It was a blastingly hot and humid day today. It will cool down again tomorrow, which will certainly be a relief. Not that the local wildlife seemed to mind too much. The local bird population was gorging itself on the plentiful insect life. The house martins were noticeably active, making repeated sweeps of the pond.
Three house martins sweeping across Falmer Pond for insects.

The reason for their frenzied feeding was near at hand. Here’s one of the adults delivering some food to a nest which it has built in the eaves of a local house. These birds are well-named.
House martin with ladybird at nest in eaves of a house

House martin flying to and from nest in the eaves of a house

The swifts were also busy, feeding up before their long migration back to Africa. The unusual thing about this shot is that you can see the swift’s leg. Little wonder that they prefer to spend their time on the wing.
Swift (Apus apus) in flight

Down at the water’s edge there are of course other things to see. Yes, the rats are still there, scurrying around trying to remain unseen and undisturbed.
Rat (Rattus norvegicus) scurrying among rocks at the edge of Falmer Pond, East Sussex

Rat (Rattus norvegicus) scurrying among rocks at the edge of Falmer Pond, East Sussex
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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