We have a 5 acre place in the country near San Antonio. Our site is mostly covered by natural brush: mesquite, juniper, hackberry, live oak. We have seen very large and active bullsnakes in the rafters of our pole barn and on top of the barn poles, about 8 feet up, where they have cleaned out some sparrow nests. We have even observed one about 10 feet up in a tree far away from the house.
Question: will a snake be able to enter the kestrel nest box built according to the design found elsewhere on this site? I would rather not place nest boxes if the babies' fate is to be a meal for a snake.
Thank you for any opinions!
Jean
Comments:
Hello!
Hello!
It is possible that a snake could climb into a kestrel nest box. However, there are things you can do to mitigate that risk! The kestrel nest box design itself is just fine, but you can look into predator guards.
An effective anti-snake predator guard is to either place the nest box on a metal pole, or wrap a wooden/natural post with sheet metal. The slick metal makes it difficult for snakes to climb.
Thanks for the input, Delora.
Thanks for the input, Delora. I have a large juniper tree in mind for a nest, and I could cut off a few limbs below the nest box and apply a tin wrap as double assurance.
That sounds ideal! Keep us
That sounds ideal! Keep us posted :)