The Circle of Life

We had been hearing all week about Blacktail Pond. On this, our final day of nest searching, Jen insisted that we stay together. Blacktail Pond, located in the heart of Grand Teton National Park, is the site with the least human impact. There was a high degree of danger and Jen would sweep the area first looking for signs of large animals. Field partners would not be enough; we would search together and occasionally sub-divide into groups of four.

We descended down a bluff and into a meadow that was closed to visitors due to restoration; however, as field researchers, we were permitted to search the area and check on Jen's nine nests. Throughout our search, we saw signs of moose, bear, and bison.

My field partner Chris and I, along with Ann and Alan, were near the river, following the chipping of a yellow warbler. I looked to the right to a large thicket of willow, and saw the nest three feet off the ground. I walked over to the nest, and saw a nestling that I believed to be fledging. It appeared to be on a branch by the nest. Alan called Jen over to look, and told her I could see a baby warbler about to fledge. We stepped away, thinking I had scared the nestling.

Jen came over, intending to return the nestling to the nest if necessary. When we looked at the nest a moment later, we could see a garter snake with the nestling in its mouth. The snake was behind the nest, and looked exactly like a branch.

"Deb -- the snake has the nestling," Jen said. My heart sank. I realized why the nestling was out of the nest. What I thought was a "branch" was actually the snake. My field partners joined us and saw the snake with the bulge in its stomach. That was the nestling. Had I known that the "branch" was the snake, I feel like I could have saved it.