I’m always on the lookout for wildlife in my daily travels, but it seems like spring and early summer result in a lot more sightings.

A lot of young are being born and beginning to move about, which no doubt adds to more encounters and sightings, and that also holds true for our reptile populations.
The fact that more snakes are starting to show up probably doesn’t excite a lot of people, but they inhabit all sorts of areas, including our backyards. So far, over the past few weeks, I have captured and released a couple of garter snakes in my yard, and one day last week, I picked up a black rat snake three times in one day in my backyard; each time I released it into the nearby woods, it apparently came back into the yard. I believe it was the same snake each time since it was the same size in each encounter.

Also, this past week, my daughter-in-law sent me a photo of a good-sized Eastern Milk snake, often referred to as a House snake, crawling in their driveway. Fortunately, all these snakes are quite harmless. If you are roaming the woods of northern Pennsylvania, however, be aware that the Timber Rattlesnakes and Copperheads are also adding to their population.

Another snake you are likely to encounter, especially if you are wading a stream somewhere, is the common Northern Water snake. I’ve been wading several times in local creeks the past couple of weeks, and it’s quite common to have a water snake swim by while I’m casting with my flyrod.

Another snake that may show is the Black Racer, which is very similar to the Black Rat snake. There’s probably another dozen snakes roaming around, but they are less often spotted, like a Smooth Green snake, a Hog-nosed snake, a Red-bellied snake, and a Northern Ring-necked snake.

In addition to the snake sightings, one of the other reptiles that I’m seeing quite often includes members of the turtle family. So far this year, I’ve spotted three different species of turtles.

I had to move an Eastern Painted turtle from my lawn before I cut the grass at my river campsite.

A short time prior to that, my wife stopped the car while I jumped out to remove an Eastern Box turtle from the middle of the road.

Just last week, I got out of the car to pick up and relocate a very large Snapping turtle that was crossing the road; that’s the one in the photo that accompanies this article.

I strongly advise that you don’t try to handle turtles unless you know what you are dealing with. Most turtles are relatively docile and can be easily handled, but that’s not the case with a Snapping turtle. A Snapping turtle has a fierce and very powerful strike and bite, and believe me, they will try to execute that activity when handled.

Well, keep your eyes out for some of those creepy, crawly critters, who knows what you might see even in your own backyard.