A bit rattled…

A few days ago, I took a morning walk like I often do. The sky being overcast, it wasn’t too hot. My attention was focused on the sandy trail I was on, looking for animal tracks. One roadrunner had recently passed by. My focus suddenly shifted to a shape on the side of the trail, a couple of feet away. Once I realized it was a rattlesnake, it took me a second to go over the surprise but no time to step back!

This Western diamondback was not agitated at all, at no time it showed nervousness. The snake stayed at the same spot for about an hour, probably warming itself up. This was the perfect occasion to observe the reptile and to take a couple of pictures, taking care of leaving a lot of space to change my vantage point.

The scaly creature then moved off to reach the cover of nearby bushes.