At last the last few days we have seen the sun with temperatures up to 28c which is very hot for England at the beginning of May. Yesterday I had noticed a very large toad in our main pond. The sides are steep and I was afraid that it could not get out so I moved it to our more natural pond which has sloping sides so that animals can get in and out easily. 
As I mentioned last week, this pond is currently full of tadpoles and it seemed an ideal home for the toad.
This morning we were showing some friend around the garden and they were fascinated with the number of tadpoles. I mentioned that as it was so warm the grass snakes might come out to feed on the tadpoles. As I said that I noticed the familiar tail of a grass snake.
But to my surprise the large toad was being swallowed whole even though the size of the toad was about three times the circumference of the snake. After a few minutes the snake took fright and slid into the pond with the toad still in its mouth.
Not a good photo as things were moving quickly however you can see the snake’s mouth and the toad by the reeds on the right with the snake’s body curving to the left in the water.
Again the snake was frightened and took off into the undergrowth without the toad. Amazingly the toad was OK apart from a few scratches and a large amount of shock. He has been moved to another pond and seems to be recuperating OK.
The snake was about 80cm long and this was the first snake sighting this year. On another nature note the swallows have arrived back some five weeks later than they did last year!
Glebe House Garden 
Yes, very lucky! It is amazing that snakes can eat creatures that are so much bigger. Your neighbor must have been very impressed with the “wild kingdom” in your garden.
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Hi Marian. Yes there is a lot of wild life when you look for it.
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Yikes! It’s all going on in your garden!
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Well it does seem to happen. At least they are only grass snakes. I guess you must have adders
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Apparently so. I went off to look for orchids in the dunes and left the OH chatting to a local in the churchyard. When I got back he informed me that adders also frequent the dunes.
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I didn’t realise a snake of that size would take such a large prey. The in a ‘new’ quite large snake in our compost heap. My husband thinks it is a Montpellier, I don’t think we have seen one of those before.
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Take care!
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That’s an amazing photo of the snake with the toad in its mouth. We have had snakes in our compost too, but I’m quite fearful of them because they’re very poisonous.
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Hi James, even though these are not poisonous they are always a shock when you met one. I guess its in our DNA
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Ain’t nature grand!
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It sure is!
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That was one lucky toad. I have Texas Rat Snakes that eat small animals and bird eggs. I have seen a few of those snakes with big lumps moving through their bodies.
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Yes it was. I have seen grass snakes many times around the garden but this was the first time one was having lunch!
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Unlucky snake! He or she must be hungry now.
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