Category Archives: rats

Three Birds, Three Mammals

January 14, 2014 by Words | Comments Off

There were certainly more than three species of birds out there today, but three is the number I’m going to post. There are also three mammal species tonight (two of which are fairly obvious).

I’ll start with the early morning pair… our local Muscovys, enjoying a natter on the stone wall outside St Laurence Church at Falmer.

Muscovy ducks

Next come the lunchtime birds… the Muscovys were still around, but it was a lone black-headed gull, standing quietly on a floating branch, that caught my lens.

Black headed gull perched on floating branch

The first of the mammals was also lurking around the pond. Yes it’s another of the Falmer rats, huddled up in the tangle at the water’s edge.

rat

I’d also been out to the local fields, along Ridge Road. I was in search of buzzards but found a small group of roe deer.

Roe deer

Roe deer

The buzzard did finally show up… but not out by the fields. I spotted this beauty over the car park on my way back to the office.

Common Buzzard

Common Buzzard

So that’s three birds and two mammals.It’s not hard to guess who makes up the final mammal. It’s Pretty and it’s a fox 😉 Her hind leg seems to be improving. She’s been carrying it high for the past week (approximately) but today she seemed to be putting her full weight on it as she moved around the garden… pausing occasionally for a long stretch and yawn.

Fox yawning

Camera note: all photos taken with the Canon 7D and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens, apart from the fox photo which was taken with the EF 24-105 F4L IS USM lens.

Also posted in Bird of Prey, Birds, deer, Foxes, water birds Tagged , , , , , |

Early Morning Rat Run

January 8, 2014 by Words | 2 Comments

No this isn’t a post about rush hour commuter habits, but the title is certainly true. It was early morning… sunrise to be exact and one of the local rats takes a complicated route around the edge of the pond.

Sunrise at Falmer

And it was a rat run (with a touch of swimming thrown in). The rat first appeared at the opening to one of the burrowed holes in the bank of the pond.

Rats

With nowhere else to go, the first stage of the journey was by water.

Rats

The destination, a nearby rock that is still just about breaking the surface.

Rats

From there it was up and over the tree roots and down to a small area of what passes for solid ground. Time for a brief rest.

Rats

And then back to the hard business of swimming into the thicker cover where there are more underground runs where it could relax safely away from human eyes and camera lenses.

Rats

This being something of a reflection on yesterday’s post, I’m pleased to say that I have proof of the flying prowess of the Muscovy ducks. Both made a short flight across the pond. This is the female turning in for splashdown.

Muscovy duck (female) in flight

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

Also posted in water birds Tagged , |

Muscovy Ducks

January 7, 2014 by Words | 4 Comments

Falmer pond remains in danger of overflowing, and the surrounding grass banks are sodden. In other words, it’s almost perfect conditions for ducks and none more so than this jaunty pair of Muscovy ducks.

Muscovy ducks

They first appeared at the pond in 2013 but have become firm fixtures, either waddling on the banks (as here), or paddling their way across the water. They can fly (which seems an almost impossible task when you see them), but I suspect their range may be limited. As ducks go they are very human-friendly which makes me think that hey were originally farm birds. They expect to be fed and rush (as best they can) to any passing walker. I’m not a good bet though, as I never feed the wildlife at the pond.

This is the female…

Female Muscovy duck

And the male…

Male Muscovy duck

Male Muscovy duck

Further round the pond, I spotted another regular sitting precariously above the water.

Rat

The rat eventually made the decision to take the short swim across to a slightly more densely covered area where it scurried into the bank and out of the wet.

Rat swimming

Pretty is still waving the flag for the local foxes. Here she is in the garden in the earlier hours of Tuesday morning.

fox

Camera note: all photos taken with the Canon 7D and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens, apart from the one of Pretty the fox which was taken with the EF 24-105 F4L IS USM lens.

Also posted in Foxes, water birds Tagged , , |