It’s been a good while since I’ve posted a kestrel sequence. These shots were taken early this morning at Sheepcote Valley, just outside Brighton. It’s a great location for kestrel spotting as they hunt for small rodents in the grassy downland.

Getting ready to swoop…

The dive…

And away with a vole tightly grasped.

If you think that the rodent in that last shot doesn’t really warrant a mention in the blog title, you’re right. It’s an altogether larger (and by now very familiar) species – the rat – that I was thinking about.

I took these shots at lunchtime while discussing with a local University ecologist recent media stories of ‘mutant’ rats in Sussex. He was concerned about suggestions that even stronger wide-spectrum poisons are needed to control the rat population, and about the associated ecological consequences. Poisons aren’t selective and would impact significantly on other species, including the water vole which has only recently been re-introduced locally. There are also risks to predator species. Meanwhile, the local rats do seem to be thriving this year.

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