Red Shouldered Hawk Eating Black Racer Snake

Video:  Red Shouldered Hawk Eating Black Racer Snake

A beautiful Red Shouldered Hawk has caught a Black Racer Snake and proceeds to eat it on a dead pine branch in the Backyard. Hawks sit on fences and watch for young snakes active in  the daytime - not only are they easy to catch, but they are like tender gourmet food for the hawks. 

The Red-shouldered Hawk is one of the most beautiful and distinctively marked hawks in North America. Adults are barred with rusty-red on the underparts and have bright rufous shoulders. Their underparts are dark brown, and the tail is black with 4 or 5 narrow white bands. When in flight, pale crescents in the wings are visible from below. They breed from northern California south to Baja, in the Midwestern United States east to New Brunswick; and south to the Florida Keys and Texas. Habitat. In Florida, Red-Shouldered Hawks nest in a wide variety of woodland habitats, but they are particularly identified with cypress swamps and river bottomlands. It most frequently still-hunts from a relatively low, inconspicuous perch but may also forage from a low, coursing flight (Palmer 1988; Johnsgard 1990). Its diet is characterized by sluggish, easily captured animals, such as toads, frogs, snakes, rodents, and small birds and their nestlings (Kimmel and Frederickson 1981, Palmer 1988, Kale and Maehr 1990). Typical nest sites are located in large mature trees with good canopy cover. A bulky well-built nest is usually placed a little more than halfway up the tree in a major fork (Kimmel and Frederickson 1981, Bednarz and Dinsmore 1982, Palmer 1988). Usually two whitish eggs marked with brown are laid and incubated for approximately 33 days. The young birds fledge at 40 to 45 days of age (Palmer 1988; Johnsgard 1990). Seasonal Occurrence. In Florida, Red-shouldered Hawks breed from January through May (Kale and Maehr 1990), or through June (B. Millsap, pers. commun.). Most birds reside in Florida, but the states' population is augmented in September and October by fall migrants from northern states. 

Source: http://legacy.myfwc.com/bba/docs/bba_RSHA.pdf

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Video:  Red Shouldered Hawk Eating Black Racer Snake

Timber Rattlesnake - Up Close and Personal!

Timber Rattlesnake - Yellow Phase - Business end! I never notice how much they match the autumn leaves on the ground, but soon they will all be sleeping for the winter! Great Smoky Mountains, North Carolina.

Garter Snake Mating Ball

Video: Garter Snake Mating Ball

A Garter Snake mating ball - unusual as it is up in the bushes and not on the ground.  Only two heads are visible, but there are three snakes in this small mating ball - a fourth left after I disturbed them - sorry. Filmed high in the Great Smoky Mountains. This was taken on October 5th on a warm day - typically mating takes place in spring right after they emerge from hibernation, but it can also take place in fall as snakes begin to congregate to hibernate, but these snakes should not be hibernating for at least another month. Garter Snakes are very beneficial snakes to have around the yard and are easy to tell from poisonous snakes - so let them live!

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Video: Garter Snake Mating Ball

Wild Florida Corn Snake Behaviour

Video: Wild Corn Snake Behavior

Unusual behavior for a Wild Red Rat Snake as it is known in Florida - also called Corn Snake - visits the Backyard and wants to go one way at sunset - under the patio storage box - and will not be deterred by me. It is Rat Snake mating season in Florida and perhaps that has something to do with its unusual behavior. This particular line of Rat Snakes are among the most beautiful snakes in the world and are very gentle and should never be killed. This is a relatively small one at 3 feet in length, but quite skinny. To see a large one check out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z577-h9JiAQ

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Video: Wild Corn Snake Behavior

Black Racer Snake in Florida

Video: Black Racer Snake

3-4 foot long Black Racer Snake hunting for Anole lizards along the fence line in the Backyard. This is a good size for a Racer. One of the daytime snakes in the Backyard they will move incredibly fast if surprised in the open - moving almost straight like an arrow they are amazing - thus the name "Racer". Here surprised next to the fence they make a slow stealthy retreat - note - unless cornered they will always retreat. These are sweet,non-venomous  beneficial snakes and should not be harmed. 

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Video: Black Racer Snake

Garter Snake Hunting Among Rocks

Video: Garter Snake Hunting Rocks

A Garter Snake is out looking for a meal among the rocks. By flicking its sensitive tongue close to the ground and moving its head side to side to get air moving into its nostrils it hopes to find something tasty to eat. In this case, perhaps a mouse or more likely a salamander or other small reptile or amphibian.

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Video: Garter Snake Hunting Rocks

Wild Florida Red Rat Snake Swallows Lizard

Video: Wild Florida Red Rat Snake Swallows Lizard

Video: Wild Florida Red Rat Snake Swallows Lizard

A young Red Rat Snake (also called a Corn Snake) captures and squeezes a Brown Anole Lizard not much small than itself and spends the next 15 minutes slowly swallowing it. Florida Red Rat Snakes are constrictors just like their large exotic cousins such as the invasive Burmese Pythons and they capture, kill and eat their prey the same way, just on a much smaller scale. This one does it all while hanging upside down from a backyard outbuilding. Mostly nocturnal, the snakes learn that the outdoor lighting attracts lizards and that is prime hunting ground. Unlike the invasive pythons that kill and displace native wildlife, this snake is a native and performs an invaluable service by keeping the lizards, mice and rats in check. The Brown Anole Lizard being eaten is itself an invasive species that is relatively larger than native lizards and more agressive and rapidly displacing Green Anole Lizards and timid Gecko's. These snakes should not be killed. Unfortunately finding a small snake like this doing its job in the backyard too often leads to the killing of the snake. This little backyard drama allows us a closeup look at the process. The camera was only 3 or 4 inches from the snake the entire time. This snake is undoubtedly the offspring of this large Red Rat Snake filmed earlier this summer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z577-h9JiAQ&list=SP9ODW2GQ3n8J3CB3zRtWfRjQphAFUqpSA&index=1

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Beautiful Florida Red Rat Snake or Corn Snake Makes a Visit to the Backyard!

Beautiful Florida Red Rat Snake or Corn Snake Makes a Visit to the Backyard!

Florida Red Rat Snake or Corn Snake

This is the second large Red Rat Snake I've encountered in the backyard in the past year. I was able to get excellent close-up video of this snake slowly winding its way to the back fence to escape. I'll post that in the near future. I was alerted to the snake's presence by Blue Jays making a bunch of noise as they sort of "mobbed" the snake as it moved across the open back patio. More as a warning than an attempt to thwart the snake, the Blue Jays act like the backyard alarm system. Many small animals such as squirrels and other birds react to the Blue Jay's alarm shrieks, not out of fear of the Blue Jays, but recognition that the Blue Jays see or sense danger.

The Red Rat Snake is an attractive snake, but can be "scary looking" to people who encounter it in their yard and unfortunately the slow lumbering nature of these constrictor snakes means that many are killed on sight. This is unfortunate as they eat small rodents and lizards primarily and help keep the backyard ecosystem in check. They are perhaps one of the more genuinely attractive snakes in the U.S. and will only coil and stand their ground if given no choice. The sad thing is the majority of them are easily killed by hacking or beating as they make a slow "run" for safety. The video will be along in a week or so. More information is at Wikipedia .