[birdky] RPT: Rat snake rescue ...
- From: "Palmer-Ball, Brainard (EPPC OOS KNPC)" <Brainard.Palmer-Ball@xxxxxx>
- To: "BIRDKY" <birdky@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 8 Jun 2008 11:24:53 -0400
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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