Date: 7/2/25 3:07 pm From: Alexander Hamilton <ispidina.picta...> Subject: [AZNMbirds] Birds are Prey
This is kind of random, but it may be of interest in a big-picture
kind of way. I apparently have a resident diamondback that has taken
up feasting on birds.
I am used to various species of hawks, roadrunners, the rare shrike,
and even “preying” mantis keeping the local bird populations in check,
but I was surprised to see a diamondback grab one the other day.
Five days ago, I saw that a Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake, the
first snake of the year for me, had gotten a House Finch. Okay, that’s
sort of interesting. looks like it could be a juvenile so maybe not
super predator aware.
Then two days ago, it got a Blue Grosbeak. Okay, I’m a bit more
surprised, maybe even a bit shocked.
Then this morning it totally upped its game 5-fold, it nailed a
White-winged Dove.
There may not be any birds left around here by the end of next week! I
mean, these are just incidents that I happened to catch.
I’m in Madrean Grassland and there really aren’t any grasses anymore.
This is the driest I have ever seen it, and it’s completely bare
between all of the bushes and trees. With bird numbers dropping, herps
and small mammals seem to be going in the same direction. There used
to be resident Great Horned Owls that are now scarce and / or absent.
In any case, while I know that diamondbacks eat birds, I can’t help
but wonder how much this is a shift in diet versus opportunistic
feeding.
If anyone is interested, here are 3 checklists from the past 5 days
that include photos of the diamondback.
