I took a bike ride down to Tifft Nature Preserve today to scout out some photo locations, along the way I came across two snakes in the space of five minutes, which, for me, is unusual. I looked through my reptile guide books and a little on line but I still have not positively identified either snake.
I came across this 8 inch snake on the gravel road into the Preserve, I ended up moving it with a stick (Crocodile hunter style) because it was in danger of getting run over.
This is a cropped close up, I could have gone closer but I was uncomfortable about having the snake strike at the lens, it would have been harmless but unnerving
The second snake was probably only about a foot long, I spotted it swimming in the water. It's difficult to see at this size (click to enlarge) but the snake's body is submerged, only the head is above water.
I nudged the snake with a stick so I could see it swim (I suppose that was selfish and probably against the guidelines of the Preserve, sorry), it ended up swimming a little ways and sticking its head under a rock, it seemed to think it was hiding, not too smart.
This cropped close up of the head underwater clearly shows the serpent's forked tongue.
This snake may have been in trouble. Its eyes looked fogged over and it didn't seem to be able to see anything. I didn't see any forked tongue action either.
White-tailed Deer
Baltimore Oriole
Stand of Daffodils
This book, West African Snakes ©1961 (reprinted 1965), is one in the series West African Nature Handbooks. I found three of them at Rust Belt Books in Buffalo (you will be seeing examples from those later in this project). The illustrations are great in all of the books. When buying used nature guides I like to see markings indicating that the previous owner had seen the animals described. Birders often put check marks next to birds they have spotted. This book has something special in that regard, a 5x8" index card with the African names of some of the snake species. I don't know what language it is, but I do know from an inscription in one of the other books that these belonged to someone in Lagos, Nigeria. the inscription reads "To Mama with love from Nandia, Lagos, 1962." This is the card.
I came across this 8 inch snake on the gravel road into the Preserve, I ended up moving it with a stick (Crocodile hunter style) because it was in danger of getting run over.
This is a cropped close up, I could have gone closer but I was uncomfortable about having the snake strike at the lens, it would have been harmless but unnerving
The second snake was probably only about a foot long, I spotted it swimming in the water. It's difficult to see at this size (click to enlarge) but the snake's body is submerged, only the head is above water.
I nudged the snake with a stick so I could see it swim (I suppose that was selfish and probably against the guidelines of the Preserve, sorry), it ended up swimming a little ways and sticking its head under a rock, it seemed to think it was hiding, not too smart. 
This cropped close up of the head underwater clearly shows the serpent's forked tongue. 