It was around three weeks ago that we saw a pair of robins beginning to construct a nest on top of our neighbor's rain gutter downspout. It seemed like a good location, sheltered from rain, wind and the hot sun. It took the pair a little more than a week to finish the nest and for the next few days we didn't see much of them. Then one morning the female took up residence.
The normal clutch size is 3 to 5 eggs, with an incubation period of 12 to 14 days. It was about that many days when we saw both parents coming and going with food for the newly hatched chicks. As the chicks grew in size we could see 3 heads raise up when the parents returned with food. The usual nesting period is 13 days so these last few days we've been watching closely hoping to see the moment when the chicks would leave the nest. We were not at all prepared for what we witnessed this afternoon.
Eastern King snakes grow from 3 to 4 feet long, are not venomous and primarily eat rodents and birds. Supposedly common throughout the south and east, we have never seen any kind of snake on our property, in parks or on forest paths we hike. Though I probably should have known better, If I had thought of it I never would have believed that a snake could or would climb a 7 foot downspout.
The adult robins made repeated attempts to chase off the snake but I noticed they did not make contact with the snake and the snake ignored them. We do not know how long the snake had been in the nest, but it was only a few minutes after we noticed it that it exited the nest and deliberately fell to the ground rather than climb down. We could see at least one fairly large chick in the snake's mouth as it crawled away.
We had hoped that the other 2 chicks were okay but we have seen no activity and though the parents remain in the area they have not returned to the nest. We have to assume that the snake got all three.
When we first realized what was happening Maribel's maternal instincts kicked in and she rushed outside, cursing at the snake with some choice Spanish words. She also asked if there wasn't something I could do. I actually considered intervening, though at the time didn't know what kind of snake I would be dealing with, but then thought to myself, this is nature. This is a snake doing what snakes do. This is a scenario that plays out hundreds of times every day. It is not my role to interfere. What I will do is walk a little more carefully in some areas of our backyard.
Nature’s way does sometimes seem cruel.
ReplyDeleteHi Dave...Often the nature programs show the kind of thing I saw yesterday but it sure is more impactful to have it happen right in front of you, accompanied by the urge to take action. If I were to be in that situation again I would do the same thing, just watch it play out. Sometimes it hard to remember but I'm of the opinion that nature doesn't use labels like good or bad, right or wrong. It's we humans who feel the need to pronounce judgement and as you intimated, nature doesn't much care what we think.
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