Posted by:
RossCA
at Fri Aug 13 15:29:14 2010 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by RossCA ]
This is not my post, it was started on FHF but I didn't want to link it. I think you can get banned for that around here, is that true? Anyway this is incredible and thought some of you might never frequent that forum and ever see it.
This amazing account and pictures were forwarded to me by colleagues from FWS:
I pulled over at the Loma bridge fishing access site just outside of the UMBNM north of Fort Benton MT on Sunday afternoon around 4:30PM to photograph the Cliff Swallows tending their nests. What I found was an enormous Bull Snake fishing for Cliff Swallows from 30 feet above the racing Missouri River. I observed it for over 2 hours slink in and out of about 5 nests consuming the chicks. Bulge after bulge runing down it's body. Then snap, he grabed one of the adult swallows who had dared to swoop by to pester his dining. When it had had its fill it kicked itself free and dropped into the rushing river. It was a truley incredible behavior to observe and magnificent specimen.
In many ways, very neat documentation-- getting to them, plucking them, esp. the flying adult, if it truly intentionally dropped into the river as the account describes (as opposed to falling in attempt to climb back up)-- all interesting behavioral information. Would have been informative in Pantherophis obsoleta, but even a bit more so in Pituophis.
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[ Hide Replies ]
 A great wild Bull snake observation - RossCA, Fri Aug 13 15:29:14 2010
- That is just.... - byron.d, Fri Aug 13 16:20:55 2010
- RE: A great wild Bull snake observation - PaulJH, Fri Aug 13 16:55:46 2010
- RE: A great wild Bull snake observation - DISCERN, Fri Aug 13 17:39:37 2010
- WHOOOAA!!!! - DMong, Fri Aug 13 17:45:07 2010
- RE: A great wild Bull snake observation - jodscovry, Fri Aug 13 18:49:22 2010
- RE: A great wild Bull snake observation - pyromaniac, Fri Aug 13 19:00:22 2010
- RE: A great wild Bull snake observation - antelope, Sat Aug 14 11:02:40 2010
- Common occurance, actually - BBBruno, Sat Aug 14 11:13:43 2010
- RE: A great wild Bull snake observation - reako45, Sat Aug 14 18:32:50 2010
- RE: A great wild Bull snake observation - ginter, Sun Aug 15 15:40:43 2010
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