Having spent 6 years in college in Gainesville, Florida, about 25 miles south of Ichetucknee Springs, I am very familiar with the location and not totally surprised at the encounter though I didn't have a chance to witness anything quite like this during my many hours swimming, tubing and canoeing the Ichetucknee Spring run. It is a Pileated Woodpecker but I think the video of the snake is badly colored. The snake is most likely a Yellow Rat Snake. The one closeup gives a better color rendition than the rest of the video. Rat snakes in Florida are notorious egg eaters. I sadly watched a Gray Rat snake eat some Ruby-throated Hummingbird eggs from a nest right over our back porch. Life goes on. Natural selection and luck.


David Gluckman
811 22nd St.
Pt. Townsend, WA 98368
360 379-0360