A Mother’s Journal

I was sitting in my office, which overlooks my garden and goldfish pond, when suddenly there was a loud crash.   I looked out just in time to see a 4-foot black snake climbing down/falling from a bird’s nest that a pair of house finches has been tending to at the top of a column on my front porch.  (The loud noise came from the snake knocking down a couple of items near the column as it fell.)

I jumped up, grabbed my camera (which is always right here at my desk), and went running out.  My first thought was sheer amazement (you know how a live snake makes you feel), but then in the next split-second I was thinking how to save the bird.  I knew immediately though that it was too late.  The snake had made a tight coil around the baby bird and all I could see were its limp feet and beak sticking out either end.  Then the snake turned its head in and began to swallow the bird. 

At this point we called all the children to watch something that most kids in town never get to see.  I felt the best thing to do was just witness nature and maybe get a few pictures.

Here is a picture of the snake with the limp bird.

I was a little shocked that the snake hung out there and ate this entire bird with all 6 of us watching and yelling out exclamations.  Indeed I was able to get some video footage with my digital camera.  I hope it won’t take too long for it to upload, but in case you want to see it, I’ve put it here. 

Now, try not to get distracted by all the Southern drawl you’ll hear going on.  You’ll hear my daughter say, “But the baby bird!!!”  Then you’ll hear one of her brothers say, “It’s cool.”  One brother says, “Oh my gosh.”  And either you cannot hear it or I did not pick it up, but what their daddy says is, “I tell ya one thing.  If ya’ll panick and let that snake in the house, not a one of ya is sleeping tonight until we find it and kill it.”

Finally, after this snake had eaten the bird, it defiantly crawled back up to the nest and got on the nest and looked at all of us like it was daring us to try to get it down.

Well, that’s all my husband could take.  I’ll end the story by saying my husband will not share his castle with a defiant snake.