The Case of the Missing Snake--Solved

The snake we saw on Friday disappeared shortly after I finished taking pictures of it. I briefly (and cautiously) looked for it, but saw no sign of it. Today, while looking out T's window, I discovered where it went. I fear our baby Starlings are only a memory now.

Wildlife Update

You just never know what you'll see when you look out the window. This morning it was a pair of male Rose-breasted Grosbeaks...

joined by a male Indigo Bunting.
Later in the morning, Daddy and Little E had come down for a brief visit and while looking out the living room window at the birds, we discovered something else!

Someone (something?) was on our porch--the dogs were on the porch too and hadn't even barked at it. (This shot was through the living room window).

Then I got braver (or stupider) and went outside for a better view.
Fortunately, the camera can zoom, so I didn't get very close.
The Starlings have a nest in this hole at the top of the porch pillar the snake was wrapped around--we think he may have been looking for a Starling Happy Meal. Little E checked the field guide and together we decided it was a Black Rat Snake--harmless to humans, but unnerving to have all 5 or 6 feet of it on the front porch!