Casa de Tortugas - Stories
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Snake on our deck!
We have a family of Southern House Wrens living in the rafters above our deck. They’ve been a joy to watch and listen to, especially as the chicks have gotten louder over the past few days. But today, their usual cheerful noise turned into something different, louder, more frantic. So we looked outside to see what was going on.
The adult birds were flitting around in a strange, agitated way. Tina took a closer look and noticed a small snake. We went out for a better view and realized what she had seen was just the tail. The entire snake was about four feet long and it was curled up in the deck railing trying to get to the birds. We couldn’t tell exactly what kind it was, but it didn’t seem venomous.
The two wrens were taking turns trying to peck at it from opposite sides, doing their best to drive it off. They weren’t giving up.
I grabbed a broom, used the handle to gently scoop the snake and carried it down the stairs to the edge of the yard. I let it go there, thinking it would head off into the brush. But not long after, we looked around to see he was back, clearly drawn by the sound of the baby birds.
So I took it a bit more seriously the second time. I carried and kept flicking it farther, into the jungle behind the house hoping this time he would stay gone. I agitated him enough to let him know he was not welcome.
It hasn’t returned, and the wren family is back to their usual business, singing, feeding, and keeping a watchful eye on their nest.
Just another day living on the edge of the wild world that we love so very much. Someone helped identify this snake as the phrynonax poecilonotus, also known as the bird snake.
Follow-up: The snake came back so read Part 2 of this story.
View some of the other animals we have seen.
WARNING: Video has harsh language...
| Snake! (part 2) Published 29-May-2025 | Yeah! We have rain! Published 24-May-2025 |
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