I was able to get out of the city last Wednesday to do some herping. Went up north about 30min in Westchester County. I flipped this Ringneck and a friend flipped 2 racers that both got away from him.
I was really hoping to see Copperheads or Timbers that day, but I am not familiar with their habits. In California, I would find a lot of various pit vipers around rock outcroppings, talus slides, manmade rock dams etc. Is that the same thing with the pit vipers on the east coast? I thought for sure that I'd see at least a Copperhead or two basking. There were a lot of rocks where we were. Am I missing something? Of course, I could probably research it online and I've done myself a disservice by assuming their habits based on my experience in California.
Northern Ringneck Snake (Diadophis punctuates edwardsii) by Nick Barrientos, on Flickr
Northern Ringneck Snake (Diadophis punctuates edwardsii) by Nick Barrientos, on Flickr
Westchester finds
Moderator: Scott Waters
- shredsteban
- Posts: 199
- Joined: April 7th, 2012, 8:53 pm
- Location: Riverside, Ca
Re: Westchester finds
Yeah, it's the same out here - they like rocks. I usually see them on exposed rocky ridgetops with lots of strewn boulders. I think the sad truth is that there is a whole lot more good looking habitat than there is occupied habitat. Even in places where I see pitvipers, I won't see them every time, even when conditions seem good.
- shredsteban
- Posts: 199
- Joined: April 7th, 2012, 8:53 pm
- Location: Riverside, Ca
Re: Westchester finds
Thanks, this is especially helpful. I've never thought of that. Virtually every outcropping in California is occupied by something, at least in Riverside County.cbernz wrote: I think the sad truth is that there is a whole lot more good looking habitat than there is occupied habitat.
- Kyle from Carolina
- Posts: 221
- Joined: May 3rd, 2012, 8:12 pm
- Location: western MA and NC
Re: Westchester finds
The pitvipers are harder to come by in this part of the country compared to the west. Also, the coppers like to bask beneath leaf litter, so you may not see them even when they are 'out'. When I spent time out west, I became envious of how readily they were encountered with minimal effort. Definitely not the case in the upper northeast.