Could this tuft of feathers be the remnants of a snake bite?


  #1  
Old 04-02-19, 06:40 AM
M
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Arlington, VA
Posts: 1,040
Received 4 Upvotes on 4 Posts
Could this tuft of feathers be the remnants of a snake bite?

This area is where I have to go to replace the security camera battery every week or so.
I've always worried that a snake might be in those hedges so I try to avoid going there at night.
The other day I noticed this grouping of feathers, we have birds around the house but typically feathers aren't grouped like this.
Could this be a snake bite and the tuft of feathers is what's left of the bird?

Name:  sb1.jpg
Views: 215
Size:  201.1 KB

Name:  sb2.jpg
Views: 211
Size:  184.2 KB
 

Last edited by PJmax; 04-02-19 at 08:37 PM. Reason: resized pictures
  #2  
Old 04-02-19, 06:59 AM
Shadeladie's Avatar
Super Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: PA - USA
Posts: 4,905
Received 391 Upvotes on 319 Posts
Something got the bird but not necessarily a snake. Do snakes eat birds? Probably a hawk (or other large bird) or even a cat, most likely.
 
  #3  
Old 04-02-19, 07:00 AM
P
Group Moderator
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: NC, USA
Posts: 27,653
Received 2,152 Upvotes on 1,927 Posts
What is a snake bike?

Snakes don't pull the feathers off birds. They swallow them whole. I'm betting it was a cat that took it's snack into the bushes to eat in private.
 
  #4  
Old 04-02-19, 07:04 AM
M
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Arlington, VA
Posts: 1,040
Received 4 Upvotes on 4 Posts
Hawks and cats I'm not afraid of, it's moccasins and copperheads that I'm afraid of
 
  #5  
Old 04-02-19, 09:14 AM
P
Group Moderator
Join Date: Mar 2003
Location: NC, USA
Posts: 27,653
Received 2,152 Upvotes on 1,927 Posts
Rightly so. I've been hit a couple times but the first time it only scratched the skin and other times I had on snake boots so no harm done. In all cases I did not see the snake until after it hit me.

Everyone that I've know that has gotten bit (copperhead, cottonmouth) goes to the hospital. They observe them for several hours and send them home. Then... within 24 hours every single person ended up back at the hospital and admitted for at least several days while they try to save their hand, arm or foot. A couple needed reconstructive surgery and skin grafts. Not something to mess with.

I would be careful where your photo was taken. That is a perfect place for a snake to hang out and not be seen.
 
  #6  
Old 04-02-19, 09:20 AM
M
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Arlington, VA
Posts: 1,040
Received 4 Upvotes on 4 Posts
In the spirit of trying to own less items I'm having a hard time investing in a pair of snake boots where the sole purpose would be going to the corner of the house to change the camera battery.
Is there some sort of repellant I could put around the area or a spray I could use when I go out there?
 
  #7  
Old 04-02-19, 10:18 AM
XSleeper's Avatar
Group Moderator
Join Date: Dec 2004
Posts: 27,061
Received 1,910 Upvotes on 1,716 Posts
You probably have more chance of being hit by someone texting and driving in a car than being bit by a snake so i think your fears are unfounded unless you have actually seen and identified a poisonous snake in your yard. I think it would make more sense to control your landscaping by trimming it and invest in some stepping stones or something in order to make a clear path for yourself. You just need to be able to see where you are stepping.
 
EliasMcDaniel voted this post useful.
  #8  
Old 04-02-19, 10:22 AM
Shadeladie's Avatar
Super Moderator
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: PA - USA
Posts: 4,905
Received 391 Upvotes on 319 Posts
Another thought. Why not get a wired or wireless camera so you don't have to keep replacing batteries?
 
  #9  
Old 04-02-19, 11:12 AM
S
Member
Join Date: May 2015
Location: United States
Posts: 447
Received 32 Upvotes on 23 Posts
Probably a cat.

And for what it's worth, Virginia has three venomous snakes, the Copperhead, the Timber Rattlesnake, and the Eastern Cottonmouth. Of the three, the Copperhead is the only one that's been verified in Arlington. Cottonmouth is in the Tidewater region, and the Timber Rattler runs out west. Loudoun/Prince William are the closest it's been spotted to Arlington.
 
  #10  
Old 04-02-19, 01:38 PM
P
Forum Topic Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2010
Posts: 1,920
Received 110 Upvotes on 103 Posts
Looks more like an animal attack on the bird rather than a snake. You could take a walking stick, broom, pole and poke around in there the next time you need to get in there as that will get anything up and moving and visible. Don't do it in the dark.

We have timber rattlers in this part of PA and we see them on a somewhat regular basis. Rarely see it again though as they are shy. I don't hurt them. Bears are common now, too. Animals with rabies potential live close by. What worries me the most though is the tiniest of them all, the deer tick and lyme disease.
 
  #11  
Old 04-04-19, 05:09 AM
M
Member
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: United States
Posts: 134
Received 2 Upvotes on 2 Posts
Had the same thing in my yard, it ended up being some kind of a weasel. I saw it a few days later carrying something in it's mouth and jumping into a hole. My yard turned into a graveyard of carcasses.
 
  #12  
Old 04-04-19, 07:46 AM
F
Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: USA
Posts: 514
Upvotes: 0
Received 49 Upvotes on 37 Posts
Far more likely it was a cat. We think they're domesticated but the cats failed to get the memo. They still think they're apex predators.
 
 

Thread Tools
Search this Thread
 
Ask a Question
Question Title:
Description:
Your question will be posted in: