Aquatic Garter Snake with Vole

“Pseudo-constriction” view:

My wife spotted this Garter Snake preying on a Vole a few days ago and told me to come running with a camera. Not wanting to disturb it, I didn’t try to move any vegetation, so the surroundings a pretty busy. Interestingly, this species of snake is just slightly venomous and uses a kind of pseudo constriction to hold its prey while the venom takes effect (see second image which was actually taken before the first).

I watched this for quite a while then figured things were moving slowly so I’d come back in 15 minutes. I did so, but the snake had finished and when it saw me, it moved into the grasses and disappeared very quickly.

Specific Feedback Requested

Anything.

Technical Details

Sony A7Riv, Tamron 28-200 zoom @ 200 mm, hand held, f/14, 1/200, iso 2000, manual exposure. Processed in LR & PS CC. Taken at 4:19 PM on July 10th. Luckily the action was mostly shaded by an apple tree.

Cool captures Dennis! That garter snake looks a bit bigger than what I’ve seen up here. Even still, that vole looks like a very large meal for it. I like that the grasses are in the image as it gives a good environmental view. Well done!

Wow that’s a big meal for a garter snake. That first shot is awesome, Dennis.

Awesome! Well-spotted, Dennis. It always amazes me how snakes can swallow such large prey. I agree with @Steve_Kennedy that this garter snake is much larger than any I know of around here. It’s also an interesting factoid concerning their ability to produce venom. I thought the only snakes native to the U.S that could do that are the vipers. Not only a terrific capture, but I learned a lot!

Great capture, Dennis! Nice crisp image and a great job with the exposure & colors. I can hardly believe that it would be able to swallow that vole!

Hi Dennis !
A great capture, I really like two beaming eyes, one representing life and another death.
you may darken the greens if you like.

PS. It’s not a good idea to leave a wonderful subject.

Nice teamwork! I’ve known for a while that garters are very mildly venomous, but not that they used any form of constriction so that’s a nice bonus for this post. Super low angle and view to this fact of nature so to speak. Voles are the foundation for a lot of the food chain, that’s for sure. Poor little rodents.

Excellent stuff, and you did well to find clear views of the faces (and the “peak action”) through the grass.