Amazing pictures indeed! Sad to be sure but what are you gonna do? I wonder how the snake caught the Hummer. I'd think that a Hummer would be one of the most challenging prey for a snake..... always flitting about and all.
I awoke to a swarm of Blue Jays this am who were scolding a Hawk who was hiding out in the trees awaiting the usual activity to begin down below at the feeders. Jays are commonly the first birds to alert on threats and other birds benefit from their vigilance.
Thanks for the ping.
The best we can figure is that the snake was in the tree waiting for the pre-dawn feeders.
With hummers darting toward the feeder, then backwards away from it, he probably got her when she was traveling backwards toward the overhanging tree limb.
Those types of snakes are practically invisible against the bark... the UP side is that snakes typically MISS more often than not.
Another interesting aspect was that after the snake was on the ground, it struck at my husband a couple of times while several hummers dove at it.
The University of Texas has good info on the snake. Hubby sent them the pictures to see if they'd like to use them on their website.