‘Incredible’ photo shows bird eating a mud snake as it attempts third escape in Texas

A snake found itself between the beak of an American bittern but refused to give up, according to a photographer who captured the “incredible moment.”

Elise Kitchens says she was visiting Brazos Bend State Park when she saw the bird trying to eat the snake, according to a March 6 Facebook post from the Texas state park. She says it was a “huge surprise” to witness such an act, and she was lucky enough to have her camera ready to go.

As she took the photo, she told park officials that the snake tried slithering out of the bittern’s mouth.

“The bittern had him swallowed, but the snake kept coming back up trying to escape, and this shot was the *third* escape attempt,” she said, according to Brazos Bend State Park. “He stayed down after this.”

The park believes the feisty critter that “put up a really good fight to not be eaten” was a mud snake, “but the bittern won this round!”

American bitterns are a wading heron with an “extensive thick and sharp bill,” according to the Houston Audubon. Western mud snakes typically grow 30 to 48 inches long and are nocturnal, making them usually hard to find, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife.

Brazos Bend State Park is about 45 miles southwest of Houston and is described as a “nature lover’s paradise.” The park includes 5,000 acres of tallgrass prairie, woodlands and several wetlands — along with diverse animal and plant life.

This story was originally published March 8, 2022 at 7:00 PM with the headline "‘Incredible’ photo shows bird eating a mud snake as it attempts third escape in Texas."