Odd weather we’re having. It’s much cooler than it is supposed to be at this time of year, but the sun was out this morning and I arrived at falmer Pond just in time to see the local heron landing gracefully on the island tree.

I was keeping my eyes open for rats scurrying around the fringes of the pond, and I thought I’d spotted one on the far side but it turned out to be a squirrel which had ventured down to the edge of the water for an early morning drink.

The rats did, however, show up at lunchtime. Not in their usual waterside runs, but foraging in the wooded area behind the pond. I watched for several minutes as it dug for roots and seeds in the soft earth, but it was eventually scared away by an elderly dog-walker.

Camera note: all photos taken with the Canon 7D and EF 400mm f/5.6L USM lens.