Caught A Blue Bird Baby Theif

[Bman]

Blue Birds love to nest in my yard. Had some trouble with neighbors loose cats illegal. And Black Snakes just being Black snakes. So I moved the Blue Bird house up on my covered deck, and the Blue Birds last year and this have raised several clutches. Lately we have been watching a pair busy feeding their young in the box. Our German Shepherd, Jazz, keeps the yard in check for loose cats. But I caught this Black Snake in the nick of time! I caught him just as he was starting to poke his head in the Blue Bird house! The parents new he was lurking in the bushes before I saw him. He got crabby, but soon calmed down. I took him to a nice field with a creek next to it. Plenty of field mice there for him. So I think he will be a happy camper. I new I had a Black Snake in the back yard living under my shed, lots of mice back there. But Mr Black snake crossed the line going after our state bird! Sure he will be happy in his new home.

Beautiful snake.

Say hello

[FishinCricket]

My wife just threw up a little bit.. LOL

But, yeah, it's a pretty snake..

[flyfishmaster]

Bman,

You are a better man than I when it comes to snakes. I know that thing would have needed up in at least 3 peices when I got done with it.

Later,

FFM

[Wayne SW/MO]

Everybody happy, can't beat that.

[Ham]

Thanks for not killing that snake. It drives me nuts that so many people grab a hoe everytime they see any snake in "their" yard.

[Bman]

Thanks for not killing that snake. It drives me nuts that so many people grab a hoe everytime they see any snake in "their" yard.

Thanks for your reply. Too often the knee jerk reaction to a snake encounter is, SNAKE! Kill it! Usually if given a chance all they want to do is get away from us. Sure, if surprised or cornered they will try to defend themselves. So look before you step or reach, be aware and if you have to, try relocating a snake especially like a Blake Snake. They really are good snakes, and besides they are a protected species.

The Black Snake pictured, threatened me when I caught him attempting to raid the Blue Bird house, there was 5 young in there. I don’t blame it, as it was following its instincts. Once I distracted it and had it gently in my hands, the snake calmed down nicely, and was very easy to handle. Wish it would have stayed under the shed and kept the field mice in check, but Black Snakes are amazing at finding and raiding bird nests. Once they detect a nest there is almost no stopping them. I have seen them go almost straight up large trees.

A common poisonous snake encountered here in Missouri is the Copperhead. You have to be careful with them as they blend in with leaf litter perfectly. In all my encounters with Copperheads, all they want to do is get away from us. You can pester them with a stick and all they will do is just try to leave, and get away. I have never seen an aggressive one. The only exception is when they are shedding their skin! When shedding they can’t see, so they are very defensive. But even then if they strike, it is a bluff. They normally don’t attempt to actually inject venom. They could risk breaking a fang, which could prove to be fatal.

[Bman]

What I can't deal with;

After reading Phil's recent post on Alaska. The fishing and scenery is awesome. But I prefer to remain at the top of the food chain.

Bears and sharks. No way.

I've dealt with police dogs that wanted to eat me, but I had a suit on that was made for getting bit. I don't think a suit's been made that can handle Brown Bears or Great White Sharks.

No way,

[creek wader]

Thanks for your reply. Too often the knee jerk reaction to a snake encounter is, SNAKE! Kill it! Usually if given a chance all they want to do is get away from us. Sure, if surprised or cornered they will try to defend themselves. So look before you step or reach, be aware and if you have to, try relocating a snake especially like a Blake Snake. They really are good snakes, and besides they are a protected species.

The Black Snake pictured, threatened me when I caught him attempting to raid the Blue Bird house, there was 5 young in there. I don’t blame it, as it was following its instincts. Once I distracted it and had it gently in my hands, the snake calmed down nicely, and was very easy to handle. Wish it would have stayed under the shed and kept the field mice in check, but Black Snakes are amazing at finding and raiding bird nests. Once they detect a nest there is almost no stopping them. I have seen them go almost straight up large trees.

A common poisonous snake encountered here in Missouri is the Copperhead. You have to be careful with them as they blend in with leaf litter perfectly. In all my encounters with Copperheads, all they want to do is get away from us. You can pester them with a stick and all they will do is just try to leave, and get away. I have never seen an aggressive one. The only exception is when they are shedding their skin! When shedding they can’t see, so they are very defensive. But even then if they strike, it is a bluff. They normally don’t attempt to actually inject venom. They could risk breaking a fang, which could prove to be fatal.

couldn't agree with you more on snakes, way to go

[Bman]

couldn't agree with you more on snakes, way to go

Thanks. Part of my reason for this post is to help folks understand, and possibly change their thinking and approach to Missouri snakes. I know that some will be firm in their approach to snakes. But if even one individual changes their thinking or behavior toward snakes, I’ll feel like I’ve contributed something worthwhile.

The old location of the Blue Bird House (empty) shows how much snake can fit in that little box.

[attac

hment=6433:Black_Snake_004.JPG]

[zander]

Pit vipers have fangs is a constant process of development and replacement since they do often lose them. The real reason they might not choose to inject venom is because it would be a waste of metabolic energy. I agree with Bman about leaving them be if you can. Rattlesnakes I haven't always done that with, but at least I cooked them up when I was done, but even then out of the 30-40 times I've come across rattlers, cottonmouths, copperheards, and once a coral snake after we blew up a beaver dam, only 4-5 went to snake heaven, and I have never killed a non poisionous snake on purpose since I was out of my shoot-everything-that-moves stage with my first BB gun.