Butlers!! again.....

[anji1971]

Today I went on a nature hike. Just a block over from me are railroad tracks, with a small naturalized area on either side. I took the kids, and their friends, and we strolled through the part that is normally overgrown with reeds and grasses much too tall to get through.
We saw a squirm, I grabbed it, and astoundingly, it was a beautiful Butler's garter. Few minutes down, we nabbed another, this one with a fabulous orange tone on the face and neck! :eek::cool:
These guys are endangered, so how come I find them everytime I catch a snake in the last couple seasons??? It just kills me to not be allowed to keep them!!!
I now have a new population of Butlers to report to the local nature center.:D
I forgot to upload the pics, so I'll post again with those in a few............

[adamanteus]

Yeah, come on Anji, we need pictures of that!

[Stefan-A]

These guys are endangered, so how come I find them everytime I catch a snake in the last couple seasons???
Because you're lucky. :)

[guidofatherof5]

Great find, Angi.
Looking forward to seeing the pictures.

[anji1971]

You may have to wait.......I think my conversion program screwed up. Think they're too big. Or maybe I need more room in my gallery.
Hold on, I'll check.:p

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

Good finds!!! i can't wait for my first snake of the season. I really hope it won't be dying, like last year's first snake (a garter dieing of MASSIVE internal blockage)

I went herping for the first time today. I found... some rocks, and some logs. but I was still so happy to be back outside in my element!!

[anji1971]

Okay, this is what I get when I try to process my uploaded pics.

Fatal error: Allowed memory size of 33554432 bytes exhausted (tried to allocate 3200 bytes) in /home/tham/public_html/thamphotos/image-inc.php on line 135

HELP!!:eek::mad::eek:

[anji1971]

Good finds!!! i can't wait for my first snake of the season. I really hope it won't be dying, like last year's first snake (a garter dieing of MASSIVE internal blockage)

I went herping for the first time today. I found... some rocks, and some logs. but I was still so happy to be back outside in my element!!

Actually, aside from the snakes (we did see a couple regular Eastern garters too), we also found a skunk ambling along the edge of the underbrush. She didn't seem to care at all that we were trekking through her yard!

[guidofatherof5]

Okay, this is what I get when I try to process my uploaded pics.

Fatal error: Allowed memory size of 33554432 bytes exhausted (tried to allocate 3200 bytes) in /home/tham/public_html/thamphotos/image-inc.php on line 135

HELP!!:eek::mad::eek:


Do a shutdown and restart. In technical terms, you computer may have "lost it's way home to mommy" Have you filled your gallery? You might be out of space.

[anji1971]

I did just delete a few from the gallery. I'll try a restart, see if it makes a change. I want you guys to see these darned pictures!:mad:

[ssssnakeluvr]

got to photobucket......get a free account, download pics there, it automatically resizes them....then when you scroll over the pic, a box pops up, at the bottom, there is an image code, right click and copy, paste it into a post here and theres your pic!! free accounts are pretty good size on photobucket...got over a hundred there myself and have tons of room!!!! it doesn't take too long to fill your gallery on here.

can't wait to see pics!!!

[anji1971]

I may just try that, because this just ain't working!!
Getting frustrated..............

[Zephyr]

These guys are endangered, so how come I find them everytime I catch a snake in the last couple seasons??? It just kills me to not be allowed to keep them!!!

I thought the same thing around here... Butler's were supposedly "protected."
The problem isn't that they're endangered; it's that there aren't enough people out there who care to tell the difference between butler's and easterns. Therefore, seeing as they both look uncannily similar from above, they either go from sitings or from old data collected way back when.

For the pics, try imageshack.org :P

[anji1971]

Do I have to do anything to the codes they give you on Photobucket? I tried to put one in a post, but the preview shows a bunch of text, no picture. AAARRGGGHH!

[anji1971]

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww185/anji1971/p3170184.jpg

Nevermind, my little pea brain finally figured it out. Here's one............:rolleyes:
This is the pretty one with orangey tones.

[Hornets23]

Nice snake...I went out today and found nothing. It was still nice though.

[anji1971]

This is the first one, a rather muddy female, pretty small- maybe a yearling.
http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww185/anji1971/p3170186.jpg

This is the best I could get on a close up of the scales, but they're in the right place for Butlers.
http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww185/anji1971/p3170190.jpg

A couple more of the pretty orange guy. He darned near had me in tears when I watched him crawl away..........:(
http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww185/anji1971/p3170193.jpg

http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww185/anji1971/p3170194.jpg
I'm going to go back there next mild day, and see if I can't find a few more. I'm absolutely thrilled to have these within a 3 minute walk from my house!!:D

[count dewclaw]

Butlers are beautiful garters! I may have to rethink my garter wishlist.....

[anji1971]

They are beautiful. And soooo mellow too. This pair just chilled in our hands while we walked home, took pictures, and even when I let them go again, they just kind of sloooowwwly slithered off. The only time I saw any agitation was when I first picked up the female. She had a bit of attitude, kept open-mouth striking at me, thinking she was all scary and stuff. Hilarious!

[jitami]

Glad you figured out the picture thing Anji! Lovely snakes :)

[ssssnakeluvr]

sweet!! I need to get me some butler's.....

[anji1971]

Oh, Don. If only I could get one to you .........
You would have loved that orangey one. He was a stunner.
Then again, if it were legal to get one to you, I'd have kept 'em both myself!!:D

[Sid]

Great finds, Anji and nice photos.:)

[guidofatherof5]

Great looking snakes. Thanks for sharing. 3 minutes from home, that's great. I'm sure the snake felt the same way when you let him go:D
You can go visit anytime you want.

[drache]

those are really beautiful, Anji
you are so lucky
wish I could come visit

[wolfpacksved]

i dig butler's. have never seen one in the field. i hope to someday- only a couple hours drive from there territory.

[anji1971]

Did my pictures disappear??? I was playing around in Photobucket this morning, and I "may" have done something...........:rolleyes::D
Let me know, so I can repost them if needed.

[adamanteus]

I can't see them, Anji. Incidentally, I think there is a problem with our individual photo galleries on the forum.... I'm getting the same error message when I try to upload. I have informed Boots about it.

[anji1971]

I'm sure this particular time it's my fault. I uploaded a bunch of pics to Photobucket and ended up with duplicates of these Butler's. I think when I deleted some, it messed with the img codes. I'll just put 'em up again for anyone who missed them.

[anji1971]

Here they are again.
Orangey male:
http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww185/anji1971/p3170194-1.jpg
http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww185/anji1971/p3170193-1.jpg

Muddy female:
http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww185/anji1971/p3170186-1.jpg

Closeup of scales:
http://i718.photobucket.com/albums/ww185/anji1971/p3170190-1.jpg

Sorry 'bout that!:o

[guidofatherof5]

In your last photo it looks like one of them has a small injury. Healed but still an injury.
Did any of the others have injuries?

[anji1971]

Yeah, there were a few spots, especially on the female, that had some scale damage, like a bird had tried to make a grab for her or something. The area I found them is also normally covered in dense underbrush all summer, so she could have even had a collision with some thorns or spiky branches. None of the injuries looked like anything too worrisome, though.

[Snaky]

Some very nice finds! :)

[Quibble]

are butlers really endangered? it seems that they are protected in every state they are native to except Michigan. I see them all the time around my area, they love our gardens in the summer :)

does anybody breed them?

[anji1971]

I'm kind of leaning toward the idea that they "may" be more plentiful than suspected. But, as Kyle said somewhere up in this thread, most people wouldn't know the difference (I certainly didn't when I first encountered one!) and therefore, the sightings aren't being reported.
I'm going to make a royal pain in the arse of myself at our Nature Reserve, reporting every single one I see!:D

[Quibble]

I'm going to make a royal pain in the arse of myself at our Nature Reserve, reporting every single one I see!:D

LOL nice!

i live just on the other side of Lake St.Clair from you! ...im in St. Clair County!
maybe they just like this lake, and are nearly extinct everywhere else...
wouldnt we be the lucky ones if that were true? :rolleyes:

i havnt seen anyone on the internet that breeds butlers though... does nobody like the poor little critters?

[ssssnakeluvr]

yes, I will be, am getting a pair of butler's this spring. there are several members on here that got babies last summer.

I used to pick up lots of butlers at Selfridge Air National Guard base when I was stationed there....I used to fish Lake St Clair all the time!!! loved it out there!!!!

[Quibble]

aww i wish i had a pair of butlers...

i go fishing on the boardwalks around town once in a while in the summer. it is really rewarding to enjoy the sunlight and the sound of the rushing water on a friday afternoon. maybe even take naps on the shady beaches. watch bonfires in the back yards of canadian families less than half a mile away, and smell the bonfires in my neighbor's yards.... sorry im daydreaming :D my town is my paradise.

[anji1971]

LOL nice!

i live just on the other side of Lake St.Clair from you! ...im in St. Clair County!
maybe they just like this lake, and are nearly extinct everywhere else...
wouldnt we be the lucky ones if that were true? :rolleyes:

i havnt seen anyone on the internet that breeds butlers though... does nobody like the poor little critters?

They do seem to be scarce outside of this area in Ontario. But I've already found evidence of 2 new populations, which doubles what most guides point out. They seem to only be aware of a Walpole Island group, and a small population in Ojibway Park. I must wander about and see if I can find some more!

[jonnyc]

Hi Anji!

I am new to the forum and I read about your Butler's encounter in Windsor last Spring. Good work on the find, these guys are pretty elusive in Ontario. I am from Windsor as well and, coincidentally, I was also searching for butler's last spring and summer!

I am doing some of my graduate research on these guys. in 2009, we were doing some widescale surveys, trying to determine if they still persist in areas where they were historically. It turns out a few of the spots have been destroyed (Windsor Airport for example), but is some places they are still easy to find, probably the case with the rail corridor you mentioned. Many spots are threatened by development.

Im am in the process of finishing up a report on the work we did. Maybe your sighting would be helpfull? We did survey a few of the rail corridors but im not sure which one you were referring to. Anyways it would be great to chat. My email is jchoquet@uoguelph.ca, feel free to drop me a line.


Take care,
Jonathan