sandraf 的最愛

I came across the pair apparently shortly after the snake had bitten the toad, around 14:30. In the video the adder can be seen giving the toad a second bite.
The snake started swallowing the toad at 14:38, the toad still struggling strongly. The toad stopped moving at around 14:41.
Initially I started filming on my phone as the snake was blocking the path to my camera and I didn't want to disturb it. An hour in (15:30), it was apparent that the snake was untroubled by the various humans and cats watching it, and I swapped to the camera.
By 16:50 the snake had swallowed the toad up to its hips. At 17:16 it partially regurgitated the prey and started swallowing again.
At 17:36 it again regurgitated a large portion of the toad - its front legs and feet were visible.
At 17:56 only the back legs were still protruding.
The toad was completely swallowed at 18:09, 3.5 hours in all.
The video (3mins 30 sec) is edited and speeded up 2x.

Video
https://youtu.be/hejRBqj_PS0

This is the Outramps CREW 100,000 obs and we celebrated it with Tilla who is the Head of the Threatened Plants Programme and the CREW Programme. It represents our involvement with plant monitoring from 1992 to 2021. It has been a joyous ride. So thank you all for so many years of fun, laughs and learning. Keep going!

I went down to my swimming spot with the aim of removing some branches from a tree which had fallen across the river. As I arrived I disturbed a young Fish Eagle who was sitting on this tree. Rustling in the undergrowth on the opposite bank alerted Dog and me that we were not alone and soon an otter popped up its head, sending the dog into a fit (she probably thought it was a swimming honey badger). Another otter also started popping up and down and doing a sort of long moan-growl. To my surprise the closer otter started making a bee-line for us and was probably only 3m away from the dog when I called her back. After a while they settled down so I entered the water to commence my pruning task, keeping a close eye on the nearest otter. Dog was sensibly sticking to the bank. After a few minutes I noticed the otter had moved closer, was staring at me intently and again moan-growling. Being waist-deep in water with nothing for protection but a swimming costume and a folding saw, I decided to calmly retreat and the otter immediately snaked over and claimed the territory I had just vacated. Video here:

https://youtu.be/GHbui1YX31k

A diademless Trichodiadema. T attonsum or fergusoniae. About 5 plants encountered, <5 cm high and very difficult to spot. Third pic was from a follow-up survey during June 2020 in an attempt to catch it in flower. Note the hairy pedicle.