[owl lover]

wen i was on holiday in norfolk i was fishing and a grass snake swam past my float and then again in about half an hour is it normal for a grass snake to swim.

[PhilH]

Originally Posted by owl lover

wen i was on holiday in norfolk i was fishing and a grass snake swam past my float and then again in about half an hour is it normal for a grass snake to swim.

Yep, look up the genus Natrix.

I've never seen a grass snake :(

[Ranger James]

We get loads of grass snakes down on the marshes of the Axe estuary. I always make a point of introducing school groups to them as snakes get a bad press in this country and are absolutely wonderful animals.
Mind you, while they don't tend to bite, they do produce a really foul smelling liquid from their cloaca. Stays on your hands for days and I make sure the kids all smell it, to put them off picking up snakes in the future.
James

[very boring banned member]

Once I was snorkeling around in a shallow lake. After some hundred metres I took a look above surface, to see which way I was swimming. One meter away there was Natrix natrix doing the same. That was nice.

[Ranger James]

I remember when i was a little younger feeding a wild natrix maura (if memory serves) by hand on a moutain stream in southern france - the Herault.
It is a memory that really sticks in my mind. The river was full of small snakes and I was lying on a boulder watching the adults swim across the stream, I noticed a bit of dead fish on the rock next to me and wiped it on my fingers to get rid of my smell. I then waited, splashing the fish on the surface and one of the large snakes swam over and took the fish. At the time I thought no more of it, but looking back it was an amazing experience!
James

[Keithec]

Originally Posted by owl lover

wen i was on holiday in norfolk i was fishing and a grass snake swam past my float and then again in about half an hour is it normal for a grass snake to swim.

Hi,
Yes, it's where grass snakes spend a lot of their time, as a lot of their food is aquatic, I have often seen them swimming across still water just as you did. You can sometimes see their trails in ponds or canals if there is a good covering of duckweed, and you can also notice, as you observed, that they seem to track back on themselves. I have also found them coiled up in the branches of bushes occasionally and have been told that they will take birds eggs or possibly fledgelings.

Regards,
Keith

[David Bryant]

Hi!
I think Grass Snakes must be more common in Norfolk than we realise, because both here in Blofield and at my previous house in Brundall I regularly found / find them hunting in my small garden pond! I LOVE them!

[owl lover]

wow, i never new that they could swim

[walwyn]

Last time I saw a grass snake was about 18 months ago as it was climbing out of the large pond at Upton House.

[LAF]

Hi, yeah grass snakes are very fond of water and thrive in wetland areas. They are exceptionally strong swimmer (all snakes swim well) and will take prey in water. They're quite catholic about their habitats though (compared to there close relatives which are rarely found far from water) and do well on heaths, in woodlnads and are remarkably good at exploiting gardens, especially if there's a healthy amphibian population. For a bit more info I have a page on these at:

http://www.onewildworld.co.uk/reptiles/natrixnatrix.htm

Regards, Lee.