Views from a Bike
The iPhone 4S is a terrible camera— terrible focus, terrible ergonomics, terrible white balance, outrageous blotchy noise in full sun (see below). But it’s in my pocket all the time.. This snake came out just useable, but the owl shot in a tree was useless.
Anyway, this little guy did his tail-wagging thing, but lacking a rattle, it wasn’t very impressive. I believe this is a Western Diamondback rattler, but I could well be wrong.
See my previous Views From A Bike.
My name is Torvald and live in Sweden. I am a subscriber of your articles and by accident tripped over your picture in your cycle section of a snake. I would like to inform that it is not a rattlesnake but a gopher snake ( I am a former snake "nerd"). They mimic the appearance of rattlers to scare off predators. Can’t say which species but they all belong to the genus Pituophis and include the giant bull snake. They can however rattle their tail in loose soil to give a sound that is reminiscent of a real rattle snake. If you look at the picture you will discover that it doesn´t have a real "rattle" at the tip of the tail.
The top of Black Mountain in the El Monte Open Space Preserve.
Breakfast break (Gu energy gel). Warm gloves for cool October mornings.