- This Great Pursuit -

Photos and Story by Phil Peak
                                       
Along the highways and byways that traverse the commonwealth there are places that attract the attention of the observant field herper. These are the type places that are avidly sought out with high expectations. Often times only a limited amount of features can be observed from the road and the full potential cannot be evaluated without further investigation
The Old Homestead
. More often than not these expectations wane after exiting the vehicle and taking a closer look. Every once in a while though a beautiful sight unfolds and that perfect scenario manifests itself. The sort of place I am referring to is an abandoned farm site or homestead. As those that pursue herps in the field know these places can be veritable treasure troves at times if the right things are in place. By this I mean those special articles of junk known collectively as artificial cover. That said, I should mention that not all junk is created equal! There are certain types of artificial cover sometimes found at these places that provide the perfect microhabitat for herps, among these most notably species of snakes. Roofing tin and boards are the two most sought after items at these sites yet at times such unusual items as large pieces of cardboard, water bed mattresses and rubber mats have their place as well as other discarded items. The important aspect to keep in mind is, to what use can this surface debris be to the animals you seek? Snakes will utilize refugia that enables them to perform their various life functions. Whether this be a place where they can thermo-regulate, find food, obtain optimum humidity requirements or potentially a mate, all these things should be kept in mind when determining what can have potential when it comes to harboring snakes. In addition to being the right type of material the placement needs to be considered as well. A good piece of roofing tin will yield little results if it is situated in a place that is in constant shade for example. The perfect situation is to come across a site that has been long abandoned and has numerous pieces of good AC strewn about producing a variety of good situations that could be effective under almost any circumstance. With this I mean pieces of AC that provide a number of sun angles that will offer an opportunity for the field herper to find snakes under different conditions of day and season. On the odd occasion a place like this is found. More often it needs to be created. One of the tragic realities of life for the field herper is all of these roadside sites have a life span. How long this is he knows not. The only certainty is one day these transitional sites will disappear and the long abandoned property will be procured by new tenants that will ravish the land with bulldozers and what remained of the old structures and everything that went with them will be no more. These places can be fiery bright in their brilliance, but when the lights flicker and fade the show is over for ever. This is the nature of these places and this is understood. All that can be done is to enjoy them while you can whether it be one year or ten, and to learn what you can from these special communities while they exist.
       


Black Kingsnake


Copperhead found behind the Pole Barn
Corn Snake
Eastern Hognosed Snake
   

Southern Racer 		All of this discussion brings me to our present subject. There was once a place that had an almost magical air to it. This abandoned pole barn and farm house was never our primary objective but rather our ace in the hole when other nearby sites failed to yield results. A place that you could visit on a hot summers evening and still find snakes due to the dappled sun angles on tin that Will and I had strategically placed long ago. The thing that was most striking about this site was the species profile. Other than ubiquitous species such as the ringneck snake and racer there seems to be a tendency for most sites to produce certain predictable results to a large degree in regards to what is usually found. We have seen sites that were dominated by certain species. Black kingsnakes, corn snakes, and copperheads to name a few. Only occasionally is there a site in which what is found seems to vary from one visit to the next.