Playing Catch-Up

I've been extra busy recently as a great lump in the form of my mate Cookie has recently descended upon my humble abode and is now ordering his presumed manservant (me) to carry on where his now historic girlfriend left off. Cookie is recovering from leg sugery and will be staying with me until the said leg is able to keep pace with the rest of his over active body allowing him to return to Canada and check on his lakeside house and organise a few loose ends that need tidying up over there.
So! Whats been about in camboys natural world these last five days? Seen something like 12 Kestrel, half a dozen Common Buzzard and another trip along the Great Brook road gave me views of the Egyptian Geese. Invited to a small shoot at Stanford yesterday and noted in excess of 50 Fieldfare and 8 Common Snipe also a covey of 15 French Partridge. I notice as we approach Winter the Linnet flocks are getting larger with several giving counts of 20 plus and both Chaffinch and Goldfinch are much in evidence although Yellowhammer are only being seen in small lots.
A couple of days ago a drive along the Cote - Standlake back road gave views of 30 Mute Swan and a mixed flock of feral Geese must have numbered 200 or more and included within the flock were Canada's and a few Snow Geese but the vast majority were Greylags whose parents had crossed with anything that stood still long enough. Among the recent Buzzard one individual was very white and I presume a this year juvenile. Long Tailed Tit flocks are always a joy to encounter and I have met several all numbering more than 8 in number, I guess Green Woodpecker 4 and Great Sp Woodpecker 3 are pretty meagre counts and unable to bear any numerical comparison to the flock of some 2,000 Starling in an arable stubble field alongside the Great Brook, no doubt as night draws in becoming part of the increasing Otmoor Starling roost now apparently in the 50,000 area.

Cookie at his most active

Egyptian Geese

Very white juvenile Common Buzzard

Mute Swans

Kestrel

Great Brook Road Starling

Oh Yeah! I ought to mention how many Pheasants I managed to murder as I was let loose on the Oxon countryside, um well I had one chance to cut another notch on my gun but missed by the proverbial mile - in fact I think my missiles were in another county to the unscathed bird and between the six guns we managed a total count of just two Pheasant so you can see my fellow guns are about as effective as myself in procuring something for the pot. Much more interesting than the shooting were the many Deer about mostly Roe with a few Muntjac too, and a couple of gorgeous ruby red Fox's.
The day was concluded at The Horse and Jockey tavern where a tasty meal was enjoyed in hearty company.

Trilling

Buscot summer Turtle Dove.
camboy

Goose Stepping

Alan Larkman told me yesterday of a flock of Egyptian Geese he had seen adjacent to the new wooden gates and fencing at the bridge on the Aston to Chimney road and a trip there last night failed to find them but a retun to the same spot was more productive today with nine of these striking individuals to be seen , Alan has counted a maximum of fourteen. A flock of about one hundred Fieldfare were in the hedge alongside the Great Brook.

Egyptian Geese

It's a Fieldfare

camboy

Up-Beat.

Went beating on a friends shoot Tuesday and although I believe the ridiculous numbers of Pheasants (some 40 Million) that are released each year are a major cause of the decline of our small farmland birds this shoot is one of the better ones happy to see Red Kite, Buzzard, Peregrine Falcon and Owls as part of the natural order of things, and on the first drive I had close views of both Barn Owl and Tawny Owl plus 4 Jay's.
On the second drive a field of cows with calves at foot were objecting to a dog and his handler so it was decided that me being a retired farmer should walk the hedge on the side containing the cattle because of my cattle experience although I have a niggling doubt that it may also be that at my age I am expendable or they know that fear makes me an incredibly fast runner, any way although the cattle followed close behind me sniffing and snorting that long walk went off without incident, still I must admit a pair of eyes in my ass to keep an eye on them would have been comforting.
Third drive and i'm being called on again to walk a field with a herd of bullocks no! I said bullocks, now these are males that have been castrated so no problem, Oh No ! The farms fully bollocked bull is running with them and so mr. experienced ex farmer camboy is asked to walk the long hedge round , once again much sniffing and snorting, apart from friend Billy Bull who kept his distance while his eyes never left me, in all fairness my eyes never left him either.
My next duty is on stop at the end of the Wadi (a seasonal rain gully) and it is full of water and I noticed a Rabbit stranded on a piece of over-hanging timber, glad to say he eventually made a giant leap onto dry ground, a Hare probably frightened by the sound of shooting swam across the Wadi and emerged the other side in a very wet and bedraggled state, he had no need to worry for although there are a lot of Hares on this ground the syndicate do not shoot them. After some twenty minutes I heard some squealing and chittering coming from a Rabbit burrow higher up the bank and am certain a Stoat or Weasel was slaughtering the occupants. Eight Long Tailed Tits, another Barn Owl, a Green Woodpecker, 3 Herons, 2 Buzzard,a Red Kite, several mixed flocks of Finches and the usual Corvids and Woodies along with a Pied Wagtail were most of the birds I remember. I now have the task of plucking and eviscerating the brace's of Pheasant and Partridge I brought home with me.

Rabbit - the white background is water not sky

Grey Herons

camboy 

I Have Fun - Guys

Picked up my Ma-in-Law & Brother-in-Law and we all went to my lovely Daughter-in-Law's Ellen and Son Gavin's place in Stanford for a most appreciated roast dinner, joined later by my gorgeous Daughter Anita (usually called Neetie) after dropping in-laws off, just had time to call in at Shellingford Pit. Not too much about but saw a pair of Red-Legged Partridge on the plough next to the pit and a Kestrel flew over, the Swans are still lording it over the place and a huge flock of Corvids flew over , presumably now on their way to a winter roost.
Other interest was a few fungi mainly on the adjacent reclaimed small wood and meadow. Closer to home noticed a couple of Red Kite, another Kestrel and a Jay.

Ok this is my guess at identifying these Fungi if you know, please let me know. Stinking Dapperling

Inkcap

Funeral Bell

Part of a huge flyover of Corvids

Distant photo of a Red Kite taken by an idiot through the car side window who should have been concentrating on his driving - please don't try this yourself.

camboy

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.