Category Archives: rats

Great Spots

December 10, 2013 by Words | 2 Comments

The sunrise this morning was beautiful, the sky turning a rich gold as the sun crept up from below the South Downs at Falmer. This photo doesn’t nearly do it justice.

Sunrise over the South Downs

The cormorant was back, once again taking to the trees but I’ll skip those images today as lunchtime brought with it a rather special treat. Not these cute black-headed gulls posing on parallel tree stumps… (but I like the photo so I’m including it)

black-headed gulls

The treat was another lover of dead wood, a great spotted woodpecker. I spotted her flying across the churchyard and eventually located her in one of the trees next to the local farm.

Female great spotted woodpecker

For once a woodpecker proved to be moderately cooperative. These are substantial crops, but she kept mainly in view and only scuttled a little way up to the higher branches.

Female great spotted woodpecker

Female great spotted woodpecker

The other good spot of the day was seeing one of the local rats down among the roots that edge over the side of the pond. The colder weather and rising water level has made spotting the rats much more tricky that it was in the early autumn, and most days they aren’t in evidence at all. This one did catch my eye as it shot along the bank and then (like the woodpecker) proved surprisingly comfortable with the camera.

rat

rat

rat

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

Also posted in Birds, sunrise Tagged , , |

A Heron Lands on a Tree, plus other pond-side life

November 26, 2013 by Words | 2 Comments

It was a case of pairs this morning. First a pair of cormorants. One was down on the water, fishing in deep shade, but the second was on the wing, circling the pond as the sun rose above the distant Downs.

Cormorant

The second pair were herons. Again one was keeping to the shade down on the water, with the second high overhead. I watched as it circled and came in to land on a tall tree on the far side of the pond.

Heron landing on a tree

Heron landing on a tree

Heron landing on a tree

Heron landing on a tree

Heron landing on a tree

That heron took off into the distance shortly after those photos, but the other heron hung around and despite its attempts to remain hidden in shade it couldn’t avoid cutting across the open pond as it searched out prime fishing locations.

heron

Neither pair were evident at lunchtime, but the water still held some attractions… even furry ones. This rat proved a powerful swimmer.

Swimming rat

swimming rat

It too was one of a pair. Here’s the second rat, sensibly keeping dry.

rat

I still think they’re cute!

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

Also posted in Behaviour, water birds Tagged , , , , |

Early Morning Light

November 25, 2013 by Words | Comments Off

This proved to be a quiet day despite the lure of some beautiful early morning sunshine. The best of the early shots for the sense of colour was this grab of a mallard flying in front of the willow tree that dominates the small central island

Duck in flight

Back on the bank the most picturesque of the trees is actually little more than a stump. Today it was adorned by a crow…

Crow on a dead tree

And then, on a lower limb, a collared dove.

collared dove

There was little around at lunchtime, by which point the clouds had come in and it was altogether less enticing. I did, however, manage a few shots of this little fellow scampering among the tree roots which overhang the water.

Rats

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

Also posted in Birds