it from all the other sounds filling the night air. It was a magical night.  

Not to be outdone, the next night Bells Bend put on quite a show. The setting sun turned the hills across the river a pink and orange hue as a group of us gathered in the growing dusk and waited for the first peent of the American woodcock. Several in the group had never seen or heard a woodcock and were amazed when one flew in, revealing the long bill and chunky body. Then the peents and the twittering and the chirping began and we struggled to see the bird as it spiraled up and glided back down. I used my flashlight to find a male peenting in the middle of the trail and was happy to see his eyeshine glowing in the dark. But then I saw two more pairs of eyeshine coming from the ground – were they glowworms, aka firefly larvae? After the male flew up into the skies, we ran forward and discovered a wolf spider on the ground. One spider was not to be found – perhaps he provided a mid-dance snack for our feathered friend? It was another magical night for a naturalist besotted by spring’s many expressions of love. 

Woodcocks begin to dance just after sunset at Bells Bend Park. 

The eyeshine of a Wolf Spider caught our attention as we watched a male Woodcock in the path. 

Male woodcocks dance in near-darkness, making it challenging to view them.  

Photo credit Mary Glynn Williamson

The next morning Warner beckoned me home. Bloodroot, my favorite spring ephemeral, was opening its pure white petals and revealing its buttery stamens.

I found the large green leaves still folded, letting the flower have all the attention. Keeping them company on the Warner Woods trail were Cut-leaf Toothwort, Early Saxifrage and Rue Anemone. 

My first sighting of bloodroot was the beginning of many treks in a short amount of time to see it bloom in all its glory. They don’t last long, which as we all know, increases their desirability. My last visit to the bloodroot patch revealed the spring storms had put an end to their moment in the Sun. My attention then turned to the Mossy Ridge Trail as new wildflowers unfurled. 

Wood betony is beginning to bloom along Mossy Ridge.

This is just a sampling of my spring sightings thus far. There was also the tom turkey strutting for a female, his bouquet of gorgeous feathers on full display; the bees attempting to nest in the hole in the Library door keyhole; the baby snapping turtle submerged in the muck of the Nature Center pond; the barred owl hunting at dusk at Deep Well and the pinks and blues of Virginia Bluebell delighting the eye in the fern garden by the Library. 

Spring is filled with moments of beauty and amazement. It is a time when a naturalist gives up a little sleep to make the most of her day. In the pre-dawn hours, the cardinal outside my window does his best to make sure I don't miss a thing. And if you’re going to get up early, why not have a bird sing you awake? 

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Spring is in full bloom. Get outside and experience the magic that awaits in Metro Parks! 

Learn more at these links:

• The Elusive Woodcock by Sandy Bivens and Heather Gallagher
• Complete inventory of Warner Parks' Wildflowers