Tag Archives: rat

Rat Sequence

The drive into work this morning was beautiful. There were clear blue skies above, and in valleys the low mists shrouded the fields and the distant city. Of course I was in the car driving down into the mist and by the time I arrived in Falmer there was nothing but gloom and fog. The low mists are caused by a temperature inversion where the low lying land is cooler than the higher ground and air.

Scouting around the pond in the mist there was little to see. Anything more than a few feet away disappeared into the grey, so it was left to a lone rat to provide the photographic interest. This is a shortened sequence.

Rats

Rats

Rats

Rats

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

Posted in rats

Three Birds, Three Mammals

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.

Posted in Bird of Prey, Birds, deer, Foxes, rats, water birds Also tagged , , , , |

Early Morning Rat Run

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.

Posted in rats, water birds Also tagged |