By Ginny Cheek, Lafayette County Master Gardener
The other morning, I was sitting by the window, minding my own business, drinking coffee, and listening to the birds. All was right with the world. But wait…one particular bird call kept getting louder and more frequent. I glanced out the window and saw a pair of mockingbirds dive bombing something on the ground. Seeing movement in the grass, I thought it might be a rat or mouse. Upon closer inspection, however, whatever it was did not move like a rat or mouse. Baby kitten perhaps?
By this time, my dog’s ears had perked up. Perhaps I needed to go outside and see if a baby bird had fallen out of the nest, or a bunny had happened along. After all, who knows what lurks in the grass around here?
The dog had to stay inside in case it was a baby bird, or turkey or bunny. Imagine my surprise when the bird pair kept dive bombing. Not three feet away was a huge snake, preparing to go up a big fifty-year-old birch tree. You may be thinking “what controlled substance has this author been smoking?” If I had not seen it with my own eyes, I never would have believed it. That snake actually climbed, or rather slithered its way up the tree. Evidently it had in mind a juicy baby bird for breakfast. As I got closer to the tree, the snake stopped part way up and looked me in the eye as if to say “whatcha gonna do about it, huh?” After a stare down, the snake won, and continued its way up the tree in search of breakfast. It was truly amazing how quickly the rat snake could climb!
The parents put up a valiant effort to save their babies, dive bombing and giving it their best to drive it away but I’m sure the snake won out in the end. I could not bring myself to watch the event unfold any further.
I contacted my brother-in-law who breeds and raises non-venomous snakes. He related that indeed it was a rat snake, non-venomous but can deliver a rather nasty bite, and yes, they have been known to climb trees.
The more important questions were—how long did it stay up in the tree? How did it get back down? What other trees do they climb? How often do they fall out of trees? I do believe I would absolutely die of fright if a snake fell out of a tree onto my head! I can never again walk under that tree without looking up to see if that snake is still there.
