Wyvern Oaks Wildlife

I was flipping through my phone the other day and found some random pics I've taken of critters we have residing with us. It's one of the things I love most about this place - the critters change with the seasons and there's always something new. The quiet hour around dawn is the best time to see critters, although sometimes you can catch deer and rabbits near dusk.

This cute little nuthatch flew into the house one morning when I left the doors open to catch the dawn breeze. It took me a while to catch her - she was so small she went right through the holes in our bird net! I returned her safely outside with the rest of the flock that visits our garden every morning for a drink.

A great-horned owl that likes to hang out in our neighbor's snag at dawn. She's one of a pair that nest in another neighbor's oak tree down the street. We also have a pair of red-shouldered hawks and a pair of Caracaras that should arrive for nesting within the next week or two, and the tree ducks arrive in January.

Our two resident rat snakes - and an ex rat nest between them (they had apparently eaten the inhabitants). 

Dawn mist in the greenbelt (no critters in this pic - that I know of)

Mr and Ms Toad. This pair of Gulf Coast toads hide under the barn foundation during the day, but emerge at dusk to spend the night hunting bugs. The big one (on the right) is larger than my hand!

Dawn over the back pasture.

If you squint really hard, there's a deer in the exact middle of the frame. Promise!

Eastern yellow-bellied racer

Do you get critters out at your barn?

Snakes. Why did it have to be... snakes?!?

Megan, you probably don't want to read this post. ;)

Every spring, we have one or two rat snakes come hang out at Wyvern Oaks for a month or so. They usually hang out around the back shed/chicken coop, and when they move on, we have no more rodents. They're shy creatures, not at all aggressive, and are quick to move out of your way if you encounter one. Although it can be somewhat disturbing to find a 5+ foot snake hanging out in your shed, I'm always grateful for their presence.

Last week, Fuzzypony found one in the chicken coop. Apparently this one didn't get the message that he's supposed to eat rodents...

Well hello there!

Contemplating an easy snack...

Omnomnomnom.

Yes, rat snakes also eat eggs. And I'm more than happy to share if they also kill off a few rats! Good luck, little fellow!

Part-time weekend job: Snake Wrangler

Every year about this time, we have a 5-6 foot long bull snake show up at Wyvern Oaks. We'll see him a handful of times, and then he disappears for the rest of the year. I've blogged about him before, here.

This year, we've found him in the chicken shed half-a-dozen times, when we put the chickens to bed. He's after the eggs, although I don't think he's managed to get many. See, one of our chickens is broody, and she is NOT happy about a snake in her shed. I've seen her attack him, and the poor snake has all he can do to escape.

Unfortunately, in one of his bids to escape, he got stuck in the storage part of the shed. It gets pretty hot in there during the day, and I think he may have been in there for a few days. For whatever reason, I decided to clean a few things out of the shed this morning, and I found him curled up limply in the corner.

Poor guy. 

I put a pan of water next to him to see if he would drink. He wasn't moving much, so I got a spray bottle of water and misted him a bit to try to help him hydrate. MC got this pic while I was doing that.

Eventually I figured that he wasn't going to find his way out of the shed unless I picked him up and took him out. So I put on my gloves, took a deep breath, and nabbed him.

Yes, that's me, holding a 5 foot long bull snake.

Isn't he gorgeous?

DISCLAIMER: Don't EVER EVER EVER pick up a snake unless you know FOR CERTAIN that it's non-venomous. Also, don't pick up a wild snake unless know what you're doing. I used to volunteer at the herpetology department at the Louisiana Wildlife center, so while I'm not an expert, I can identify and handle snakes fairly confidently. Any snake can bite, and a snake this big can do some serious damage (I've been bitten by a pet King snake before that was about this size, so take my word for this). I knew I had one chance to grab him properly, and I managed to do it. I likely would not have been able to handle him if he hadn't been suffering from heat and dehydration, because a snake this size is incredibly strong. Basically, I got really lucky.

After MC snapped these pics, I set him down in the saucer of water, right next to the shed. He paused for a moment and then slithered off under the shed.  I left the saucer out today and refilled it tonight, in hopes that he's got the strength to drink something and will recover. I also left out two eggs just under the shed, in case he can eat those.

Bye-bye.

You're probably thinking that I'm a really weird bleeding heart type, all worried about a snake, and you're probably right. But this guy has been around for a while, helping to keep the rodent population at bay, and I'd hate to be responsible for his death. 

I sure do hope he makes it!