Date: 7/2/25 7:15 pm From: Elizabeth Farquhar <liz.farquhar51...> Subject: Re: [AZNMbirds] Birds are Prey
Really interesting. Will have to keep an eye out for this behavior …
Elizabeth Farquhar
Writer, Editor
On Wed, Jul 2, 2025 at 4:51 PM Mike Judd <ebwilderae...> wrote:
> Nice reports 🙏
> Sent from my iPhone
>
> On Jul 2, 2025, at 3:59 PM, Marcia Lincoln <boahiss...> wrote:
>
>
> I think birds play a regular part in the diet of Western Diamondbacks. In
> my yard in Tucson, I have seen one eat a White-winged Dove, a Cactus Wren,
> and one time one managed to squeeze into a pen that housed a bunch of
> turkey poults and one was eaten. The snake was still in there and I
> released it in another part of the yard. Little or no grasses would mean
> fewer rodents, so they may be eating birds more regularly. It's been a
> tough year for wildlife. We are finally getting rain here right now in NW
> Tucson too, yay!
>
> Marcia
>
> On Wed, Jul 2, 2025 at 3:07 PM Alexander Hamilton <
> <ispidina.picta...> wrote:
>
>> 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.
>>
>> 27 Jun 2025: Diamondback with HOFI
>> https://url.usb.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/dQ6OCVJz4qfPmMzYohGfxiE9ikz?<domain...> >> <https://url.usb.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/dQ6OCVJz4qfPmMzYohGfxiE9ikz?<domain...> >>
>> 30 Jun 2025: Diamondback with BLGR
>> https://url.usb.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/vDu_CWWA5rTyZ0NVmfxhqioaSxL?<domain...> >> <https://url.usb.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/vDu_CWWA5rTyZ0NVmfxhqioaSxL?<domain...> >>
>> 2 Jul 2025: Diamondback with WWDO
>> https://url.usb.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/0XDtCXYBgvfMjmkWoUDiziWqWYk?<domain...> >> <https://url.usb.m.mimecastprotect.com/s/0XDtCXYBgvfMjmkWoUDiziWqWYk?<domain...> >>
>> It’s raining now – finally – so that’s good.
>>
>> Cheers,
>>
>> Ron Batie
>> Rio Rico, Arizona
>>
>
