Wet weather brings expected April arrivals...

I guess it's not surprising, given the wet weather we've been having lately, that I chanced across my first Garter Snake of the year. As the weather to the south starts to warm up, these snakes are one of the first reptiles to head north, but reaching Cape May is a real problem for them as it means having to cross the Delaware Bay (and the Chesapeake of course if they've come any great distance). Garter Snakes differ from most other snake species in the Eastern USA by being highly adaptive to circumstance and this species has certainly mastered the art of crossing large bodies of water, usually doing so at night. They achieve this by wearing the right gear for the job - swimming goggles and a snorkel, items which allow them to keep going in conditions that other snakes would find impossible to deal with.

The spring migration of Garter Snakes generally peaks on April 1st and on the Delmarva Peninsula, many local wildlife groups have set up nighttime drop zones close to traditional crossing points on the bayshore. At these zones, suitable gear designed to help the snakes is left where it can be conveniently found. Goggles and snorkels are now manufactured locally especially for the purpose, while more enterprising gear can include miniature airbeds, small motorized transporters, and even water wings for the faint-hearted! Cape May naturalists have also been assisting these small travellers for a number of years, laying fresh towels out on the beach around Cape May Point and collecting up the swimming equipment for return to Delaware, to be used by the next travellers. Small bottles of Gatorade are often appreciated by the snakes too, as the journey can be quite traumatic and exhausting for them. Whilst talcum powder is often appreciated during their drying off sessions on the beach, one thing these snakes can be grateful for is the fact that they will never suffer from athlete's foot...

Freshly arrived from Delaware, this Garter Snake in our garden this morning was still sporting its snorkel and goggles. If you're at Cape May today, keep an eye out around Sunset Beach around 11AM as that should be peak arrival time for these travellers on current tide times. [Photo by Al Profoli]