Snake Sightings Announced at Lake Avondale

AVONDALE ESTATES, GA -- The city of Avondale Estates is warning residents to be careful of snakes around Lake Avondale.

"Snake sightings have been reported in the water and along the edge of the banks at Lake Avondale," the city said in an email Tuesday morning. "During this time of year and as the weather gets warmer, snakes have their young and come out to bask in the sun.

"The City urges the community to please be careful and alert when walking or playing around the lake."

City officials say that the snakes that have been spotted this year, and in years past, are Northern watersnakes.

The University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Lab says the nonvenomous snakes are often mistaken for the venomous cottonmouth water moccasin.

The lab says that water snakes have blotches, while water moccasins have bands, and that the water moccasins are mostly located along the coast. Northern watersnakes, however, are prevalent in our area, according to the laboratory.

(Photo via Savannah River Ecology Lab)