Rainbow...Snakes!

A few days ago I went out on a tour of local creeks, sizing them up for the season. One of my all time favorites has sadly been wiped out almost completely. Todd might remember this as the place that was almost dried up when he visited. The water flows freely today, for whatever that's worth. This is the creek that once held Ironcolors, Weeds, Chain Pickerels and other goodies, but now it's devoid of any visible fish of any sort.
As I was lamenting this while hanging over the side of the bridge, I saw a snake.

"Hey! A sign of life!" I said aloud. I saw the pudginess of the little black snake and after a few seconds thought it was a Mud Snake, one of my personal favorites. I thought that was pretty cool, but then the sunlight hit it just right and...WHAM!
Rainbow Snake! WhooHOO! A guy can go his whole life without ever seeing one, and here one was for my viewing pleasure.
Then along came another one!
They started swimming together in the creek, almost playing it seemed, and a passerby stopped to see what the heck I was doing hanging over the bridge. I showed him the snakes, but he wasn't impressed.
Then came a THIRD one!
At this point I was quite excited, and the guy who stopped decided to get away from me with all due haste.
I held out for awhile in the hope a 4th one might appear, but I had no such luck. I am SO taking my camera there next time.

I have no idea what they might be eating in that dead creek, but they seem to be doing okay.

I had to google rainbow snakes because I have never heard of them. Nice looking snakes.

What a treat! I would love to see a rainbow snake. Very lucky considering their secretive nature.

Cool. I saw a dead one once on the shore of an AL lake. It looked like it had been killed by a human. It sounds to me like you might have witnessed some breeding activity.

I've read that eels, sirens and amphiuma are their main food. Maybe they'll also eat stranded bullfrog tadpoles?
I've never seen a rainbow, and only once seen a road-killed mud snake. Sure would love to see either one wild and alive.

A woman I used to work with was given the middle name "Farancia" because of Rainbow Snakes.

Not 1, but 3 rainbow snakes? I'm incredibly jealous! Are you sure there are no eels in there? I've heard that in coastal areas they frequent clear, flowing water, and are thus powerful swimmers. Stick around and take plenty of notes because a lot basic natural history info on these secretive species is always lacking.

I also had to google rainbow snake. Quite beautiful!