I'm So Sad!!

[MadChickenMama]

My carport has these perfect grooves for the local bird wildlife. I've got a few mating pairs of either Purple Finches or House Finches around my house and was lucky enough that one pair decided to make a nest in the grooves. A female did last year and I never saw the male and eventually she left.

This time I saw the male several times as he tried to draw me away from the nest when I came out to get in my car. So yesterday when I saw the female fly off I snuck my phone up and took a video and was elated to see 2 eggs! I decided I'd try and make friends with these birds.

I leave today to go get lunch and there's a snake near my car. I tried to scare it off but it wouldn't budge. I knew it wasn't venomous and didn't think about the fact that they can climb.

I get home later and the snake is gone. I don't see mama bird's head poking up like normal and so put my phone up again to check and see a little head dart at my phone. I thought it was the bird.

Several minutes later I decide to check the video, thought it'd be cute to see the bird. Well that's when I realized the head was the snakes! There was still one egg in the video so I grabbed one of those grabber thingies and ran outside and hoped to scare the snake off if it was still there. It wasn't. It had made off with both eggs. I'm so heartbroken. I love these little finches.

And now I am more determined to ask my granddad if we can get rid of the ornamental grass by the door. I've always been scared a snake would be in it but now that I've seen one I want the grass gone. And I will get some bird netting to put around the polea to the carport roof so this doesn't happen again.

The picture is from before the snake got the eggs, but it looks like it had raided other nests.

 

[cavemanrich]

I know how you feel,,,
I know nature is not fair and many times in our view, downright cruel. If you would look at things from a different angle,,,, (snakes point of view) snake only wanted to get nutrition and not do something malicious.
It is easy for us to start making preference choices. If you look at things differently. The snakes life is just as important as the little birds. You will feel more comfort in your heart.
WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and

 

[Chickassan]

Not much solace but at least it was eggs and not chicks so the parents can easily try again since they've still got months of resources yet to come.The snake, now satisfied won't have to eat again for weeks and can put forth that energy to make new snakes. That BTW appears to be a black snake, which while being an egg eater also eats venomous snakes so even though you're mad at it the snake earns it's place.

 

[drumstick diva]

They may earn their place but, please NOT around me

 

[oregonkat]

I have a very beautiful California King snake that lives outside my front door.. I also have a very beautiful house wren couple who nest above my front door, every single year. And every, single year, I wake to the sound of the male house wren sounding the alarm.. you can tell the alarm sound because it sounds just like, well, an alarm. So I go out and there is my king snake trying to figure out a way of climbing the wall (which is rough plaster) to get to the eggs. Never makes it, but never stops trying either.
The wrens know the situation, so does the snake and still they come back each year.
Nature will have her way!