WOW.

Along with Alan Larkman I spend a fair bit of time at an Oxon farm identifying the natural history of the place as this helps to justify the farms inclusion in the Higher Level Stewardship scheme. Lew does occassional bird identification for us and can usually find 20% more species than we can. The flora is fascinating as it stays where it is and I can then photograph it and check it out back home. Yesterday we found some now pretty rare arable farmland flowering species along with some more common ones and the sun was so hot we were both relieved to get back to the car and take it easy on the drive back home.

Corncockle

Musk Mallow

Corn Spurrey

Cornflower

Corn Marigold

Redshank

A now rare type of Hemp Nettle

Swathes of seeded Corn Spurrey.

camboy

Mainly Shellingford Quarry

In a busy day chasing about after other people managed to call in at the Quarry late on and disturbed a flock of about thirty Mallard, also saw a Buzzard close up as it rather lazily flapped by and was scolded by a Whitethroat, the only other birds of note were in excess of one hundred Lapwing in a nearby field.
Plants were represented by Fleabane and Wild Parsnip and insects by Five-Spot and Six-Spot Burnet, also a Black-Tailed Skimmer Dragonfly.

Black-Tailed Skimmer

Fleabane

Fennel

Six-Spot Burnet

camboy

Admirable Admiral and Name that Bird.

Had a walk along the Ridgeway today and noted Yellowhammer,Warbler looked like a Whitethroat, Sparrowhawk, 3 Kestrels, 3 Linnet, 8 Goldfinch, 12 Chaffinch, 4 Stock Doves, 2 Buzzard and many Wood Pigeon & Corvids. The plants were represented by a nice stand of Tansy, Meadow Cranesbill, and Field Scabious. The insects turned up with an impressive Red Admiral.

Yellowhammer

Tansy

Meadow Cranesbill

Field Scabious - on right

Red Admiral blow up the picture and see those eyes

Name that bird.

It was rather muggy and the thunder bugs were most uncomfortable. 

North West of Bampton.

Managed to fit a walk in close to Bampton today probably only three miles and the birdlife was very ordinary, so apart from a Heron searching for a meal in the water meadow close to the village and again good numbers of Finches the only other birds of interest were three Warblers seen very briefly at different locations hiding so well I will not even hazard a guess at naming them, also a  kestrel playing the breeze as it floated on air looking for a victim. The countryside presently seems full of Wood Pigeons that flap away at frequent intervals many feeding on the left over seeds of the recently harvested Oil Seed Rape.
Found Hemlock still in flower and Lesser Burdock also what I thought was Jack-Go-To-Bed-At-Noon (Goatsbeard) but the leaf looked wrong so it will require another trip to satify my mind. Insects on the Burdock , Thistle and Yellow Flower (possibily Goatsbeard) I think are Hover Fly and White - Tailed Bumblebee .

Wet & Bedraggled Stock Dove from yesterday

Meadow Brown

Lesser Burdock

Hemlock

Hover Flies ?

White -Tailed Bumblebee on Thistle

camboy.

Impossible for the Otmoor Cuckoo to emulate.

Or at least at this stage in its development. The juvenile Goldfinch in my garden photo has perched on the adults back demanding grub, I guess if the Otmoor Cuckoo attempted to do the same the result would be a crushed Reed Warbler.
Trying to find time to get down to the Gnomes patch (Port Meadow) the birds showing up and lingering is rather exciting for this time of year all due no doubt to the high flood levels and of course the Gulls are there because several superb Oxon  tip sites have been made unfriendly and the waste food mainly goes for composting now.

camboy

You Slimy Sod !

No  Not you ! But this Garden Snail dashing across the lawn this morning making faster progress than some of our competitors in the games, thank goodness we managed to grab a couple of golds it was becoming embarassing.

camboy

Darting About.

Saw a Peacock Butterfly today possibily the only one i've seen this topsy turvy year, it seemed aware of my presence and flew deeper into the tall grass and gave no chance of a photo, it eventually surfaced and flew quickly out of range. Snapped a Common Darter Dragonfly probably a recently emerged individual and a White Egret always a stunning bird to come across, and the now usual flocks of mixed finches several of these species have done well in the last couple of years including Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Linnet and two of the Buntings Reed and Yellowhammer, it's heartening to say the least that out of the devastation of modern agriculture and ridiculous amounts of Pheasants plonked in the countryside a few birds are coping although the likely truth is that these are species that visit garden and wildlife feeding stations, whereas some such as the Warblers continue to struggle.

Common Darter

Little Egret

Yellowhammer

cam boy