Tag Archives: rat

Five Rat Portraits

March 11, 2014 by Words | 4 Comments

The title says it all really. Five photos of a rat at Falmer today. I had to work hard to get these shots as the tangle of branches severely restricts the camera angle. The last two show the rat grooming itself after a short swim in the pond.

Brown rat in tree

Brown rat in tree

Brown rat in tree

Brown rat in tree

Brown rat in tree

Fox update: Pretty hasn’t been around since Sunday. No sign of her yesterday or today. She’s due her second mange treatment so hopefully her absence is temporary. There were a couple of new foxes on the trail camera last night, and we could hear lots of calling in the locality. The birth of cubs may well be causing some disruption in the pecking order (and Pretty ranks low among the other foxes judging by her generally submissive behaviour when other foxes are around), so I hope she’s not been driven away. The badgers have also shown up several times. More news as and when.

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

Posted in Foxes, rats Also tagged |

Greedy Little Rat, Hungry Fish

March 7, 2014 by Words | 5 Comments

There was hint of sunshine this morning. It didn’t last and we’re currently shrouded in mists this evening, high up in the South Downs. But the sun was nice while it was there, and it brought out the early morning duck feeders to Falmer pond. I’m sure the ducks did well enough, but whatever the ducks don’t get, there are always other hungry and watchful creatures around determined not to miss out on the free grub.

rat

rat

Patience proved to be a virtue, and after several scurries back out of sight, the rat was rewarded with by the appearance of several pieces of bread.

rat with bread

With each piece it would disappear into the undergrowth, before re-emerging a minute or two later empty handed. I watched its route each time.

rat with bread

rat with bread

This is where it was taking its hand-outs. To the top of the tree in the left of this shot. I suspect it may have a nest up there. It stands just over 6 feet high, and it undoubtedly safe from any potential flooding. Wise little rat who lives in a tree 😉

tree

Later in the day a similar pattern played out as some of the lunchtime duck-feeders distributed more bread. This time the bread was going into the water, not on the bank. A lesser black-backed gull circled several times and took its share, but the main beneficiaries were the carp.

carp eating bread

carp eating bread

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

Posted in Fish, rats Also tagged |

Sunny Day at Falmer Pond

March 5, 2014 by Words | 4 Comments

More sunshine today, though I didn’t have long to enjoy it. Still, it was a pleasure not to be dodging rain and there were some nice images among the few photos I had time to take.

In this first one a moorhen investigates the No Fishing sign.

Moorhen and No Fishing sign

And here’s a simple portrait shot of one of its kin, on the glassy still water. Not only no rain, but no wind. 🙂

Moorhen on still pond

The gulls were largely absent, so it was relatively quiet as well; until some noisy ducks flew in over the village.

Trio of ducks flying past village cottage

Duck landing in pond

It took some searching out, but I eventually also found one of the local rats. It had eluded me at first as it was sitting several feet above the water, resting in the fine branches of an overhanging tree.

Rat in tree above Falmer Pond

Rat in tree above Falmer Pond

Rat in tree above Falmer Pond

Back home, Pretty’s mange treatment seems to be having some effect. She’s still scratching at her coat, but much less intensely than before. She is probably now the most consistent of all the fox visitors we’ve had in about 9 years of watching them. There’s barely been a week when she hasn’t appeared, and generally she shows up several times a day.

Fox scratching

Fox not scratching

Camera note: all daytime photos taken with the Canon 7D and EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L USM IS lens. The fox photos are with the EF 100mm f/2.8L macro IS USM lens.

Posted in Foxes, mange, rats, water birds Also tagged , , , , |