05/23/2025
While Leah, Hank, and I walked from the dog park towards the ball fields last Saturday i was excited to see a beautiful Northern Flicker fly down the path and into her nest in the hedge. I looked in and saw these 2 fledgling flickers practicing their flying. While I was watching and trying to take some pics of the flickers I heard Leah say “Awwww… “ and looked up to see a black cat dart into the shrubs near the path. Leah said the cat had been crouching intently until Hank got excited and scared it off. Leah stepped just off the path to try to see the cat again, and noticed a very large brown water snake on the ground near her foot. Seeing the snake sent Leah sprinting down the path with Hank bounding along beside her still trying to figure out where the cat went. When I caught up with Leah and we compared notes we figured we must have inadvertently interrupted a not so happy ending for at least 1 or 2 of the involved parties. I hope the cat, snake, and flickers are all doing well.
