Banded Water Snake
Nerodia fasciata fasciata

Jasper Co., South Carolina. May 28, 2000.
 

There is a certain road in the lowlands of Jasper County, with a bridge that crosses over a small creek.  In the rip-rap and brush under the bridge, Banded Water Snakes spend their days basking motionless in the sunlight, digesting the fish, frogs and other animals they hunted for the previous night. 

This one was captured after a heavy rain on a blacktop road.  The second picture shows the small, irregular square belly blotches, typical for this species; also a bit of human blood, which is also typical when handling water snakes!