I was walking along a trail in my hometown of Birmingham, Ala., a few weeks ago when I came upon one of the more remarkable things I've seen in the woods. I say "woods" because the place I was hiking, Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve (buckeye trail), is no backcountry but rather a modest natural oasis in the middle of a city, a wooded foothill honeycombed and dotted with the remnants of 100-year-old mine shafts from the city's industrial past. It's not exactly a wildlife preserve, so I was quite surprised to see a red-tailed hawk on the trail about 30 yards ahead of me as I was coming down the side of the mountain near the area's wetlands. The hawk retreated to a low-hanging branch as I approached it but the large bird didn't have enough time to carry away the snake it was munching on when I disrupted its breakfast. The snake's head was ripped away and no where to be found (in the belly of the hawk, I'm assuming). I snapped a picture of the murder scene with my camera phone. Poor snake never knew what hit him, I'm sure. Just a shadow of death and then curtains. The tail-end of the snake was still inside a hollowed-out tree, so the hawk must have been waiting on him. I left the bird to its meal and when I came back 45 mins later all evidence of the snake was gone. I was wondering, can anyone identify the species of snake? I realize it might be difficult without the head but the pattern is distinct and it's a pretty big snake.snake.jpg