Snake rasslin' and chick herding

July 1, 2007

There's a small alcove along one wall of a building here where several generations of Say's Phoebes have nested and reared their offspring on a small ledge about 7' from the ground. In some cases they'll even bring forth two clutches of kids during the spring or summer - usually back-to-back. The second clutch is just about fully grown and today they left the nest and are getting their first tour of the area.

They're fortunate - yesterday things looked grim awhile. I'd noticed one of the parents flying animatedly around the entry to the alcove for a few minute but just figured that they were trying to give the nestlings encouragement to set out. After a few minutes I wondered if there was more to this and walked over. The parent settled in a nearby mesquite tree and kept up a loud chatter. A Bull Snake had managed to climb up on a piece of equipment and was in the rafters of the alcove trying to work its way over to the nest.

I generally avoid intervening in this type of issue - we try to give all critters a fair shake here. I guess I'm soft on the phoebes - they're a regular feature here and I've kept an eye on their nest watching the young develop. They're a pleasure to watch too, being flycatchers they catch and eat a lot of flying insects here. Efforts at working the snake out with a short stick weren't fruitful so I went and got my homemade snake stick. It's a simple but (so far) effective affair: 6' oak, 1" by 1" with a 1/4" string attached to form a loop at one end adjustable from the other end. It's probably not the most comfortable snake stick - but I doubt any snake finds any snake stick comfortable! The snake nicely obliged and put his head right into the loop once I'd put it in front of him - and after he'd gotten about a foot of his overall 4 feet of length through the loop - I tightened up and as gently as possible took him from his perch to the ground. He scooted off quickly - didn't want to be bothered by me anymore.

I'd noticed that the snake didn't have any of those tell-tale bumps along his length - but didn't see the phoebe chicks right away either. I don't know how many were in the nest this last clutch, but two chicks were down on the dirt floor of the alcove huddled in a corner - they'd bailed the nest before that snake had reached them. About 10 minutes had passed since I'd arrived there and a parent was still in a nearby tree keeping up a steady din. The chicks were almost mature enough to fly but were way too vulnerable just sitting on the ground there. Naturally neither of them was too thrilled about being picked up by some giant critter so shortly after escaping another ill-intentioned critter. With one in each hand I put them back on the ledge next to their nest. One fluttered back off the ledge to the ground. When putting that one back up on the ledge - the other one then fluttered to the ground. This went on a few rounds and finally I got them both situated back up on familiar territory. I backed on out of there quickly to allow them to settle down in hope they'd stay put on their ledge. (I'd already moved the piece of equipment that had allowed the snake to climb up there in the first place) I looked around for any other nestlings but didn't see or hear any so it's uncertain how successful the snake had been. Two chicks is a small clutch from what I've seen around here - 3 or 4 is more usual.

A few hours later I see the same snake a couple hundred feet away from where we'd first met. This time he's stretched in the shade under an acacia tree and some silly cottontail rabbit is sniffing around him - a curiousity that would lead to no good end for the rabbit except for it (maybe) being a bit too big for the snake to eat. I walked over, telling the rabbit what a dipshit he was. The rabbit moves off some feet away into the shade and the snake sensing me slithers into a nearby hole. It was probably the hole of a Kangaroo Rat... the drama never ends...

The nest was empty today and I could hear the parent phoebes and the chicks calling out to each other over at an unfinished structure on the property. The chicks are getting their flying lessons today, and coaching and encouragement from the parents to forsake the shelter and start catching their own food. They keep up a regular chorus of calls to each other as they're growing up and learning to be on their own and it's likely I'll be hearing those calls back and forth quite a bit over the next week.

 

 

 

What's this "Plug Nickel Outfit"?

Well - a "plug nickel" indicates something that is of little to no value, often implying a counterfeit. The word "outfit" hails from earlier times in the western US when a ranch or its wranglers would be referred to as an outfit - as in 'The Hash Knife Outfit' by Zane Grey.

The Plug Nickel Outfit (which I've been carrying in my back pocket for a couple of decades now!) is currently headquartered (falling out and hanging 'round - more likely!) in Southeastern Arizona in the San Pedro River valley. I've already taken some license in describing these scrivenings as something between Walden and High Chaparral - High Chaparral was filmed and located to the west of here and at a lower elevation. In the series one could see Saguaro cacti in many of the outdoor shots which don't naturally occur around here as the winters are too cold. Technically we're located in a transition area between the Sonoran and the Chihuahuan deserts. The elevation here is about 4400' - and we're on the flanks of one of a handful of Sky Islands in this area. Topics covered here will primarily be the plant and animal life of this region, and side issues such as weather and history - but hopefully not limited entirely to these.

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