This cache was inspired and placed during the time of year that snakes start migrating and looking for places to hibernate. The Sixteen-Mile Creek has plenty of potential sites for this phenomenon.
Hibernacula- usually a rock crevasse, old ground hog hole, dead rotten stump or any places below the frost line where a number of snakes will take refuse from the cold during the winter months to hibernate.
I chose to highlight the garter snake because it is such a common species all over Ontario and most people don't realize that they need crucial habitat such as the areas around Sixteen-mile Creek to be protected so they can complete their life cycles. There is huge development pressure in this area (check out all the new housing complexes as you drive to the site) and we should keep even the smallest, most common wildlife species in mind when planning urban sprawl.
A bit about the species:
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EASTERN GARTER SNAKE
Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis |
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This most common and probably the most widely known of all Ontario's snakes is found across the province. The name derives from the longitudinal stripes on the body, which resemble the design on once-stylish sock garters. Normally, it is marked with a pattern of three light stripes on a darker background. One stripe runs down the center of the back, with a lateral stripe on the second and third rows of scales on each side. These stripes are usually yellow, but may be shades of green, brown, or blue. In Ontario a completely black phase or melanic garter snake can be found in some isolated areas.
Garter snakes are a slender, medium-sized species, which may attain a length of up to 46-66 cm in length. These snakes occur in a wide variety of moist habitats including wet woodlands, meadows, bogs, and marshes, and along drainage ditches and streams. They feed primarily on frogs, toads, salamanders, earthworms, minnows, and mice.
Garter snakes will hibernate in large groups throughout the winter in rock crevasses, old groundhog holes or anyplace they can get below the frost line. These places are called snake hybernacula.
The Cache
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The container is a white PVC tube with a cap on one end and a screw top on the other. This cache contains about 25 small plastic snakes and one large rubber snake. Feel free to take a snake and pass it along, they want to see the world. Be sure to log your visit. Remember to completely replace the cache and hide it well once your finished. I had some trouble with my GPS in this area with poor signal strength do to a large tree canopy. However, I took a waypoint average to mark this cache and was able to get an accuracy of + or - 4.2 meters.
Good luck and I hope you see a snake or two.