When I was a kid in Springfield, Massachucets, smooth green snakes, Opheodrys vernalis, were among my most cherished serpentine finds. I never considered them common.



In fact, they were otherwise. But with sufficient dedication I could usually find one or two hiding beneath a piece of damp newspaper or a flat stone in some urban vacant lot. Even after I had outgrown the "kid stage" by two or three decades, smooth green snakes were still findable in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and as far west as the Dakotas and New Mexico.

Fast forward to today. Although these pretty little insectivores can still be found here and there over their huge range, if information is correct, some populations have been extirpated. In other locations, where the snake was once common, they have seemingly become rare.

A friend considers them abundant in Wisconsin, but in several areas of Michigan, Maine, and Massachusetts where they were once seen annually, none have been seen for years. This is also true in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Texas, and other portions of their always disjunct range.

I guess that what I am asking is this: are smooth green snakes significantly more rare, or are we, as aging and aged adults whose sight may not be as acute as it once was, merely overlooking these grass blade lookalikes?

More photos below...