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1\/1000, f\/7.1, ISO 320,\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em><\/strong> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n By the time I was able to train my lens on this Red-tailed Hawk its snake prey was already headless and partially consumed – all that was left was the rear half (roughly) of the body of the snake. At this point the hawk attempted to swallow the rest of the snake in one giant slithering gulp but the snake wasn’t cooperating because it was still moving. Sometimes vigorously. Snakes are\u00a0well-known for reflexive muscle movements long after they’re technically dead or have been decapitated.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/1000, f\/7.1, ISO 320,\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em><\/strong> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Here we see the snake reflexively coiling its tail as the bird tries to swallow the last little bit.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/1000, f\/7.1, ISO 320,\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em><\/strong> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n This was as far down as the hawk could get the snake.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/1000, f\/7.1, ISO 320,\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em><\/strong> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n So the bird gave up, stepped on the end of the tail with its right foot…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/1000, f\/7.1, ISO 320,\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em><\/strong> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + 1.4 tc, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n and pulled that portion of the snake back out of its throat.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/3200, f\/7.1, ISO 400, C<\/em><\/strong>anon 7D Mark II,<\/em><\/strong> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n At this point the hawk took a short rest to contemplate the situation (I had removed my teleconverter in anticipation of takeoff).\u00a0The remains of the snake are\u00a0on top of the pole where we can’t see them. I suspect\u00a0the intention of the bird\u00a0was to consume that part of the snake in bits and pieces but the snake apparently had other ideas.<\/p>\n I don’t know precisely\u00a0what happened next\u00a0because I couldn’t see the snake. But something unexpected certainly did happen\u00a0because the hawk (from\u00a0this resting position with no body posture indicating imminent takeoff) suddenly…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/3200, f\/7.1, ISO 400,\u00a0Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em><\/strong> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n leaped straight up into the air with the snake seeming to follow.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/3200, f\/7.1, ISO 400,\u00a0Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em><\/strong> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Here the remains of the snake are beginning to fall back to the top of the pole and the hawk is…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/3200, f\/7.1, ISO 400,\u00a0Canon 7D Mark II,<\/em><\/strong> Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n making its getaway. The bird never came back to the “reincarnated” snake while I was there. I can imagine why…<\/p>\n The antics of birds often make me smile\u00a0but few of them (other than juvenile owls) can make me laugh out loud while I’m watching them through my lens. The reaction of this hawk to the “dead” snake was an exception. I got a huge kick out of\u00a0it!<\/p>\n And I’ll bet the bird never came back for the rest of the snake.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n Addendum:\u00a0 In response to some of the comments below, some may be interested in this National Geographic video <\/a>of a decapitated Copperhead biting itself. <\/em><\/p>\n I don’t know why some are having problems with the link but you can copy and paste the URL below if you’re interested.<\/em><\/p>\n http:\/\/voices.nationalgeographic.com\/2013\/08\/16\/how-did-a-decapitated-snake-bite-itself\/<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sometimes a snake isn’t as dead as it seems to be (and that can scare the dickens out of a predator).<\/p>\n![\"red-tailed](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/red-tailed-hawk-4281-ron-dudley.jpg\")
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