Discussion: Snake

Good place to look . Says there are 14 snakes in MA and a few are easy to exclude. Markings seem distinctive enough but the match escapes me. Maybe it's not "homework" time. Had a corn snake (red rat snake) as a kid. It was bit like this but they are more southern as I recall.

I think it is a northern water snake.

I think it is a big snake.

I was told by a local, with a reputation for knowing snakes, that it was a milk snake, most likely an older one (since in older snakes the markings get much less distinct).

Well, my first guess was milk snake, but the markings didn't look right. So Gail's idea of the northern water snake seemed feasible, but it sure didn't look like it was near water in the photo.

Northern water used to be frozen, but those days are vanishing. Of course, I didn't see any ice in the photo, either. Nor any milk, for that matter. I think it's either a grass snake or a pavement snake.