Mystery solved. My mom called the DNR and sent them the pictures. They are juvenile black rat snakes and are not venomous.
I live on my dad's farm, but my mom and her husband do not live on a farm or even in the country. They are in the 'burbs. I love snakes...but everyone else in my family is terrified of them.
They were told by a neighbor that poisonous snakes had been found in the area, so that's why they have been killing them. But the guy at the DNR informed her that it is illegal to kill snakes in Maryland
The found a much larger snake with a big belly in one of their birdhouses tonight.
