Basil

Rats get a bad press - maybe deservedly, but this one was living under a fallen tree root in my local river valley and looked pretty harmless. I heard something scuttling in the undergrowth - probably a blackbird, I thought. Then I saw these two beady eyes peering out at me. Squirrel? No. When I looked more closely, definitely a rat. We both stayed stock-still, looking at each other for a good few minutes, then I reached for my camera and got in a few shots before he turned and quietly disappeared into a hole beneath a fallen tree root.
I'd hoped I might see some grey wagtails that I'd seen on the river earlier in the week, or some yellow wagtails, which had been reported in a nearby field, but no joy. However, I did see my first 2 house martins of the year, and watched a nuthatch taking food into what I can only assume was a nest hole in a tree. A wren was also collecting food along the far bank.