 June's
endless whining has driven Ward to work around the clock. After delivering
four meals last night, he returned just before noon today with this
Eastern Ribbon Snake. Even though it was almost two feet long, she
swallowed it in a matter of seconds and called for more. Ward dutifully
flew back into the woods as June continued to hoot and whine. Two hours
later he showed up with a second ribbon snake which June devoured with
equal vigor and again called
for more. Ward was back again an hour later with a third ribbon snake
dangling from his beak, but this time he refused to deliver it to the nest
box. Instead, he announced his arrival in a nearby tree with a monkey call
and ignored June's squeals for another in-home delivery. She finally gave
up and went out to retrieve the snake, but was back in the nest in less
than five minutes. Ward resumed his work shortly after dark and had made
three more deliveries before 11pm. While today's snake deliveries were the
first I've seen this year, barred owls are known to eat a wide variety of
snakes. Over the years, Ward has also brought home Garter Snakes, Milk
Snakes, and Ring-Necked Snakes. |