I was walking down the trail and a little flash caught my eye. It was a Bewick’s wren flitting through the tangled vegetation along the ground. As I was standing there watching it maneuver through the branches, I heard a gentle rustle on the other side of the trail. I took a few steps forward and saw a red-spotted garter snake backing out from underneath some leaves. As its head came out from under the leaves, I saw that it was eating a rough-skinned newt. The snake would move backward and then with a slight push forward it would swallow a little more of the newt. After it swallowed the newt, it stretched out in the dappled sunlight and rested. I watched for about 5 minutes and decided to move on to let it digest its meal in peace. I was grateful to have witnessed the event and to get a few photos.
