Victory and Defeat

[Wingman]

All but 2 eggs hatched and these little fellas were gone the next morning.

hatchlings finish.jpg

Down the lake a little bit, I saw something strange hanging from the entrance hole.

rat snake duck box.jpg

Upon further inspection, he was not alone. 3, 5 footers were inside, full of eggs. The tree the box was on was protected from below by a piece of flashing, but the tree next to it was not. Limbs from both trees apparently gave access to the all-you-can-eat snake buffet.

3 snakes in box finish.jpg

I pulled all of them out and let one go. The other two are awaiting relocation to a rodent-infested home somewhere. Rat snakes (chicken snakes) are very efficient predators. They eat untold amounts of rodents, but unfortunately, will feast on wood duck eggs and ducklings when given the chance.

[shelbydanieldotsmugmugdot]

That sux, but thats the joy of ecosystem relationships.

[Wingman]

I plan to test my 1/2" conduit with no predator guard setup with these two I kept. Looking for a way to mount smaller boxes, like bluebird and warbler, on 1/2" conduit poles with no guard to see if it will keep snakes and coons out.

[Blackduck]

what about the eagle/owl box that you made.???

[Wingman]

I put one barn owl box under the eave of an equipment shed here at the house. No takers yet, but I hear a barn owl on occasion at night.

I put another down where I deer hunt under an old barn. Those owls got into some open windows on box stands last year and really made a mess of things. I was hoping to get some of those owls, but so far, no takers there either.

[Blackduck]

didn't you make one out of a 5gallon jug for a chick that had fallen out of its nest a few weeks ago?

[Wingman]

Oh, that one. No, that was the bottom 1/3rd of a 35 gallon drum. I have not checked back with them.

Since then, I've picked up a baby barred owl and 5 baby barn owls. The barn owls were in a grain bin, apparently hatched right there on the floor and being raised just fine until the farmer needed to clean out the bins.

Okay, I just talked to the girl about the great horned owl we put in the bucket and she said he stayed in the bucket for about a week and is now back on the ground, moving from bush to bush and doing just fine. He must be getting ready to fly or has tried to fly and is back on the ground.

[MSDawg870]

The serpents may have won this battle, but we SHALL win the war.
- MSDawg870

[Wingman]

Oh, the serpents only wished they hadn't been caught in that box. After they left my wife's first grade class at Indianola public school and then toured my daughter's second grade class in Inverness, those snakes were fit to be tied.

My wife's teaching assistant wouldn't even come in the room. She was standing in the doorway of another class about 3 doors down the hall. I came out in the hall with one of the snakes around my arm and you could've heard her holler in Memphis!

[TODO]

Wingman, will the rat snakes let u handle them without biting?

[Wingman]

2 out of 3 did. The third tried to swallow my thumb.