I was once bringing a horse in from the field and about to put her in her stall. I put my hand out for the latch and suddenly she threw her head up and ran backwards, nearly yanking my arm out of the socket. At first, I was thinking, “What the ... is wrong with you?” I led her forward to the door again, but she went all goggle eyed and was blowing at the door, planted her feet and refused to move. I turned back to the door to see what was spooking her, and that was when I noticed a baby copperhead, about 10 inches long, draped right across the latch that I had almost touched. I couldn’t figure out how in the hell she had seen it, because it blended in almost seamlessly, but I was certainly glad she had.
Maybe she smelled it B4 she actually saw it.
When I was a kid I was in the woods when I saw something move at the bottom of a pool of spring water that was crystal clear and difficult to see into because of the reflection. So I put my head close to the ground to get a better look, and just happened to notice a copperhead wrapped up and concealed in a small puddle of water. Only his head was sticking up. It was about six inches from my forehead. I reflexively jumped up and killed it. I probably would not do that now, since it didn’t bite me when it had the chance.