Well I'm supposed to be taking a break from blogging but I thought I'd post a photo of my latest backyard visitor; The Tiger snake - Notechis scutatus. We've been in this house for two years and two months and this is the first one I've spotted here. It was on the fence just a few metres from the back door.
I was in the veggie garden hilling up my tatties at the time when I heard a Fairy wren going nuts about something. Looked up and noticed two Fairywrens and a couple of House Sparrows having a go at the snake. The fence is nearly 7 foot high and I always considered it to be snake proof. What I overlooked was that the other side of the fence is covered in mesh enabling the snake to climb up. It was trying to get onto a wattle tree on my side. It soon gave up and went to ground in the neighbouring block but soon after made two more attempts to climb various points along the fence. Further up the back I don't have a fence so no doubt it eventually found it's way over to our side but I lost sight of it. Now everyone is refusing to feed the chooks and ducks or collect the eggs :-)
I was in the veggie garden hilling up my tatties at the time when I heard a Fairy wren going nuts about something. Looked up and noticed two Fairywrens and a couple of House Sparrows having a go at the snake. The fence is nearly 7 foot high and I always considered it to be snake proof. What I overlooked was that the other side of the fence is covered in mesh enabling the snake to climb up. It was trying to get onto a wattle tree on my side. It soon gave up and went to ground in the neighbouring block but soon after made two more attempts to climb various points along the fence. Further up the back I don't have a fence so no doubt it eventually found it's way over to our side but I lost sight of it. Now everyone is refusing to feed the chooks and ducks or collect the eggs :-)
(Click on Photos to Enlarge)
#1 - Tiger snake - Notechis scutatus
#2 - Tiger snake - Notechis scutatus (cropped from first shot)
Good sized tiger Alan, it could give you a nasty nip!
ReplyDeleteGreat photos - but I would be wary in the backyard too.
ReplyDeleteHmmm ... I'm not sure what to say about that sort of visitor. Lucky the birds were keeping an eye out.
ReplyDeleteVery beautiful snake. Nice photo. :)))
ReplyDeleteHey Mosura
ReplyDeleteYou get some spectacular visitors in your backyard! The worst we get here are slowworms and perhaps the odd grass snake.
Best wishes, Adrian
Glad you couldn't keep away Alan! (-:
ReplyDeleteWhat a deadly looking snake, is it dangerous to us humans?
Nice one Mosura. I wonder how long it will take for you to get some help getting the eggs and feeding the chooks. I'm not sure I blame anyone for being a little reluctant, mind.
ReplyDeleteRegards,
Gouldiae
Thanks Duncan, Mick, Snail, Animtreebird, Adrian, Aydin, Jenny, & Gouldiae - I have to say that while I respect and appreciate the snakes importance ecologically speaking, they still make me shudder. Yes they can and do kill humans but rarely. A quick scan of those "top 10 most venomous snakes in the world lists" I see it variously ranked at 3, 4, 5, and 9. Having met up with dozens of snakes over the years I've only ever had one rear up at me. - a whopping big Red-bellied Black. Generally they just slither off in one direction and I run off the other direction (after getting a photo). Apparently dog attacks, and peanuts both cause more deaths in Australia than snake bites. On the other hand, I don't have any dogs or peanuts in the backyard - I do have a snake :-)
ReplyDeleteHi Mosura
ReplyDeleteAmazing to see a Tiger Snake on top of a high metal fence. It would give me second thoughts about checking the Chook yard.
Cluck, Cluck, cluck.... Best wishes.
Denis
Every year my mother would find about a dozen snakes in her garden. It didn't stop her gardening but she did learn to pay attention to the sounds that the Fairy-wrens made. They were never wrong.
ReplyDelete