Thursday 13 November 2008

SkywatchFriday;

SkyWatch Friday;


Bella, a Carpet Snake, Morelia spilota sky watching. Bella is not a tame snake, she lives in a big elk horn fern.


Carpet pythons (better known as carpet snakes) have a high-tech tracking system for finding their dinner. Heat-sensitive pits on their bottom jaw let them sense and track other animals. Mostly feeding after dark, they munch on smaller animals such as rats, possums and birds. Smaller snakes prefer lizards.
Carpet snakes can be intimidating, growing up to 4m (though most don't exceed 2.5m). But they aren't venomous and live almost everywhere in Australia except Tasmania. Secretive and well camouflaged with their brown skin with cream blotches, they hide among leaf litter in tree hollows, logs and rocky crevices.
Look out for the carpet python in undergrowth, in tree branches or the roof of your house or shed.


Here she goes.
Please click the pictures to see how beautiful she is.


For more SkyWatch pictures please go to


38 comments:

Sandra said...

Wow,wow - that's one frightening scene for me :-D. Now, serious - gorgeous photo of wild life that surrounds people. We must not be surprised with those creatures because most of the time we spend taking their place in nature...it would be so nice if we could try to be more tolerant.

Anonymous said...

Hi and thnks for your nice message at Blotanical..
You hav a lot of nice photos on your blog.
But i have to admit that i´m no big fan of snakes....
... ; )
/Martin-Janne

Hort Log said...

This is a pretty snake ! Your garden is really rich in wildlife !

Hort Log said...

This is a pretty snake ! Your garden is really rich in wildlife !

Webradio said...

Brrr... I don't like snakes...

You have a beautiful garden, without snake !

Have a nice day !

Unknown said...

Get the heck out of here! My Lord I hate snakes. I prefer the garden without the snake too.

vincibene said...

Und Du meinst wirklich, dass ich nun beruhigt in den Himmel schauen kann? *bibber* Ich hätte das Foto bestimmt verwackelt.

Super Aufnahme!!!

Sunita Mohan said...

Trudi, that is one pretty snake but I'm very glad I dont have to deal with Bella too in my garden. I have plenty of her much nastier relatives slithering around. I keep to my side and they keep to theirs. At least, that was supposed to be how it worked ... now its more like any side that they are on is where I make sure I am not!

Barbarapc said...

How cool! Very few reptiles in my garden - just the odd little toad who I'm happy to welcome. Makes your backyard seem very wild and fascinating.

Anonymous said...

She is beautiful - lovely colours and a very intricate pattern. Very amusing picture of her sky watching!

bobbie said...

I like Bella. I'm glad she isn't poisonous. And I like the patch of blue sky seen beyond the roof.

murgelchen said...

Hallo Titania,
na, Dein Garten ohne Schlange ist mir lieber. Meine Tochter würde sich freuen.
Aber ganz tolle Photos.
LG,
Helga

Anonymous said...

Okay - you know, I think I'll just focus on the sky. And on breathing. Very cool shot - for the most part. The sky is, ummm, very nice - if you can look away from that, ummm, thing - for long enough to enjoy it.

Anonymous said...

Wow! What an interesting way to capture the sky. :)

Nicely done.

Photo Cache said...

Happy skywatching. See you next week.

Pearl Maple said...

Thanks for your kind comments on my post earlier. Impressive photos for Sky Watch Friday, how cool that you have been able to make freinds with the local wildlife enough to give them names and their own space.

Carletta said...

I love how's she seems to be posing in that first photo but seeing her slither down past the wall reminds me I have a certain distaste for snakes in general.
Your photos however are wonderful.

Sarah Feeney said...

OMG! I'd just about die if I saw one of these slithering around my yard! Great photos!

Sharon said...

She is a gorgeous snake. I'm wary of most I see but our carpet snakes are gorgeous creatures.

Sharon

Amy said...

Ooooh, I've got a bit of a snake phobia, but what a great picture. My children, on the other hand, would ask to hold it!

Luiz Santilli Jr said...

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I saw you like flowers!
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Today's Flowers is a blog window about all kind of flowers, where all our friends posted their flowers!
Hope to see you there, posting your flowers!


Have a nice days!

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Brad Myers said...

Neat sky watch, although I am not a big fan of snakes.

Grammy said...

Great photo & amazing colors I don't think we have that snake here.

This Is My Blog - fishing guy said...

Titiana: I must say you had an exceptional Sky Watch today.

Unknown said...

Amazing Skywatch photo, Trudi. I'd be too scared to click away at a sight like that. But I must admit that Bella is beautiful!

Helga said...

Oh nee,Schlangen sind so gar nicht mein Ding.Gut das es hier schon zu kalt für sie ist.
L.G.
helga

Suzanne said...

Oh my gosh, even though he is not poisonous, snakes just scare me. Love that you could get close enough to get the photo, he has some nice markings.
You garden looks good too.

Unknown said...

Wow I am not a snake fan by a long shot, but that's a great picture!

MedaM said...

Oh my God what a frightened scene! I cannot believe my eyes. Your sky watch photo really is amazing! And you are amazing too!:-) I tried to see how beautiful the snake is but no matter how much I tried I couldn’t see its beauty! I am sorry! LOL

Arija said...

A great post, snd she truly lives upto her name.

DeniseinVA said...

What a beautiful snake. I am glad to hear it is non-venomous as you can enjoy his visits more. Wonderful photos.

Marie said...

WOW! This is a pretty snake, but a bit scarey. I'm not used to this big snakes.

Have a nice weekend :)

SandyCarlson said...

I'm glad she has an eye for a beautiful sky! And that you have the presence of mind to snap such a great photo!

Ingrid said...

Ein wunderschönes Bild, liebe Titania; ich liebe es, Schlangen zu betrachten, ihre Färbung, ihre elegante Art der Bewegung - und auf dem Foto und im Zoo ist das ja auch
absolut ungefährlich.
Bei uns im Garten findet sich höchstens eine Ringelnatter oder eine Blindschleiche, aber das ist ja gar keine Schlange.
Einen guten Sonntag wünscht dir
Ingrid

Lavender and Vanilla Friends of the Gardens said...

Thank you for all the interesting and kind comments.

Barbara said...

Ui, da hätte ich einerseits wohl laut schreiend das Weite gesucht und andererseits wäre ich wahrscheinlich auch aus "Gwunder" gelähmt stehen geblieben und hätte geschaut, was die Schlange macht ;-) ! Was ist der Mensch doch für ein gespaltenes Wesen....ähnlich der Schlangenzunge!!
Liebe Grüsse, Barbara

Lilli & Nevada said...

Yikes that is one big snake that i would not want to run into. Nice shot and information

Kerri said...

Trudi, wonderful photos! What a great shot of the snake watching the sky. Perhaps she's eyeing a bird that she'd like to have for dinner :)
I so much enjoy your love of all creatures that occupy your garden :) Bella is a beauty!