Snake makes a rare winter appearance in Stephenville, Maryland

© Jake Claypoole

A Snake in Winter

Jake Claypoole of Stevenville spotted something unusual when he took his son sledding near the park and ride across from Kent Landing Shopping Center, commonly called Kmart hill, about noon Wednesday, Feb. 18. He noticed a 3-foot snake on top of the ice on the storm water management pond.

Claypoole said he thought the snake was dead at first, but then he noticed its tongue moving and it began slithering toward the snow.

He said he watched and took pictures for about 20 minutes as the snake made its way off the ice, across the snow and into some nearby brush.

He said he had never seen a snake out in the winter on snow or ice before.

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Bill Killen of the Wye Research and Education Center at the University of Maryland Extension in Queenstown identified the snake as a garter snake from the photos on Monday, Feb. 23.

While snakes may sometimes come out in the winter to sun themselves on a warm day, Killen agreed it was unusual for the snake to come out during the frigid arctic temperatures the area experienced last week.

"It's not very often that they do that," he said.

Killen speculated the snake may have been hibernating under the parking lot. Unless it was able to find its way under cover, it likely became lunch for a bird.