I was sitting in the backyard getting a little sun, enjoying a cold drink and watching the hummingbird dogfights when all of a sudden one of the Anna's started going crazy right behind my head. For a minute I didn't think anything of it - it's not unusual for one of them to do a flyby and buzz my hair and sometimes they'll come right up to my face and do a little hummingbird dance. Not sure whether it's because they're grateful that I feed them, or if they're being aggressive and telling me to get away. Probably the latter, but I like to think they're just playing with me.
But this one was being extremely vocal and seemed to be trying to get my attention. When I turned to look I saw the biggest snake sneaking right up behind me. At least 3.5 feet, I think closer to four. At first I thought it might be a garter snake, but after doing a little more research I'm pretty certain that it was a California Kingsnake in the striped phase that is common to the coastal areas of southern California. They're not venomous, so I quickly ran to grab my camera but of course it had already disappeared into the brush on the hillside.
So I took a quick snap of one of my hummingbirds (even though the light was at it's back and I really know better), and I promised to stop complaining that lately the feeder needs to be refilled daily as long as they keep warning me that snakes are sneaking up behind me.
Nothing after the jump.
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