Author: W. R. Shaw

I’ve already talked about the Earth Fest event, but I deliberately left out the best part of the day, because this man deserves a post all his own, not just a footnote on Earth Fest.

 

One of the snakes I brought to the event was a night snake. Not an uncommon snake in this area, but very cryptic and nocturnal and therefore rarely seen. So, during a brief lull in activity, I thought I’d take the night snake on a little walkabout, to give the folks at the other stations a chance to see him. The last station I approached didn’t have any big posters or displays; only a simple sign reading, “Talk to a Naturalist.” Seated at the table was a gentleman who had to be the naturalist, because he had that look about him. You know the look – the one that says, “Here’s a man who hasn’t lost sight of the magic.” I knew it would be my favorite table because, people who look like that? They’re my kind of people.

 

It turned out that he’d come all the way from Tennessee to this little community college event in Yakima, Washington. When I asked him what had brought him so far from home, he told me that he was lecturing later on and gestured casually toward a book lying on the table beside him.

 

And then I felt really stupid. I knew the cover of that book. I’d been looking at it for weeks on the poster advertising the Ghost Birds lecture that I’d been eagerly anticipating from the moment I’d first learned about it. Now, here I was standing in front of the author himself. Such a smooth, sophisticated introduction I’d made, too: “Wanna see a night snake?”

Fortunately, he was gracious enough to give me a pass on the awkward approach!

 

Stephen Lyn Bales is the senior naturalist at Ijams Nature Center in Knoxville, Tennessee, and the author of several books, most recently Ghost Birds, which tells the story of Jim Tanner, one of the last individuals in the world to interact with and study the ivory-billed woodpecker in the wild. Mr. Bales’ evening lecture was a spellbinding mix of history, ornithology and his own experiences as he researched and wrote the book. The author is a natural storyteller, with a delightfully agile mind and an engaging sense of humor. His friendship with Jim Tanner’s widow, his journey to Ithaca, NY to read Jim Tanner’s journals, and his pilgrimage to Carl Sagan’s grave made a story as fascinating as the one he tells in Ghost Birds. Perhaps one day he’ll set his pen to that tale as well.

 

Immediately after the lecture, Mr. Bales made himself available to chat with visitors and sign copies of his book as well as prints of his impressive artwork, which, incidentally, adorns the cover of his book. I found myself wishing that he didn’t have  to return to Tennessee so soon. I would love to have been able to show him some rattlesnake dens and introduce him to my herpetology mentor. They’d have gotten along like peas in a pod.

Visit the links below to learn more about this fascinating gentleman.

Visit Stephen Lyn Bales Blog Here

Purchase Ghost Birds Here

 

 

Fascinating development in the artificial den yesterday!  Three of the adults had been removed from the den for a couple of days to be fed. Yesterday they were returned to the group. Two of them slipped back into the den happily, but Fitzpatrick objected to the handling. When she was returned to the den, she rattled continuously and wouldn’t settle down. Tickler lowered himself down from the shelf above her twice to stare at her, putting his nose near her rattle, but he had to lift himself back up twice to make room for incoming snakes.  Finally, when everyone was in and the door was shut, Tickler came down from his ledge and approached his still rattling friend, nuzzling her,  and tongue flicking on her,  nudging her rattle with his nose and finally winding himself around her in a way that gently restrained her tail. To the two of us watching the interaction play out, it seemed clear that he was trying to calm her, or at the very least, trying to make her stop rattling. We can never know what he was thinking, but if Tickler were a mammal, most people would have no problem with the idea that he simply wanted to comfort his companion.

Here’s a video clip of part of the interaction, so you can form your own opinion:

I’ve learned that the snake I nicknamed Thor on the artificial den is officially named “Tickler.” I have no idea why. He’s a fascinating little guy with a personality that seems miles apart from his new den mates. It was a couple of weeks after they all went into the den before I saw him actually associate with the other adults, though he didn’t object if the babies approached and cuddled up to him. The past week or two, he seems to have settled in and is joining the other adults in the morning cuddlepuddle.

Here he is leaving the “puddle”  this morning:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-Bg6OVE0YA

He’s an incredibly curious boy. A sound in the access area will always bring him over to investigate.

The coolest thing about him, though, is that he can’t resist approaching humans and clearly recognizes at least one of his caretakers by sight. When he’s behind the rocks and spots a human in front of the den, he often approaches the rock and lifts his head, so that just his eyes are visible over the top, and stays that way for several minutes, just “peeking” at the human. With a little coaxing, if there’s only one person at the den (more than one seems to be a little intimidating), he’ll come over the rocks to the front of the den to investigate more closely.

This morning, when I arrived, he was tucked up in the middle of the puddle, but when he spotted me in my usual spot, he left the group and came closer to keep an eye on me. As usual, he spent a minute or two “peeking” first. He retreated a little when a second person joined me, but when I was alone again, he came down to the front of the enclosure. I offered him my fingers through the glass and he tongue flicked where my fingers were, and nudged gently at the glass with his nose. I stayed there “petting” him through the glass, and wiggling my fingers for him. Meanwhile, he slid back and forth directly in front of me,  with most of his body in contact with the glass. Occasionally he’d pause to nudge the glass and tongue flick where my fingers were. After three or four minutes he left me, and I thought that was the end of it, but he made a beeline for the door and periscoped, glancing back at me occasionally. When the door didn’t open, he returned to the front of the enclosure and hung out with me for another five minutes or so before leaving me and going back to cuddle up with Bruce.

I’d love to think he’s beginning to recognize me but there’s no way to know what he’s thinking. Maybe he was being social. Maybe he thought my fingers were mice and coudn’t understand why I wasn’t opening the door to feed him. Does anyone else spend time just hanging out with him? People come and go, changing water, cleaning up, transferring the snakes to feeding boxes.  But they never seem to stop for long. If no  one else spends time just hanging out with him , there’s no way to know whether he behaves the same way with others. I suspect he does. The other snakes seem to be mostly uninterested in humans, other than checking to see whether a human is a threat at the moment. Tickler seems to actually seek out human company. His coloration differs drastically from the others, so perhaps it isn’t surprising that he has some behavioral differences as well. In any case, I love the little guy!