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RE: @Herpetologyguy, where have you been?!
Perfect! Just the guy I was looking for!
I came across some snakes today and was wondering if you would be able to identify them. I'd Google it, but I figured this would be more fun for everyone!
Here's a photo, taken in the large sand dunes of Florida's eastern shore:
Oh man, those are some nice snakes! I have to admit, I'm not as familiar with Florida's snake species, but this looks either like an Everglades racer (based on length and shape) or maybe a species of ground snake, based on color. It's kind of hard to tell from the picture, but I'm going to break out my big guide and see if I can't narrow it down!
Cool. As you can see in the photo, they're fairly long and narrow-bodied. I'd say they were probably 6' long or more. And the location is northern Florida, if any of this helps.
There are a lot of different corn and rat snakes around there that I've seen over the years, but I had not seen ones this size or with that particular color scheme. They're usually a red and tan pattern or just a plain black. Then we have the pygmy rattlers and full-size ones, and the moccasins, of course. These guys were just chilling near the top of the 25-30' dunes on the beach.
There was also a large turtle about 20 feet away from them digging a hole in the sand, then he buried himself for a nap, I suppose. He was tossing sand everywhere while I was trying to focus in on the snakes. Lots of activity out there this afternoon/evening.
Anyway...congratulations on the tour guide job. Sounds like a lot of fun. And welcome back!
Hrmmm that size and shape makes me think some sort of racer then. Whatever it is, its head is really ornate!
Did you happen to get a picture of the turtle?
No, the turtle was a little farther away and I was more intrigued by the snakes. But it was a really dark color, shell and all. Maybe about two feet long. Pretty roundish body and a thick, shorter head. Digging like crazy though. He was throwing that sand pretty high and far. My wife may have gotten a shot of him. I’ll see if I can get it on here tonight.
[EDIT] - Sorry...she didn’t get a picture either.
That's okay! It probably wasn't, but I just have to ask since it kinda fits your description...it didn't look like this did it?
You think maybe a kind of Coachwhip? That would be my guess.
Jumping in here, they look like they could be a kind of Coachwhip to me... you can check here and see if they look familiar: https://www.google.com/search?q=brown+coachwhip+florida&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=wb-AjeakYArGnM%253A%252CDbRtgudyHHuaPM%252C_&usg=__WVHKa5Gw6CtZ0DpZ0CMVJQ_Is2c%3D&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiyoYfv5KjbAhUIZKwKHTEYCj0Q9QEIMzAE#imgrc=wb-AjeakYArGnM: