Whenever out and about on the farm or in the bush I always used to keep a careful eye out for snakes. Even so it was a rare event when I saw one before it moved. ie after it had seen me.
 
About 8 or 9 years ago I watched an Eastern Brown Snake come up the hill towards me. The grass was really short (I mean really short) having been recently grazed by the sheep and watching this 6′ snake gently move across the ground was mesmerizing. I just happened to be standing above the creek when it came out of the reeds. Its one of the very few times I’ve seen a snake before its seen me.
 
When it was about 20m away from me I looked back to the house briefly I think I might have yelled at one of the dogs to get back. Anyway when I turned back the snake was gone.
 
Completely gone.
 

I looked away for maybe 5s at most. I didn’t want to take my eye off it for too long because Eastern Browns are one of the most deadly snakes in Australia.

Table courtesy of Wikipedia

 
But it was gone.
 
That was when the stupid part of my brain kicked in and I went looking for it (did I mention that that Eastern Browns are kind of dangerous).
I couldn’t find it. Search all over where it was and in a radius of where I thought it could have traveled but it was gone. Over the rest of the summer I saw it again quite a few times but always when it was moving and from that day on always when it was moving in response to it seeing me.
Ever since that day I’ve never bothered looking for snakes when I wandering about. I know that the chances of me seeing them before they move is pretty much nonexistent. The only exception to that is when I’m stepping over a fallen tree or log but to be honest……I’m only doing that so that if I get bitten while stepping over a log I can say I actually did look first.
As an example of how well camouflaged snakes can be here is an American Copper Head Snake. Yes its really there.

 

Not my photo it was posted on facebook in an American homesteading facebook group.

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