Category Archives: Behaviour

Rat Portraits

Two simple sequences of a young rat taken at lunchtime today. The light was poor and the dark corners of the pond make things even more difficult. The camera was set at ISO 1600 and the shutter speed ranges between 1/125 and 1/250 across the shots.

The first sequence is a rat peeking out of a drainpipe. The foliage overhanging the pond gave me the narrowest of angles to get the shots.

rat in a drainpipe

rat in a drainpipe

rat in a drainpipe

A short while later (and after a conversation with a local who asked if I was watching the water voles… I had to disappoint and say what they really were to which they responded ‘They’re still cute’), I spotted another rat (or possibly the same one) perched on a tree root. The heavy rain of the past few days has raised the water level so the previous runs are now inaccessible and to cut across the corners of the pond the rats have to travel up, not down.

Rat on a tree root

Rat on a tree root

Rat on a tree root

Rat on a tree root

Camera note: all shots taken with the Canon 7D and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens.

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Another Look at the Pond

The start of the week means an early morning pre-work visit to Falmer Pond. It’s just at the time of year when it can be quite gloomy there unless we are really lucky with the cloud cover. Today was grey, although the sun teased occasionally with fleeting displays through narrow breaks in the clouds.

The herring gulls were dominating when I arrived, gliding around the still water, but their (relatively) peaceful start to the day was disturbed by a heron flying in.

gulls

A couple of circuits on the wing and the heron finally found a suitable perch.

heron in tree

The middle of the day was brighter, and several people were out ‘feeding the ducks’. I put that in quotes because whatever their intention, inevitably other birds muscle their way in. The herring gulls are the main bullies, but the local jackdaws are quite self-assured in taking their share.

Jackdaw and duck

And when everyone has gone, these little fellows come out to scavenge what they can.

Rat

Rat

Camera note: all shots taken with the Canon 7D and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens.

Also posted in Birds, rats, water birds, Wildlife Tagged , , , , |

Digging for Grubs (fox video)

This is a rare event. I mentioned yesterday that I might edit some video and I’ve actually done what I said I’d do!

Pretty was enjoying being left alone in the garden, and when she thought we weren’t watching got down to the serious business of hunting grubs. Grubs are a regular food source for foxes (chafer grubs are a favourite), but getting them means digging them out from under the grass. This does remove a nasty garden pest from the lawn, but probably isn’t ideal if you like your garden to be bowling-green smooth. 😉

fox digging for grubs

fox

Camera note: stills and video taken with the Canon 7D and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens.

Also posted in Foxes, Wildlife Tagged , , |