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which_chickI sent off a letter to the Fish and Boat Commission (our district) to thank them for all their help in rattlesnake relocation this summer. (The rattlesnake season for us is over. Gertrude II rolled out well before we hit 40F overnight temps, likely around the first weekend of September. In a natural history / science sort of way, Pennsylvania rattlesnakes are making their way to the overwintering den sites during September and October. They don't den up completely until the weather stops getting nice during the day, but they're not hanging out on the valley floor right now. Our interaction season is over.)
I made a paper letter and put it in an envelope and located a stamp and MAILED it to the local fish and boat district office. (Because sometimes it's nice to get real mail and I have a feeling that the letter will wind up on a bulletin board somewhere.)
******
Dear Fish and Boat Commission:
Thank you for coming out to relocate snakes for us this summer. We’re trying to do better about calling for relocation when there are human-rattlesnake interactions, but we are sorry that this was such a rattlesnake-y summer with so many calls.
Gertrude I, first of her name, arrived on May 30. We kept hoping she would leave on her own, but she did not. She hung out (feet from the house) and didn’t leave. When we finally called Fish and Boat for help on June 15, your operatives came promptly and took her away in a bucket, easy peasy. (Those snake tongs look super handy, btw.)
Gertrude II arrived on June 17. Gertrude II was not the same snake as Gertrude I, we compared photographs and stuff. We let Gertrude II hang out until June 29, which we figured was enough time for her to decide to shove off on her own. By June 29, we’d run out of patience and summoned your guys again for snake relocation. They showed up, snake tongs and bucket in hand, and relocated Gertrude II out where they’d put Gertrude I, first of her name.
On June 30, Gertrude II returned. *sigh* We have pictures. It was for sure her, so she must have hustled back from where she was tipped out of the bucket. Gertrude II stayed at the house through the weekend of the 4th, but she didn’t bother our guests and was relatively peaceful.
Gertrude II was pretty non-reactive and had a very predictable movement pattern throughout the day, so she was easy to work around. As well, the guests were (surprisingly) super excited to get actual live rattlesnake pictures for the vacation photo album. Obviously, we know the right sorts of people. :) For her part, Gertrude II handled people standing eight feet away from her and taking pictures with her usual nonreactive, energy-conserving aplomb. She was an excellent ambassador for the species. (Good work, Gertrude II!)
On July 1, stepsister’s husband turned over a plastic boat on the lake shore and discovered a rattlesnake. (I am aware that many Pennsylvanians think they are having rattlesnake encounters when they are having watersnake encounters or black rat snake encounters, but every rattlesnake alleged in this accounting has a verified photographic record that PARS has agreed is “a rattlesnake”. ) While everybody involved was somewhat shocked, step-nephew had the presence of mind to take a picture for posterity, so I uploaded the sighting to PARS. Since that snake was not super close to anyone’s house, we didn’t call Fish and Boat and the snake made its way into the woods without incident. Stepsister’s husband’s heart rate (it was his first random rattlesnake encounter) eventually returned to normal.
On July 4, stepbrother saw one on the road between my dad’s house and my house, a yellow phase snake that was on the smaller side. He took a blurry picture from the safety of his truck (not a snake fan) but also did not run over the snake, go him! (Taking a picture and not running over the snake with the truck is real progress on the “better rattlesnake encounters” front. Maybe he will be able to zoom or focus next year. I remain hopeful.) Again, not super near a house so no call to Fish and Boat.
On July 6, we called upon the services of Fish and Boat again to move Gertrude II to a new location because she’d been there a week and absolutely everybody, including guests, had taken enough pictures of her. Fish and Boat came and relocated Gertrude II for us, very efficient and prompt, and put her at another “valley-floor” location that we hoped would meet her needs while being safely distant from human habitation.
Apparently it did not meet her needs because by July 11, Gertrude II was back in the yard. Again. (We have excellent high-res portraits of many of these snakes and are starting to be able to identify individuals with certainty.) Dang it, Gertrude! But we were busy with stuff and she just kind of hung out in the yard, so... it wasn’t an urgent issue.
On July 17th, another, bigger snake came to hang out with Gertrude II. He was more reactive and... busy. We were not fans of the vibe (lol, he rattled when you were like ten feet away, very reactive snake) he brought to the yard, but he cleared out overnight and hasn’t been seen since. Perhaps Gertrude II told him to get lost, perhaps he hit it and quit it. We do not know.
Gertrude II remained on site. She didn’t move much and she wasn’t aggressive, just hung out on my brother’s “decorative yard rocks” that I said were 100% snake habitat when he was installing them some years ago. My brother said I was an idiot. He stated definitely that no rattlesnake would ever cross all that mowed grass and pavement just to hang out in his “stupid yard” with its “stupid rocks”. (This summer has vindicated my “You are making snake habitat in your yard” comment of more than ten years ago, which as an older sister, I find absolutely delightful.)
On July 27, with Gertrude II still on site, a new chonk of a yellow-phase timber rattler showed up. As there were now two rattlesnakes in the yard, we called Fish and Boat yet again (sorry!) to remove the chonk yellow-phase rattler (Mambo Number Five) and Gertrude II to a location that wasn’t right by the house. A Fish and Boat operative relocated both Gertrude II and Mambo Number Five (who tipped the bucket over once in a foiled escape attempt) to a more snake-appropriate location. Thanks, Fish and Boat!
We really are very sorry that it’s been such a rattlesnake summer and that we’ve had to call you out so many times. It usually isn’t anywhere near this bad.
We have donated $100 to MACHAC/PARS to show our gratitude for all of your hard work relocating our timber rattlers out from underfoot this summer.
Warmest regards,
Which-chick & Family
(location)
I made a paper letter and put it in an envelope and located a stamp and MAILED it to the local fish and boat district office. (Because sometimes it's nice to get real mail and I have a feeling that the letter will wind up on a bulletin board somewhere.)
******
Dear Fish and Boat Commission:
Thank you for coming out to relocate snakes for us this summer. We’re trying to do better about calling for relocation when there are human-rattlesnake interactions, but we are sorry that this was such a rattlesnake-y summer with so many calls.
Gertrude I, first of her name, arrived on May 30. We kept hoping she would leave on her own, but she did not. She hung out (feet from the house) and didn’t leave. When we finally called Fish and Boat for help on June 15, your operatives came promptly and took her away in a bucket, easy peasy. (Those snake tongs look super handy, btw.)
Gertrude II arrived on June 17. Gertrude II was not the same snake as Gertrude I, we compared photographs and stuff. We let Gertrude II hang out until June 29, which we figured was enough time for her to decide to shove off on her own. By June 29, we’d run out of patience and summoned your guys again for snake relocation. They showed up, snake tongs and bucket in hand, and relocated Gertrude II out where they’d put Gertrude I, first of her name.
On June 30, Gertrude II returned. *sigh* We have pictures. It was for sure her, so she must have hustled back from where she was tipped out of the bucket. Gertrude II stayed at the house through the weekend of the 4th, but she didn’t bother our guests and was relatively peaceful.
Gertrude II was pretty non-reactive and had a very predictable movement pattern throughout the day, so she was easy to work around. As well, the guests were (surprisingly) super excited to get actual live rattlesnake pictures for the vacation photo album. Obviously, we know the right sorts of people. :) For her part, Gertrude II handled people standing eight feet away from her and taking pictures with her usual nonreactive, energy-conserving aplomb. She was an excellent ambassador for the species. (Good work, Gertrude II!)
On July 1, stepsister’s husband turned over a plastic boat on the lake shore and discovered a rattlesnake. (I am aware that many Pennsylvanians think they are having rattlesnake encounters when they are having watersnake encounters or black rat snake encounters, but every rattlesnake alleged in this accounting has a verified photographic record that PARS has agreed is “a rattlesnake”. ) While everybody involved was somewhat shocked, step-nephew had the presence of mind to take a picture for posterity, so I uploaded the sighting to PARS. Since that snake was not super close to anyone’s house, we didn’t call Fish and Boat and the snake made its way into the woods without incident. Stepsister’s husband’s heart rate (it was his first random rattlesnake encounter) eventually returned to normal.
On July 4, stepbrother saw one on the road between my dad’s house and my house, a yellow phase snake that was on the smaller side. He took a blurry picture from the safety of his truck (not a snake fan) but also did not run over the snake, go him! (Taking a picture and not running over the snake with the truck is real progress on the “better rattlesnake encounters” front. Maybe he will be able to zoom or focus next year. I remain hopeful.) Again, not super near a house so no call to Fish and Boat.
On July 6, we called upon the services of Fish and Boat again to move Gertrude II to a new location because she’d been there a week and absolutely everybody, including guests, had taken enough pictures of her. Fish and Boat came and relocated Gertrude II for us, very efficient and prompt, and put her at another “valley-floor” location that we hoped would meet her needs while being safely distant from human habitation.
Apparently it did not meet her needs because by July 11, Gertrude II was back in the yard. Again. (We have excellent high-res portraits of many of these snakes and are starting to be able to identify individuals with certainty.) Dang it, Gertrude! But we were busy with stuff and she just kind of hung out in the yard, so... it wasn’t an urgent issue.
On July 17th, another, bigger snake came to hang out with Gertrude II. He was more reactive and... busy. We were not fans of the vibe (lol, he rattled when you were like ten feet away, very reactive snake) he brought to the yard, but he cleared out overnight and hasn’t been seen since. Perhaps Gertrude II told him to get lost, perhaps he hit it and quit it. We do not know.
Gertrude II remained on site. She didn’t move much and she wasn’t aggressive, just hung out on my brother’s “decorative yard rocks” that I said were 100% snake habitat when he was installing them some years ago. My brother said I was an idiot. He stated definitely that no rattlesnake would ever cross all that mowed grass and pavement just to hang out in his “stupid yard” with its “stupid rocks”. (This summer has vindicated my “You are making snake habitat in your yard” comment of more than ten years ago, which as an older sister, I find absolutely delightful.)
On July 27, with Gertrude II still on site, a new chonk of a yellow-phase timber rattler showed up. As there were now two rattlesnakes in the yard, we called Fish and Boat yet again (sorry!) to remove the chonk yellow-phase rattler (Mambo Number Five) and Gertrude II to a location that wasn’t right by the house. A Fish and Boat operative relocated both Gertrude II and Mambo Number Five (who tipped the bucket over once in a foiled escape attempt) to a more snake-appropriate location. Thanks, Fish and Boat!
We really are very sorry that it’s been such a rattlesnake summer and that we’ve had to call you out so many times. It usually isn’t anywhere near this bad.
We have donated $100 to MACHAC/PARS to show our gratitude for all of your hard work relocating our timber rattlers out from underfoot this summer.
Warmest regards,
Which-chick & Family
(location)
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