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Northern Watersnake
Nerodia sipedon sipedon
45.9711, -81.5125
Field Notes
Description:
Northern watersnakes are brown or dark brown with faint alternating dark (sometimes reddish) horizontal banding on the back and sides. Young snakes are greyish with pronounced brown banding, and they become darker as they age until the patterning can barely be seen. The belly is lighter in colour, often white or tan with dark red, tan or brown crescent-shaped spots. The scales of this species are keeled (ridged down the centre), which gives the snake a rough, rather than a shiny, appearance. Adults generally reach a length of between 60 and 110 centimetres, but some individuals may be even larger.
Habitat:
The northern watersnake can be found in and around almost any permanent body of fresh water within its range, including lakes, rivers and wetlands. Rarely far from shoreline habitats, these snakes can be found in shoreline vegetation, basking on rocks and logs, or in other open habitats along the edges of the water or under rocks along the shoreline. Northern watersnakes hibernate underground in dens or crevices, or in beaver lodges.
Notes:
August 2013: Killarney Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada
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