The year moves on as Corvids glean.

A quick trip to Shellingford quarry gave me a mixed flock of the Crow family and nine Common Snipe, also Migrant Hawker Dragonfly and in excess of twenty Treble Bar Moth, at home a striking Angle Shades , Small Dusty Wave and Common Wainscot. Heard but not seen a Willow Warbler at the quarry also A Great Spotted woodpecker put in an appearance as did a Hobby.
camboy.

                                          Distant stubbling Corvids

                                          Treble Bar looking like a human face

                                         Female Migrant Hawker

                                             Small Dusty Wave

                                           Common Wainscot

                                          Angleshades - Big and beautiful

                                             G.S. Woodpecker

 

Treble Bar

Vestal verging on the exciting.

Oh yeah! the Vestal was an unexpected find today and after a quiet time with the birds it was down to a handsome Magpie Moth and the Vestal to lift the day. A mate of mine living in Didcot sent me a very attractive moth that is currently munching away at his Hazel Nut Tree leaves.
camboy.

Caterpillar of the Grey Dagger Moth

                                          Big Daddy

Rapt up at OOS talk

Its been difficult to get out for a couple of days what with writing my notes for the OOS bulletin and an article for The Oxford Times plus an OOS committee meeting the other evening and another committee meeting at Bampton for the Bamptom Environmental Watch Group last night.
I am looking forward to the OOS indoor meeting at Stratfield Brake Kidlington this evening wednesday at 7.45pm when our speaker Keith Offord will be sharing his knowledge of Raptors with us. If you can get along please do as I will be delighted to meet you, as usual this event is free to members and visitors are invited to donate a couple of quid. Also for half a sheet you can have a coffee or a cup of tea and a biscuit - well worth the effort to be among like minded folk.
camboy.

                                         Goshawk in a Witney garden

A few more common Moths.

It just goes to show what fun can be had by leaving the outside toilet light on overnight and a camera  camboy.

                                          Setaceous Hebrew Character

                                          Common Marbled Carpet

                                             Green Carpet

                                                 Garden Pebble

                                            Small Dusty Wave

Ruddy Eck! It's a Dragon!

Shellingford Quarry was an interesting place to be yesterday with a dozen Common Snipe Tufted Duck and Little Grebe on show , there was also a good amount of Dragonflies to be seen including both Ruddy Darter and Common Darter, Migrant Hawker was also much in evidence and after a while my old mate The Greek God (tgg) showed up, he had arrived on his palomino coloured rubber tyred steed and we had time for a chat, before I had to leave due to an OOS committee meeting later in the evening.
TGG showed up at my place in Stanford a bit later on to tell me that shortly after I left he was treated to the spectacle of a Hobby hawking Dragons over the water.
camboy.

Would have been Dire without the Mire.

A couple of texts reached me today kindly letting me know that a Wryneck had been located by Dr Graham Lenton on Otmoor, at the time I was on Goosey Green pushing the bike along a stretch of meadow close to Goosey Mere and visiting where I spent my Primary School days, this school had the biggest playground in the country as the little bit of tarmac supplied meant we pupils usually over ran this small patch and spread far and wide over the huge green. Myself my two Sisters and Brother walked to school a round trip of five miles but mostly pleasant memories were re-lived today.
Birding interest was sparse with a few Linnets, House Sparrows and the usual Corvids, Wood Pigeons,  Chaffinches, Blackbirds and close views of a Red Kite, the boggy mire that makes up part of the green saved the day with good views of a Common Darter Dragon.
camboy.

This Mare and Foal turned and showed a part of their anatomy that I hope they didn't think described me.

Treble B - Beautiful, Beautiful, Beautiful. And Bully for You.

I am posting a few pics of Moths including Treble Bar and Brimstone Moth two of my favourite's, the rest I will let you play at naming them, I think they are all common although some of the photos have not been sorted and are not very good, i'll eventually get round to it. Alan and I had a busy time at the Wychwood Forest Fair and it was really good to chat to Clackers and Wayne and their respective Ladies glad you both made the effort - in fact bully for you. Pat Wixey (Owls) and Chris Mason (Swifts) were part of our birding section and we all enjoyed meeting old and new contacts, also discovered a new Tree Sparrow area.
camboy.

                                           Lesser Treble Bar

                                           Brimstone Moth

                                             Orange Swift

                                          Woops! This Dragon Darted In.