We received a fascinating story from reader Luanne Brooker of Sandersville, Georgia about a pair of pileated woodpeckers fighting off a snake that had slithered into their nest. It’s pretty incredible, if you ask us! Here are some photos from the encounter. The entire story can be found in our September issue of Birds & Blooms Extra.
All images courtesy of Luanne Brooker, www.brookersharingnature.com.
What strange encounters have you come across outdoors? Share them below or you can submit them to us for consideration in the magazine.
{ 85 comments… read them below or add one }
Great pictures!
In the first picture the birds were very young and three of them the snake has a bulge in it, and there were two birds inthe other picture &they were much older, they filled the entire cavity of the hole.
Amazing puctures
Fantastic! What an experience and to be there for the encounter.
nice!!!! great job!
Great pictures. I had a flock nearly 6 or more of them in my yard in the tree tops. First time my husband and I had seen them up pretty close in low tree tops. They had first one at a time been working on the trees. They were impressive. Flew close over the house past the back door when they left. I was glad someone saw them with me or I’m afraid no one would have believed it. No great camera at the time. Too bad.
Faith ~ you’re so lucky!! They are an amazing bird to watch, and time seems to move in slow motion everytime I see one in flight! Beautiful bird!
oh my gosh….that is totally awesome!!!
Awesome pictures!
Great pictures. Thanks for sharing. Never saw anything like that.
I can’t wait for the story that goes with them!
WOW! What a super capture! I’ve never seen a Pileated Woodpecker in the real. That would have been so exciting. I once caught a Black snake robbing eggs out of a birds nest. The birds were flying around dive bombing it. It came out of the nest and caught one of the adult birds. Believe it or not the bird got away after a struggle and the snake gave up and slithered back down the tree. I got a few pics.
Wasn’t there 3 babies peeking out in the first picture. Now there is only 2 in the last one. Oh no!
three at the start and two at the end but they look like differant sizes too. Very cool pictures anyways!
ur right there were only two and much older
That is so cool. Graet photos. I love the last one were the babies are looking out the hole. It almost looks like they are saying / “GO MOM YOU ROCK”
Awesome pictures. I can’t wait for the full story on the magazine.
Loved the pictures and the story. Thanks for sharing.
They are, I believe the most incredible pictures I have seen since I subsribed to Birds and Bloom. JUST FANASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! These pictures alone are worth the price of the subcription to your fine publication. Thank You!!
What terrific photos of the pileateds and their unwanted visitor. Thanks for sharing this fantastic real life eviction.
Fantastic pictures and what a great story – thanks for posting this!
You are really blessed to capture such pictures! They are truly amazing birds! I wish they would pick a tree in my yard for a nest!
GREAT MAKES YOU FEEL GOOD TO SEE NATURE AT WORK I HAVE SAVED EIGHT BIRDS THAT KNOCKED THEMSELVES OUT FLYING INOT WINDOW WAS FORTUANT ENOUGH TO HEAR WHEN THEY HIT RUSHED OUT PICKED UP AND STARTED MOVING THEIR WINGS AND PRESSING BREAST EVERYONE WAS SAVED AS THEY GOT THEIR BREATH BACK AND I CHECKED LEGS WINGS AND NECKS AND BEAKS FOR ANY BREAKS WHEN THEY STRUGGLED TO FLY I LET THEMGO AND AWAY THEY WENT WHAT A THRILL EVERY TIME I THANKED GOD FOR SURVIVALS
Fantastic shots. Very good job. I really enjoyed them.
Great photos, but I remain unsure if (a) the snake was evicted and (b) the chicks are okay. One only hopes a happy ending was achieved for all.
Ohhh I see now–you have to buy another magazine to find out. I will just delete these email’s in the future.
Right there with you, Dave.
To Dave and Ellie: If you do not already subscribe to Birds and Blooms and Extra you do not know what you are missing! It is the only magazine I read from cover to cover….lots of laughs and great photography. Try it! You’ll love it! DEFINITELY WORTH THE $$.
Oh for heavens sakes!!!! Can’t you say something nice? Maybe if you did subscibe it would help your disposition and make you happier
Right, unless you subscribe to Birds & Blooms extra magazine you won’t know what you are missing. Great stories & great pictures as well as info on feeding & attracting birds, butterflies etc. Don’t knock it till you try it!!
I LIVE IN HOT SPRINGS VILLAGE AND WE HAVE PILEATED AND WE LOVE THEM ALSO BLUE BRIDS NOTE ALSO BLACK SNAKES THAT ROBBED MY BLUE BIRD HOUSE MADE SICK.
“WOW” I cannot beleive it. These Pictures are very amazing.
Thank you for sharing these imagies & story with all of us!
Keep shooting you have got talent.
Sincerly, Susan Phibbs Gresham Oregon
Awesome pictures …but I gotta say the parents did an awesome job protecting the young !! Love it !
I cannot believe that only Sheila and I noticed that only two babies were peeking out of the last picture. They are darling, and the pictures are great, but where is their sibling? I can hardly wait until the magazine comes out, so I can find out if he/she made it.
We really enjoyed this story. I am going to make a quilt (landscape type) .
nature is so intresting. I live in the country and have witnessed some interesting events. Oh, by the way i don’t think the snake ate the baby bird. there was no evidence of a bulge that would have indicated it was swallowed. I t may have been bitten, but i don’t think the snake had time to do much as mom & dad have very sharp bills!
The last pic looks like the adults to me. Compare their size to the pic of the tree young ones. WAY too big to be babies.
No, no. Compare the width of the tree, and you’ll see that the “after” shot is simply zoomed or cropped in closer.
BTW, the third baby hopefully just got crowded out of view (or, I should say, “crowded INside”) at that moment, because its siblings were so far out they filled the hole.
A fascinating event to have seen, and so lucky to have captured it all in photos!
The entire story was in the magazine and the author says a few days later she went back and three babies were alive and kickin’
I live in the mid florida rural area and enjoy wildlife activity. To answer the question about whether the snake ate the third baby, I did not see any bulge that should have been evident. It may have been bitten or frightened to show up after that encounter. Any way it was some awesome photos and hope the lady has them back to watch again. Thanks for sharing this encounter.
Nature is amazing! I love to watch birds and have seen snakes attack nests. We had a 4 foot snake curled inside a bluebird box but it was before they started nesting. Keep enjoying nature.
Awesome shots! We just witnessed a similiar situation in Shenandoah River State Park. We watched for hours as a 8 to 10 foot Eastern Rat Snake slithered out of a hole in one tree losing a chunk of tailskin, (which i managed to grab a piece of), up, over and down another tree, across the ground and back up another tree and into another knot hole. I just never considered the fact that I would have to look up to see snakes, especially that big!
Eve, snakes are great climbers. I used to work in the wildlife industry and found many snakes in trees, siding & attics. Some of the largest snake skins I found were in peoples homes. They follow mice and squirrels and are later great attractors for raccoons. The scent is the draw. Keep your chin up!
I really enjoyed those pictures, can’t wait to see the entire story. I’ve been taking pictures of Hummingbirds at my feeders for years, and now I have a pair of woodpeckers visiting the feeders. It’s been so hot here in VA this summer. They are red headed and chested, with white around that, and black wings with white spots. I’d love to hear from someone with more information. I can’t get close for pictures.
I really liked the pictures of the mama and the ssnake -she did a job getting rid of the intruder and hopefully two birds made it= I hope the third bird made it as well. I have a woodpecker that frequents my place heere in Mississippi. I was amazed at the climbing job of the snake- Mama deserves a medal but her babies will go on to rid the trees of vermin in the future, and that is what is her reward. Love the shots and wish that I could get close enough to get pictures. I have just had a mockingbird who chose a place for her nest i;n my lemon tree. Good choice= the lemon is full of stickers which will deter any cats who think they; can rob a nest of birds. Good show! Keep em coming.
George- Diamondhead, MS/
I loved it – can’t wait for the September issue! We had a 4 1/2 foot corn snake climb our avacado tree for some sun. It was beautiful and not trying to hurt anything. We love birds and have lots – even pileateds – glad the don’t call at night though!!!
Anet Port St. Lucie Florida
These pictures were fantastic. I can’t imagine, but so happy that the perservered and won the battle to save their young. Thanks so much for sharing.
“AWESOME” wow amazing THANKS JM Smith
Have seen pileated woodpeckers at Mew Lake, Algonquin Provincial Park in Ontario CANADA on our August camping tips – hot summer days. One time pair in tree by campsite road and another one on th sandy empty campsite across road poking his large sharp beak down ant holes. The pictures of adult woodpecker depending its young from snake were amazing. Lucky to have camera handy. Penny
The same thing happened to our Bluebird box last year. I don’t like to kill , BUT the snake is no longer with us. The snake was comming down the tree trunk. By the time I got my gun it was in the birdhouse had swallowed the babies. I sprayed the birdhouse with a small amount of wasp spray to get the snake out. BOOM !!! Snake is gone. Sorry snake lovers. We now have the third set of Bluebirds this year in the same house. We have four Bluebird houses they always use the same one every year. What a JOY……..
Sue……….
SORRY BUT NATURE IS NATURE AND YOU SHOULD OF LET THE SNAKE BE SINCE IT HAD ALREADY DONE THE DAMAGE. MAYBE YOU SHOULD DO MORE PROTECTING OF THE HOUSES BY PUTTING METAL ON THE POSTS TO KEEP THESE SNAKES OUT. I DO EVERYTHING I CAN TO PROTECT ALL NATURE NO MATTER HOW THEY MAKE THEIR LIVING. LIFE FOR ALL CRITTERS IS VERY HARD BECAUSE OF ALL US HUMANS AND WHAT OTHER THINGS WE THROW AT THEM. THINK BEFORE YOU KILL
I agree, the snakes also eat the mice. the metal on the bird house posts is a great idea.
Those are beautiful pictures………….We have two pairs here in J/Louisiana. Lots of different kinds of critters right in the back yard. Would love to get close enough to get pictures like that. Can hardly wait to get my first copy of Birds and Blooms. I agree that there was no bulge on the snake………..hopefully the little fellow was just to frightened to come out right away. I have chickens and have to fight off chicken snakes often.
I am so glad to see the baby Wood Peckers are okay. What a great Mother.
The woodpecker pictures reminds me of an escape from my blue bird nest. The babies had just left the nest, I was camcording it, and a very long black snake slithered up the pole into the nest, finding it empty, he decided to come back out. His tail and half of the body were still outside, now the other half was coming out. I thought it was stuck; however, it did manage to squeeze out. It was just something I probably will not see again, except, on my film. Doris Wingler
Awesome shots! Can’t wait to get the magazine and read the story that goes with it. Isn’t nature totally amazing? We probably miss a whole lot more than we manage to see and get lucky enough to capture on film!!! Thanks so much for sharing with everyone.
I cut out your Bird House pictures and even make a lot of them, but i don`t see too many Bird feeders in your Magazine ????????????????
Hi Gene, we try to share as many bird feeders as we can. You can always find more DIY bird feeders on our website here: http://www.birdsandblooms.com/Backyard-Projects/Bird-Feeders
Awesome shots! I think that was a wonderful pictures take of the woodpecker. I hope all little woodpecker are all fine.
Great photos! Thanks for sharing.
Another reason I despise snakes. Hope the chicks were OK. How traumatic!
Fantastic photos! I wish my House Wrens would have fared as well. I very big snake was half way into their bird house. I grabbed hold of the snake but it must have been all muscle – I could not pull him out. The parent wrens were frantically flying around all the while then all went quiet inside.
The snake does not appear to have eaten anything, no bulge, so hopefully the babies survived.
Great shots! You just have to be in the right place at the right time and you were. I had similar experience with snakes and my bluebirds. Their babies weren’t so lucky.
The parents will sure try to protect their young. I didn’t know how far they would go, but it appears to be whatever it takes for the babies to be safe.
I dislike snakes so was pleased to see those woodpeckers taking care of that snake. As I looked at the pictures a pencil fell off of my desk and onto my lap… thinking it was the sanke, I jumped out of the chair, almost dumping the laptop onto the floor ! Lapyop is safe and so am I. thank you so much for those pictures.
nancy
Great photos! Am I the only one who has noticed that the pics are out of order though?
Maryjoan, the photos are actually in the correct order, although it may not seem like it. The snake ended up going back into the hole a second time, which is why the pictures look out of order. Glad you enjoy them!
Are there ways to keep snakes from climbing trees? Will snakes climb regular farm fence post? How about the metal posts used to support Purple martin houses? Sorry, no answers only questions. Dorothy Tunas, MO.
Our little country church was built in 1874, it had some wood pecker holes in the walls near the eve tops. One Sunday evening as my family, and friends who attend our church arrived, we saw our pastor standing beside the church with a pistol in his hand. He started laughing as all of us got our of our vehicles. He told us he was walking around the church and for some reason looked upward, and saw a chicken snake easing down the wall from a hole . He got his pistol from his car and as the snake attempted to turn to try go back into the hole, he got the opportunity to kill it. As we were looking at the hole another snake poked its head out of the same hole. The activity from us watching spooked the snake and it went back into the hole. We got an exterminator to take care of the situation the next day. Our little church has been kept as near original as possible, sitting on a hill with a huge hickory nut in front of it. The snakes were the topic of the conversations for a long time.
I meant to put hickory nut tree in front of it.
I have a couple of varieties of woddpeckers in two of my maples. I hope that I don’t get that awful visitor to scare me and the birds away.
You go Mama!
Soooo, did the snake get one of the woodpeckers, or not? First picture has 3 babies, last picture only has only two.
No Patricia, all three babies were ok. Although the writer wasn’t able to capture a photo of all three, she did in fact see all three after the encounter.
I receive both magazines and I enjoy them thoroughly.
I especially enjoy the hummingbird articles.
I too thought the photos were out of order…thanks
for clearing that up
This just goes to show “a birds going to do, what a birds got to do ” to protect its young.
Amazing, Danielle! I wish I could watch these woodpeckers nesting! Really cool.
We have a pair of these woodpeckers that hang around our house. We came home one Sunday afternoon from being out of town & one was on our wood rail on the front porch. I told my husband how cool was that, but the next morning sure enough he made holes in the rail from digging out bugs. Now we have to replace our rail. Also they are very noisy & loud. But are definetely neat to see. Our yellow lab was really excited to sit & watch a pair chase each other around our front yard one morning.
what a wonderful story of self defence, hope all the little ones survived!! I put the suet out so once in a while see the large larger woodpeckers, but mostly the downy. We have many varieties of birds and especially love the hommingbirds, loved the article, and the magazine. Thanks again.
Love the amazing pictures, and what an event to see! Our family LOVES your magazine. It’s one of the few magazines that gets read over and over again. Thanks for producing wonderful material in every issue. I haven’t seen a pileated woodpecker in a long time, even though I live in a very rural, wooded area. Are they becoming more scarce or what?
Great photography! Thrilling to see how a mother will go to great lengths to protect her young. Nothing is more captivating to watch.
Great photo! Most outstanding to see such an event. I enjoyed seeing how much a mother endure to save her young. Keep up the good work
I am so glad the babies are safe! Great pictures! I HATE SNAKES!! A snake slithered up the post on our deck and tried to get our baby robins. We ran the snake off but it waited until later and came back at bedtime. All the babies were out of the nest so I’m sure it got some of them but we got the snake!!!!
Luanne,
Those pictures you take are so very perfectly shown!