Had a great today at an unfinished bike path. Its been gravel for years. Hopefully they eventually get enough to pave it. They've been working on a new section recently, which is a step in the right direction. The city has received awards on their effort to restore prairie land along a small river that used to be nothing more than a ditch, and their work has paid off. Its becoming nicer and nicer each year and they intend to slowly continue down to the county line.
I've struggled all year to catch and photograph snakes but I got lucky today and found this Plains Garter Snake sunning itself along the path.
I also saw a Wooly Bear Caterpillar.
Just as I was about to finish the path, I found something I've never come across before and never expected it in this area. This is a young Western Fox Snake.
I live in a part of Wisconsin that has the least diverse animal species in the state, so I don't often see many snake species other than Garter Snakes and Water Snakes. This was a great sign. It was young too, which means there is a definite population, and that population can now benefit off of the newly restored prairie.
The pattern and color is fantastic and I didn't even see it on the gravel path until I nearly stepped on it. They will rattle their tail like a rattlesnake to scare off predators, and they love to strike. I made sure to get a short video of it.
Today, I was also informed of a trail in the area that I never knew about, so I'm hoping to visit next week and will share photos if I find any cool sights.
