What a story!!! Glad you got him and hope you are done with snakes for awhile. How brave to actually grab him. I am still at the end of joking by my husband after an incident with a chicken snake that had me trapped in a deer stand! I love hunting and know what to do when I shoot. But every time I shoot, before the smoke clears my husband would be at the deer stand to "check on me". I had at the beginning of this particular season I asked him to PLEASE not coming running before the shot quit ringing. Well low and behold he finally listening...........,at the wrong time!! I was sitting in a richetty old stand,since before the sun comes up, nothing was going on, it was getting late morning and nothing in sight so I stepped out the door for a little relief, went back in and sat down for about another 30 minutes and decided to call it a morning. Gathered up all my goodies and was gonna head out the door, and then I spotted HIM laying on a ledge about ear level. Now mind you I have been in that stand for almost 4 hours and went out once and back in and he was laying about 6 inches from the frame of the door! which my head was at one time only about 6 inches from. I didn't know at the tme it was a chicken snake not that it matters because I don't like any snake! After I finally caught my breathe and was able to analyze the situation I figured it was a no-brainer.......just stick my gun out the window and fire up in the air and my hubby would be right there. NOT...... he remembered our conversation about not coming upon hearing the shot! What a time for him to choose to listen! After about 30 minutes and another shot in the air and another 30 minutes and a shot in the air he finally shows up. And of course he stands there and laughs which REALLY makes my blood boil (just like a man to laugh) He tried to get me to walk past the poor little thing, that was 3 1/2 feet long, finally figured he better get it out and make sure it would never be able to get back in again if he ever wanted to return to camp. And no, I couldn't crawl thru the windows, they were much too small, and I had managed to pulled a loose board off to use as a weapom in case he decided to move. Couldn't shoot him as I didn't know about what would happen at such close range and if I would have blown him on me I would probably still be running. The next season I had a new stand and all cracks filled with that foam that expands and windows big enough to crawl thru!!! I still hunt but the flaslight now comes on and I examine my stand first. I now do most of my hunting with a camera . Love the peace and quiet and connecting with nature and I've gotten some wonderful pics that I tend to not share with my family........don't like hearing them say "What did you let him walk off for?!?!?!?" Maybe one day they too will know why.

I see some friends from years past and friends I've yet to meet! I have a nest of titmice and brown-headed nuthatches but the bluebirds are nesting across the street, I think. As for snakes, after what happened last July here, I do not trust ANY baffle! The one made of netting looks promising and if I get any birds after these first ones, I'll try it. If you didn't see my article in the Bayou (Louisana) Bluebird Society's newsletter about what happened here with 5 bluebird fledglings last July, their parents and a snake, check it out below. I don't trust much of any kind of deterrent for snakes after this. Right now, there have been NO takers for that nest box even though the snake never got on the box. A pair of bluebirds looked in quite a lot but never did go in (there's a nestbox video camera in there). There were titmice, nuthatches, chickadees all looking at it but no one took it!!! It's a mystery to me. Let's hope our bluebirds and other birds have a safe and productive season despite the challenges. Bluebird blessings, Linda... Here is a link that might be useful: BIG surprise: bluebirds vs snake

Hello M. We don't have much of a snake problem here in the woods of West Michigan, those that we do have get plenty of critters on the ground. I can only tell you that the parents visiting is a good sign. Do you have meal or waxworms out for them? There is a lot of growing to be done in a week and every day increases their chances. Go to www.sialis.org. There is a spot there that shows pictures "from egg to fledgling" It will help you determine the age a little better. It is common for the parents to try to save the babies by calling them out of a dangerous situation, at least they have a chance protecting them on the ground where as they would surley be doomed by the snake. My understanding is they will save themselves first knowing they can have a next nesting. Are they feeding these babies when they visit? If they are feeding them you could be ok. I suggest getting in touch with a rehabber now, you may need to call several. Put sombody on allert that you may need assistance with these babies. At the bottom of the sialis website is Bet's (website author) contact info...she is very helpful. I would also locate a good source for wax worms (bait shops) if you dont have some on hand already. Come back tomorrow and let us know what is going on. Good Luck and Baby prayers!

You removed a Chickadee nest?? Why on earth would you remove a Chickadee nest?? They are very low on the totem pole as far as successful nestings since they cannot fight off larger cavity nesters, plus they usually only have one brood per season so they need all the help they can get. I LOVE Dees! I have had them nesting here for the last three years and I would never never remove one of their nests!! I protect them as much as I could and if a Blue pair wanted the box that a Dee already had then I would put a hole reducer on the box so the Blues couldn't have it! I have tons of TRES that take all the boxes around here but I haven't removed any of their nests either, just keep hoping the Blues find an empty box and nest. The Blues around here are always the last to start nesting so they get what is left pretty much of the nestboxes. I have one pair of Blues, one pair of Dees and six pairs of TRES all nesting right now. Blues love mealworms but as far as getting them to stay in your yard and nest, there is no guarantee. The male finds the nesting sites but the female needs to approve of it. She makes the final pic. If she likes the nestbox she will stay...if they found something better elsewhere they will go there. Alot depends on the availability of nestboxes around your area. If they have lots to choose from they could go anywhere but if there aren't alot of spots for them to choose from then maybe they will choose your yard. However if you aren't prepared to let other native cavity nesters use the nestboxes you put up then you shouldn't be offering nestboxes. Oh and hopefully all your nestboxes are mounted on slick metal poles (conduit works best) with predator baffles and at least 15 feet away from trees or fences. Donna