What in the Woods Is That?

Play our biweekly guessing game!

Whatever draws us into the forest—be it birdwatching or logging, hiking or hunting—all of us are unified by the sense of wonder we feel in the outdoors. The forests, fields, and streams of our region are full of mystery, and if you stop and look closely, you’ll see all sorts of oddities.

Below find a picture of one such woodlands curio. Guess what it is and you’ll be eligible to win a Northern Woodlands woodpecker magnet designed by artist Liz Wahid. A prize winner will be drawn at random from all the correct entries. The correct answer, and the winner’s name, will appear when the next column is posted and in our newsletter (sign up here!).

Legless Lollygagger

This suspicious slitherer was photographed in Ipswich, Massachusetts. Do you know what kind of snake this is?

Answer

Northern Water Snake.

This is a northern water snake (Nerodia sipedon), probably an adult as the snake appears mostly black, having lost the crossband pattern of his youth. You can see a bit of orange mottling along his underbelly. This non-venomous snake averages two to four feet, and is covered in keeled scales, meaning each individual scale has a ridge down its middle (another helpful identification tool).

This week’s contest winner was Tim Silva of Leominster, MA