Rattus Norvegicus

Arriving home after this mornings PT session, I was getting changed out of my gym gear when I caught a glimpse of something small and brown scuttling across the decking underneath the bird feeders.
After watching for a while, he became quite bold and was soon climbing around the pots, eventually shinning up the wheel to try and get to the feeder hanging from it. It couldn’t quite reach, but I think we’ll move it anyway, just in case it gets more adventurous. He didn’t seem at all bothered by us standing at the back door taking photos, and was running around for a good twenty minutes before I got bored and went out shopping.
I know they reckon you’re never more than a few yards away from a rat anywhere in the U.K. but this one might be a bit too close for comfort. We’ll keep an eye on it and make sure the bird feeders remain well out of reach. I don’t believe in traps or poison, as it’s an animal going about it’s normal life - if we put food out for birds, we can’t complain if other species fancy a slice of the action.
But if it should be predated by one of the many cats that wander through our garden, then so be it…