{"id":2043,"date":"2011-09-05T22:09:22","date_gmt":"2011-09-05T21:09:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.permuted.org.uk\/photography\/archives\/2043"},"modified":"2013-11-08T18:24:55","modified_gmt":"2013-11-08T18:24:55","slug":"rats-at-the-pond-photo-special","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.permuted.org.uk\/photography\/rats-at-the-pond-photo-special\/","title":{"rendered":"Rats at the Pond (photo special)"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

Today was a day of dodging showers, but I did manage about an hour at Falmer Pond this afternoon where I came across one of the less well regarded inhabitants. You can see one of them peeking in the top right hand corner of this shot (I only spotted it there when I was processing the pictures later on).
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It was while I was photographing the moorhens from rather closer that I spotted another of these pond-side dwellers. It was swimming.
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Yes, it's a rat. And I spent much of the remainder of my time watching a pair scampering from the undergrowth into the pond and back again. These are a few of the better shots.
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I mentioned a pair, and to be accurate I should have said adult and juvenile. Here they are deep in the shadows.
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And out to the water… and back again.
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One more circuit!
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It's a shame the light wasn't better (most images were shot at ISO 1000), but it was fascinating to watch them. They are incredibly agile, and very powerful swimmers. I also got some decent shots of a sandpiper, but those will have to wait until another day.<\/p>\n

Camera note: all shots taken with the Canon 7D EF 400mm f\/5.6L USM lens.<\/i>
\"Nature<\/a><\/span>
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