Volunteer and several visitors observed a bullsnake (gopher snake) ~ 5' long swim from west to east in front of the window of the observation pond. It swam through the turtle logs and the Volunteer speculated it was shedding its skin. It disappeared into the cattails then reappeared again a short while later and swam out along the blind back to the window trying to catch frogs without success. Later back into cattails and not seen again.
Has a small range in extreme southern Mississippi and Alabama.
Base naturalist John with a wild-caught Northern Pine Snake (Pituophis melanoleucus). They are a threatened species in NJ; he has been capturing and microchipping them to learn more about their movements. This one was caught a couple of days ago and will be released today.
Pituophis melanoleucus is a harmless colubrid species found in the United States. Three subspecies are currently recognized, including the nominate subspecies described here.
