Hardwick & Cote.

Only had time to dash to Hardwick gravel pit and check if the Red-Crested Pochard were still there in the huge numbers they were Friday, and they were again there in good numbers. I reckon about fifty nine so not as many as the other day and for some reason they seemed rather skittish, taking to the wing when they saw me although I guess they could have been making for their evening lake site as I only managed to get there late afternoon. I reckon there were also around thirty plus Wigeon that also up and left with the R-C P.
Took the Cote back road on the way home and saw a Buzzard lazily fly from a hedge on my left and land rather untidily a couple of hundred yards in a hedge to my right. Further on I came across eleven Red-Legged Partridge running down the road in front of me and several hundred Black-Headed Gulls were in the fields alongside the road as I approached Aston.
The Oxon Feather.

 

R-CP in great numbers.

My intention today was to call in on a local farmer who gives our Tree Sparrow Project wonderful support with reasonably priced Linseed, Oilseed Rape and Wheat along with storage facilities that help to make the project that much more workable. In the event he had been arm-twisted by his missus to accompany her to the horse of the year show. Not to worry I met up with his farm manager another good friend to the project and he proved both helpful and interesting although an exchange of views took place concerning the Buzzard and true to form so many farming folk have it in for this super rider of the breeze and the wind that leaves me mystified why many country folk are managing to get it so wrong, although he in all fairness did concede that numbers on the farm have fallen considerably which backed up the point I had been trying to get across to him that bird of prey numbers are dependent on available prey it is self regulatory and most certainly doesn't need the clumsy hand of man interfering.
Called in at Hardwick later and walked across to the gravel pits and watched the most Red - Crested Pochard I have ever seen in one place I guess there must have been between fifty and one hundred with the probability of close to the hundred and even though I was quite a distance from them and had left my glasses in the car I managed to take some not too good photos of them including a very white one that is possibly a cross bred individual and would guess at Pochard x Red-Crested Pochard or more likely R-CP x Farmyard or Call Duck. (see comment below)
Oxonfeather.

                                           Note the White Individual

                                There were A lot of Wigeon as well
 

Childrey Limekiln

A strong cold northerly wind blew today when I walked from the Childrey Holloway - Letcombe turn to and beyond the old disused limekiln, initially the chalk downland was flat but after a mile or so the terrain became steeply hilly giving far reaching views across the downs. Two Wheatear were a delight as they flitted along in front of me for several hundred yards before deciding to stay on the ground where they were presumably finding some sustenance in the recently cultivated ground. A party of six Long tailed Tits, two Red Kites , a sparrowhawk, several Pheasants and the ever present Corvids and Pigeons were seen.
The bridle track had been leveled by some sort of farm machine, and the hedgerows had also been cut back. In the mature tree areas a team of two workmen were taking off branches I guess in the interests of safety. A pair of horse riders were the only other folk I saw and the sight of the horses being ridden up hill at a canter left me admiring the strength and fitness they displayed leaving me thankful that in my breathless state I was able to take a rest when the going got a bit heavy.
Oxonfeather.

                                            Wheatear

                                         Wheatear finding some sustenance. now you see it -

                                                - now you don't

                                             Beaded Chestnut.

What d'ya reckon?

Yesterday I intended to walk far and bird interestingly in the event I called in on a birding mate and got chatting as a consequence I found myself with no time to go walking . No problem as my mate is a hive of activity and has an encyclopedic knowledge of the natural world so as they say in all the best or worst television programmes "swings and roundabouts"
Had earlier called in at another mates place, he was out so I then motored on to top up one of our Tree Sparrow sites that I am feeding this week as our usual volunteer Albert is presently away quite possibly living the high life on holiday somewhere
oxon feather. 

   Quite far away but just got the camera on it before it flew-probably a Blue Tit what d'ya reckon               

                                          My mates garden fowl

                                           Garden Rose Tortrix

Unexpected.

Drove out to the east of Millets Garden Centre parked up and walked the bridle track/footpath south of Manor Farm. The path goes through some of the garden centres crops and I noticed thousands of Pumpkins etc partly harvested presumably readied for the Halloween trade. After a few hundred yards I climbed a stile and got into conversation with a Hawker carrying a Harris Hawk, apparently he is from the Falconry centre originally at Fallowfields but they have now moved their operation to Millets.
Shortly after leaving them the river Ock became my travelling companion and I kept company with it almost to Garford before heading east to the disused quarry between the old Noahs Ark pub that has long been converted into private accommodation  and the Marcham junction.
Apart from the usual Corvids and Wood Pigeon I noted 2 Green Woodpecker, 1 Wren, 5 Mallard, 3 Goldfinch, 12 Linnet, 4 Buzzard, 2 Pheasant, 4 Blue Tit, 2 Great Tit, 3 Moorhen, 1 Jay and numerous Robins tuning up their vocal chords.
camboy.

                                          The unexpected Harris Hawk

                                         Harris Hawk

                  The low water level in the River Ock showing the lack of rain.

                                          Moorhen

 This Buzzard must have been over four hundred yards away -hence the poor quality photo

                                          Another long distance Buzzard pic

                                          Wonderful Land

                       I think this may be Grey Pine Carpet - but then again......

Super Supercilium.

Oh Man! Oh Man! Oh Man! Two smashing Yellow - Browed Warblers through the county recently and the score to camboy is nil due mainly to circumstances, in that the first great find by The Gnome on his patch at Port Meadow came at a time when other family activities dictated my presence was more important elsewhere. The second at Abingdon Science Park meant that by the time I had checked out the other likely herbage adjacent to the park I had run out of time not least because of the rather interesting habitat in the area that I am afraid I became somewhat engrossed in, nevertheless apart from a dazzling Kingfisher and more common fare I missed it. The feeling of out-of-town-birders spotting our "goodies" (two Lincolnshire birders working in Abingdon on a temporary basis reported it) rankles a little especially as not too far away a few year ago a White - Rumped Sandpiper was also found by a birder from a neighbouring county.
camboy

                                         2 Yellow-Browed Warblers but camboy scores a Duck

                                               Female Speckled Bush-Cricket

                                               Marbled Beauty

Swan Lake.

Tied up and unable to get to see the recent "goodies" that have shown up on Otmoor, Port Meadow and Farmoor , did manage to get along to Shellingford Quarry Thursday and noted 8 Common Snipe, several Tufted Duck, quite a few Dabchicks, likewise Teal, 1 Cormorant and 1 Little Egret. Smaller birds were represented by Gold and Chaffinch.
There have been a pair of Swans that bred on the quarry this time producing just 2 Cygnets sadly all that is left of this graceful family are the scattered feathers of the dead leaving 1 living and presumably lonely adult this rather sad demise of the Swans is most probably due to the Foxes that live close by.
camboy.

                                           Lonely Swan

                                          Scattered feathery remains of the Swan family

                                          Some of the interesting geology at the quarry.

                                            Tufted Duck

                                          Yeah! It's another Moff.