At this point we took a left turn and headed down slope. The edge of the marsh came up to the bottom of the hill, and we went down to poke around amid the logs and cypress stumps in hopes of turning up a Mud Snake or perhaps a salamander or two.

Lifting a section of tree bark, I found a young Broadbanded Water Snake. Here was a species Jim was hoping to see, and Mingo is a good place for Broadbands. I think confluens are the prettiest of Nerodia, and this one was a good looking neonate.

Jim managed to snag another neonate Broadband out on the crawl, and I spotted a big, gnarly moccasin coiled in the sun next to the water's edge. This beast looked to be at least a yard in length, and heavy-bodied. I circle around it, taking pictures, and it never moved a muscle or flicked its tongue at me.

Nothing else turned up, so we headed back up the rocky slope...