On 8/23 I saw a rattlesnake under my sunflower feeder (common occurrence ), so I went to get a trashcan and snake stick to catch it, but it had moved by the time I got back to it. I catch 0-7 each year and move them away from the house..
On 8/24, there was a dead Steller's Jay under that feeder. I poked at it, and saw no sign of what killed it. Later I looked for it, but it was gone, so we figured the dogs moved it. Maybe 1 hour later, my wife and sister-in-law spot the rattler heading into some tall grass, so I go catch it. AND, the dead jay is back within 3 feet of where I originally saw it, and the head and shoulders are all black and slick and icky.
Those of you that have been here have probably seen my pictures of a rattler eating a red crossbill, and several years ago, as I captured a rattler with a red crossbill (another one)
in his mouth, he regurgitated it so that he could defend himself. That dead bird was amazingly partially digested already, even though it only got 1/2 way down the snake gullet.
SO I think, with some poor visual evidence, that the rattler struck and killed the Steller's Jay this morning, then tried to swallow it back under a rock but couldn't fit it, so regurgitated it on his way back out to hunt. The rattler would not confirm or deny my theory. The dead jay was nowhere near a window, so I don't think it was a window strike.
Davis - at 6,000 ft. 4 miles NW of Lyons (Larimer County)