Having a Barny - But no Argument.

A late walk along the Thames turned up a couple of Stonechats, around one hundred Teal and two hunting Barn Owls. I intended to get out and about earlier but after shopping at Carterton Coop and intending to rest in an armchair for a few minutes fell asleep and awoke a couple of hours later - what an old sleepy head I am.

Crumby Barn Owl photo taken from distance

This one from a previous encounter

Stonechat

camboy.

Wee Beasties

Ophion Luteus - I think

Pimpla Hypochondriaca - maybe.

Time spent on a new bird tracking project meant birding was restricted to clocking about a dozen Tree Sparrow and several Buzzard with no photo opportunities, the only photos i've managed were a couple of rather attractive wee beasties.

You Doity Rat.

So I take time yesterday to mount a defence of my mate Cyrill the Squirrel and how does he thank me ? That North American Tree Rat attacks my garden bird feeders destroying plastic in order to get at the seed and i'm left with a leaking feeder that is going to cost me pounds to replace uuuurrrrgggghhhhh still I guess his entertaining antics are worth it, i'll just have to present my bird seed on a pole feeder, that should bugger him.
A long walk from Bampton across the Thames turned up a bit more interest today starting with a walk through Shillbrook Wood that is now holding many bright coloured shrubs including the soft pastel pinkish fruit of the Spindleberry. Jays were much in evidence and I counted nine in total. Wood Pigeon seemed to be everywhere with about one thousand in flocks varying from one huhdred to five hundred, also prominent were Green Woodpecker and six were noted with one of their cousin GreatSpotted Woodpecker showing briefly, another pleasant sight was a covey of seven Grey Partridge and south of the Thames a Kestrel rested atop an electric post. Several Buzzard performed close by as they played the heavens their wings mastering the breeze and they looked most graceful.
Small farmland birds were represented by Chaffinch,Goldfinch,Greenfinch and Linnet with Bullfinch heard but not seen. A large Warbler played hide and seek not giving me a chace to identify it, a song thrush was seen.
With tractors ploughing and planting Corvid flocks along with Gulls were reaping a harvest of worms etc disturbed by these agricultural operations.

Cyrill having his evil way.

Spindleberry

Kestrel

Chaffinch playing peek-a-boo

Sheep looking like it has measles

camboy

Cyrill you're table manners are awful.

Apart from being tied up with family and Oxford Ornithological Society secretarial duties my hurried visits into the countryside have been rather unproductive from a birding point of view, nevertheless I will give a brief report of the one or two things that caught my eye this last week.
Sunday 14th kicked off with one of the two squirrels that regularly visit my garden turning its back to the garden table as it perched on the back of a chair, manners! please. Most folk get rather agitated by the presence of the Grey Squirrel in the garden but I think their reputation is mostly over-egged as my own observations have failed to note them being particularly destructive with the exception of their annoying habit of digging up any bulbs I plant, and if they do occasionally take an egg or fledgling so what! life can be tough for Cyrill as well.
Down at Shellingford Pit a nice covey of six Grey Partridge were noted as I scanned a flock of fifty plus Lapwing and the two Mute Swans were still lording it over one of the larger pools but small birds were few with just Chaffinch and Goldfincnch in evidence. Two Dragonflies were on the wing but only briefly giving me no chance of a photo and one i'm pretty sure one was a Migrant Hawker.
Lesser Black-Backed Gull a few Herring Gull and Black-Headed Gull have been on many newly ploughed or cultivated fields this past week and Red Kite with numerically more Buzzard have been exciting exponents of the freedom of the sky.
At one of our Tree Sparrow feeding sites a trio of feral Muscovies are taking any easy pickings from under the feeders this is not , by me at least considered a problem because if they are clearing any seed residue they are preventing a potential Rat problem.

Cyrill

Lapwing on plough with the sun making a decent photo difficult

Mute Swans

Muscovy with a rather grubby bill

Grey or English Partridge

Toadstools in my garden

camboy

Sawn on the Lawn.

Family duties meant walking round the disused Baulking fullers earth pit was somewhat brief and  not a single Dragonfly was seen although the usual selection of Duck and Gull were on display, also a Sparrowhawk hunted the avenue running between the elephant grass on the approach and small birds were represented by Gold,Green and Chaffinch a Buzzard took off from a tree and the day had started with my second of the year Red Underwing Moth on my lawn, this Moth is a treat to behold with its striking flashes of red and large size.

Red Underwing Moth.

Buzzard taking off from left to right and making an odd shape.

camboy.

On the Marsh.

Four Mistle Thrush and a Green Woodpecker were the only notable birds spotted during a trip to Carswell Marsh. Later a visit to Buscot Lock to check on the Tree Sparrow Feeders and a walk along the Thames was pretty lifeless with a strong wind blowing keeping things quiet, the only birds seen were Great Spotted Woodpecker, Moorhen, about fifty Mallard and the usual contingent of Corvids. Surprisingly a Migrant Hawker and smaller unidentified blue dragonfly were flying in the more sheltered reaches of the river.

Mistle Thrush on Cattle Trough

Green Woodpecker

Moorhen under the bank of the Thames

camboy.

Thankfully Jumbo wasn't at home.

Had a look at the Baulking Fullers Earth disused Pit today, I parked on the village green rather than alongside the road opposite the mainline Great Western Railway track. This is one of those unusual villages that has no through road and terminates at the end of the green. the footpath to the pit takes you through an avenue of Elephant Grass (Micanthus).
I managed a couple of reasonable photos of Dragonflies and totted up bird counts of  circa two hundred Lesser Black-Backed Gulls, six Little Grebes, thirty Tufted Duck, eight Great Crested Grebe, twenty Pochard, one Chiffchaff, twelve Goldfinch, four Cormorant, forty Mallard, stacks of Coots and around thirty Hirundines mostly House Martin .

Elephant Grass

One for the Dragon Masters

Tufted Drake

Another for the Dragon Masters

Cormorant

Part of the Gull Flock - Mostly LBBG

Common Pochard

camboy.