Give those rattlers a wide berth. I have been too close a few times and was not very comfortable with the situations. I did read where rat snakes will rattle their tales against stuff to simulate the sound of a rattlesnake. They are similar in coloration.
Oh I did! We went walking with big sticks to peek under bushes with when we walked through them. "Don't walk where you can't see your feet" they said. Don't have to tell me twice :~)