Guardians of the Bird World

Yesterday I heard several Blue Jays making quite a ruckus outside. I looked out thinking I'd see a hawk or an owl in the tree. Instead they were looking down to the ground. A mockingbird was flying from the tree to the ground, pecking at something and then going back into the tree. I put my boots on and walked out with the boys. What we found was a 4 ft. Texas rat snake on the ground. The birds were simply going nuts! We watched the snake for a little while as it climbed a cedar elm and draped itself over one of the branches. The Blue Jays left, but the mockingbird stayed and was giving the snake a hard time. Birds for miles around could have heard the Blue Jays when they started in on the snake!