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

Bagley Wood 9th October

Had a walk around Bagley wood this morning to see what Fungi were about.
See about 10 fly agarics most of them eaten by slugs. Lots of Puffballs around, a few Yellow Stag Horn Fungus, Amethyst deceiver fungus and lots of others that i was unable to identify.

 

 

 

1 Buzzard
1 Raven
7 Jay
1 Treecreeper
4 Nuthatch
3 Goldcrest
5 Siskin
1 Redpoll

1 Roe deer.















 

 





Otmoor 6th October

 

A Cool, bright, misty start to the day but warmed up nicely
later on.


1 Bittern seen briefly this morning flying low over the reedbed before landing in it.

9 Little egret on Ashgrave
15+ Teal from 1st screen
2 Water rail calling from reeds at 1st screen,one of them seen along the edge of the reeds.1 Heard calling from main bridleway.
4 Buzzard
1 Kestrel
2 Red kite
100+ Lapwing
1 Sedge warbler
3 Swallow
5 Redpoll
20+ Goldfinch
2 Siskin

 

 

Butterflies:-
1 Red Admiral
1 Comma

Dragonflies:-
6 Migrant Hawkers
2 Ruddy Darters
8 Common Darters

Quite a few Hornets flying around this morning.

Western conifer seedbug

1 Seen this morning on the outside window sill of the Glycobiology building,Oxford University! Possibly the first record of this american species for the county! Unfortunately no photo as i was working in the building at the time.
Western conifer seedbug is a large squashbug.It is native to the USA but was introduced into Europe in 1999.It has a very distinctive bulge on the hind tibiae which was the first thing i noticed about it.