Black Rat Snake

It's nonvenomous, but it may try to bite if you hold it.

No chance of that NorthernIL! I just wanted to make sure it was non-poisonous. It never gave me any indication that it was there in the tree I just knew something was upsetting those birds. It was like they were harrassing the snake, is it possible it was raiding their nest?

Black Rat Snake. Non-venomous.

In Southern New Jersey you don't have to worry much about ever finding a venomous snake. There is only one kind of venomous snake (the Timber Rattlesnake) in Southern New Jersey and it is very rare, on the state endangered list, and confined to the Pine Barrens region in Southern New Jersey.

Wayne, I do live in the Pine Barrens in Southern NJ.....our property backs up to state owned land which is protected. Lots of wetlands around here so I was worried it might be a black water snake that might be venomous. Are you sure that the timber rattlesnake is the only venomous snake in NJ, that takes a load off my mind.

The Timber Rattlesnake is the only venomous snake in Southern New Jersey. The Northern Copperhead which is New Jersey's onlt other venomous snake is present in the Highland regions around Waywanda State Park and in the Kittatiny Ridge/Delaware Water Gap area but isn't found in Southern New Jersey.

There are no venomous water snakes in New Jersey. Some people mistakenly assume that all water snakes are "water moccasins" and this leads to the belief that there are "water moccasins" in New Jersey which you've probably heard (I used to hear it when I lived there) but the only water snakes in New Jersey are Northern Water Snakes..which are nonvenomous and harmless though relatively aggressive if handled or not allowed to escape.

The farthest north that cottonmouths (aka water moccasins) range on the east coast is Southeastern Virginia.

So indeed you can take a load off your mind...

The Pine Barrens are a beautiful area.

Is it my imagination or does it look like this rat snake has just lunched on some eggs or young birds?

Yeah that snake is full. It probably just ate a whole nest of fledgeling birds, hence the commotion. If it eases your mind any, they were probably wrens or sparrows or some other such feral bird species. Keep in mind, when not eating birds, that guy is eating mice, good critter to have around.

Dave

Well he should get busy eating rats then! This is the first year we have had a problem with rats. We have horses, goats and chickens (actually the chickens belong to my neighbors, they just spend most of their time at our place) and even with all the grain we use, never had a problem with rats until recently. My neighbor thinks it may have something to do with the large amount of rain we had earlier in the year and over the winter. Anyway, it would be nice after taking ten years off my life this snake would take a bite out of the rat population.

Shame on you, Dave.
Are you suggesting that Wrens and Sparrows are the Garter snakes of the bird world?
Just kidding you Dave, but a pine tree is hardly the nest habitat of either a sparrow or wren. I would think more likely another kind of bird.
But then again I can barely tell a Garter snake from a Brown snake and with birds I'm even worse. Any birders out there who would be willing to speculate on what kind of bird nourished our rat snake?

Well, I don't know much about bird nesting habitat but I can tell you that there were cardinals (female and male), mockingbirds, and cat birds hollering up a storm and flying around the tree. All the racket they were making is what brought me running in the first place.

Yeah...black rat snakes are also notorious egg eaters. They are excellent climbers (unlike many snakes) and will gladly empty a nest of all its eggs.

Great for rodents too, however. I've toyed with releasing one at my office to help out with the occasional mouse problem there. Just kiddin' =)

The presence of male and female Cardinals sounds ominous. Our little rat snake may have lunched on their offspring. But like the old organized crime observation - It's nothing personal; just business.

Next time you see a snake like Mr Ratsnake, pick him up on a stick or a rake and bring him to your feed barn and let him go. Or if your really brave you can pick it up by the tail with gloves on and drop it into a pillowcase.
Although it won't be able to overpower and eat a large rat, it will seek out nests and eat all the babies. If the babies can't grow up to breed, tehre will be fewer rats around. A healthy adult Black Rat Snake can probably polish off 300-400 baby rats in a spring and summer.

Dave

Heck, even if the photo'ed snake isn't eating your rat babies, I'll bet it has some buddies around that are.

As long as you are not doing much to kill/frighten off the snakes and you have food, water, and shelter available for them, they'll really help control the rat population- along with the cats, etc.

Now- you may think they are not doing enough, but I'd bet that if you removed the snakes from the area, the rats would EXPLODE in numbers!

DaveOdd, although I would love to move one of two Black rat snakes I have recently found on my property to my barn, I am sure that my horses (who have a overwhelming fear of snakes) would not appreciate it. I would love to release one right into one of the rat holes that I keep filling up and the rats keep digging out.