[birdky] RPT: Rat snake rescue ...

For the past few weeks, a pair of House Wrens has been busy nesting in a box on 
the back porch at my mom's house in Louisville.  In just the past several days, 
the growing young in the box have been audible as they beg for food. I have not 
been the only one hearing the babies ...
 
Yesterday evening I was working in the yard; it was about 8:30 or so and 
beginning to get dark. I heard one of the parent wrens scolding loudly and 
thought a stray cat that occasionally finds its way into the yard was nearby. 
However, when I walked up to the porch nothing ran away. The wren was scolding 
from right near the box and when I looked up, the back end of a black rat snake 
was disappearing into the nest box! 
 
The box is hanging on a hook, so I quickly took it down, set it on the ground, 
and opened the top. The 2 and 1/2 foot long snake was coiled up inside the box. 
I reached in and grabbed it before it could bite me and pulled the sucker out. 
I pulled out a small flashlight and shined it into the bottom of the box, and 
literally plastered as far down into the nest cup as they could squeeze 
themselves were the 4-5 young, now relatively well feathered. WHEW! ... just in 
the nick of time!
 
Rat snakes are well known for their climbing ability ... a talent they utilize 
to rob songbird nests of eggs and particularly nestlings.  It had climbed up 
onto a table on the porch, scaled several widths of bricks and onto a wreath 
that hangs on the side of the house, and reached over about a foot and a half 
to enter the box.
 
I've never killed a snake but I sure wanted to kill that one! I deposited it 
into a pillow case and this morning it had a nice little ride out into the 
country where I let it go to at least eat nestlings somewhere else! And when I 
returned home from running my BBS route, the young were calling away again 
every time the parents brought food ... hopefully the rat snake doesn't have 
friends!
 
bpb, Frankfort

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