I was lucky to notice this well-camouflaged fellow Saturday and a bit surprised to see him out and about on a chilly early morning in the mid-40’s (F). (Sex assumed.)
He’s apparently a Maritime Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis pallidulus), a darker subspecies of the Common Garden Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis). Maritimes are found mostly in northeastern New England and across that border in Southeastern Canada. As with all Garter Snakes, their markings can vary wildly.
During the cold months, our snakes typically burrow underground, where they achieve a state of torpor in which their breathing, heart rates, and metabolism slow considerably. Most scientists don’t consider this state to be a true “hibernation” of total “sleep”; they consider it a state of “brumation” in which the snakes may rise on warm days and forage for a while. They are vulnerable on such forays due to sluggishness and a tendency to bask on the sun-heated roads.
Apropos of that vulnerability, here’s an important warning from Maine’s Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife: “Despite their long evolutionary history and varied survival adaptations, Maine’s reptiles are threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, road mortality, and overcollection for the pet trade. Southern Maine’s landscape is rapidly developing, and active habitat protection will be critical for the preservation of our reptilian species.”
(Images taken in Brooklin, Maine, on October 1, 2022.) See also the image in the first Comment space.