Iffley Waxwings,17th December

I had a free day today so after seeing the report of 12 Waxwings down meadow lane yesterday i decided to get on my bike and take a look to see if they were still around today.I rode from one end of meadow lane to the other and back again with no success so thought they must of moved on.So i decided to head back to my parents house and rode up tree lane.As i got to the top of the lane i heard the distinctive waxwing call,i looked up and there they were! They were perched in the top of a large tree, they then decended down into a small berry tree in a back garden easily seen from the crossroads of Tree lane and woodhouse lane and Bear's hedges.

 

I only had my canon 100-400mm on me and the birds looked settled so i decided to ride back to my parents quickly to get the "Back Breaker", jump in the car and drive back.When i arrived they were still present feeding on the berries but only briefly before flying back up into a bigger tree.They soon came back down again so i managed to get loads of pics!

Falcated duck Farmoor 10th December

I must admit that when it comes to ducks i'm not the greatest fan, probably because of all the controversy that go's with an unusual individual that turn's up,so when i had a text about the bird yesterday i didn't drop everything and rush to farmoor.
I decided that if it was still there today i would take a look.Seeing that the Baikal teal has now been accepted i thought it's better to be safe than sorry,you never know what might be decided in a few  years!
When i first got there the bird was on the edge of the reservoir with mallard.The bird was probably about 100m away and if you tried to move closer than this it was the first bird to head for the water and swim out.At one time a chinook flew over and the bird briefly took to the wing, being the only bird to do so!

 

So who know's? the bird was very wary,could it be a genuine vagrant? or were it's previous owners really horrible to it to make it so nervous?! The former we all hope! ;-).

Otmoor 2nd December

A cold and frosty start on the moor this morning .

 

 

 



A Peregrine was seen perched on a post in Greenaways

A male and female Stonechat were seen up by the first screen.
A couple of Water rails were heard calling.
There were flocks of lapwing around with 60+ Golden plover amongst them.
A few snipe were seen flying around.

 

 

A couple of landscape shots of the field on the left hand side of the path between the 1st and 2nd screen.





 

Wildfowl flying in front of charlton on otmoor church.

 

2 of the other churches you can see around the moor.

 



Waxwings ,St Giles, Oxford 29th November

Otmoor 28th November

 

Had a brief look over Otmoor today in the cold and windy conditions.

 

 

There wasn't much about.1 Little egret was seen flying over greenaways.
Quite a few birds were around the feeders,Chaffinchs,Greenfinches,1 Redpoll over,
the odd Reed bunting and a G.s.woodpecker.
1 Water rail was heard calling from the dyke near the feeders.
The odd flock of Starlings and Fieldfares were seen flying around.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Otmoor Stonechats again 11th November

The pair of Stonechats were seen again in the bushes and vegetation along the path going towards the 1st screen.The male was very obliging and looked great in the early morning sunlight!

The bearded tits were seen today but not by me!
2 Siskin over
5 Redpoll over
1 Chiffchaff (singing)
6 Snipe

Bagley Wood 6th November

Pretty quiet in the wood today but there were some cracking autumnal scenes to be found!

 

 

 

 

I found this Treecreeper roost

hole in one of the Redwoods!

 

 

1 Buzzard

4 Jay

4 Goldcrest

4 Blackbird

5 L.T.Tit

4 Blue tit

3 Nuthatch

4 Siskin

8+ Crossbill, A few birds were seen drinking from a puddle on one of the paths.

 

About 8 Fly agarics seen today

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Otmoor 30th October

I decided to go over otmoor today to try out my new Canon EOS 7D :-)!

 

 

These Stonechats were seen in the hedgerow going up to the 1st screen and were showing very well for me! I must say that the EOS 7D is a much better camera than my old EOS 30D. Still lots to learn about the camera but i'm happy with the results so far!

2 Water rails were heard calling from along the main bridleway.
2 Brambling were seen feeding with Chaffinch next to the cattle pen.
A few Redpoll flew over calling.
The Hen harrier was seen over the reedbed then over greenaways being mobbed by corvids.
3 Buzzard
1 Red kite
2 Kestrel
A few snipe were flying around.

A few Common darter still on the wing.

Wilstone Reservoir,Herts, 27th October.

Had a visit to wilstone today to have a look at the Slavonian grebe.

 

The bird was showing very well along the car park side of the reservior.

Also:-
2 Whooper swan
1 Little Egret
Lots of ducks, Mallard,Shoveler,Gadwall,Teal,Tufted duck.
Lapwings
1 Grey Wagtail
2 Redpoll (over)

Radley Gravel Pits 18th October

1 Common field grasshopper seen today.

8 Common darter
1 Migrant Hawker

1 Small Tortoiseshell

5 G c Grebe
2 Little Grebe
5 Shoveler
60+ Tufted duck
2 Red kite
1 Kestrel
1 Water Rail (calling)
10 Lapwing
2 Skylark
2 Chiffchaff
2 Siskin
2 Redpoll