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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