Plastic Love.

A pair of plastic geese have paired up in a field by pit 60 and there were lots of swallows coming through a couple of days ago also a very nice male goosander and some gadwall . Today 18th linnets and a pair of kestrels were busy in the bright  hot sunshine . The Oxon Feather.

 Oyster Catchers Pit 60

 Gadwall

 Goosander.

Spring is in the Air.

After the heavy recent rains it's so good to feel that the year is turning and we can look forward to the breeding season for our Oxon wildlife. Thought I'd post a few snaps of Butterflies to remind us of the joys that await us and some moths also.
The Oxon Feather.

Hats Off ! To the Black Headed One.

Really nice birding surprise on the garden feeders recently in the shape of a Blackcap.
The Oxon Feather.

                                          Male Blackcap - on garden feeder

                                          One of circa 100 Fieldfare - in fields at Bampton

                                         

Also Nuthatch on the feeders.

In Yer Face!

The cold snowy weather has been rather exciting or at least it has if your are not a starving bird struggling to find enough sustenance to get it through another freezing cold night. It's a good job many of us take pity on our avian friends and supplement their meagre rations with bits and pieces from our plentiful human store. I have heard of an Oxon chap who walked miles to his coop supermarket to supply his garden Fieldfares with apples, quite amazing and tremendously generous and of course a lifeline for these poor wretched creatures. The Oxford Ornithological Society chairman Alan Larkman has Kindly swept the snow away many times through these past days in order to make sure the two hundred Brambling and two hundred plus Linnets that have been regularly feeding on his large lawn for the past couple of months continued to take the huge amounts of millet, oilseed rape and linseed he puts down for them several times a day, this site is also feeding Bullfinch, Yellowhammer, Chaffinch and Tree Sparrow.
My own garden has had a few Fieldfare and Mistle Thrush taking advantage of the apples and Redwing seem to be everywhere this Winter. The Thrush family are aggressive and even when they are starving seem intent on bullying and claiming any food source to the exclusion of any of their fellows no matter how desperate they may be.The Oxon Feather.

Mistle Thrush appley eating away

 Field fare also appley eating away

 Redwing finding grub among the horse droppings

 Mistle Thrush surveying for any interlopers.

 Mistle Thrush attacking an apple

photo showing just how attractive Fieldfares are

Had my fill of Linch Hill.

A couple of days ago I walked round Linch Hill between Northmoor and Dix Pit. Loads of Gulls for the "Gullers" plenty of Tufted Duck, a few Wigeon, Gadwall , lots of Mallard and a couple of dozen Red-Crested Pochard . At the far distant corner from the car park were dozens of Blue and Great Tits although apparently no feeding station anywhere near this part of the pit and it seems odd that such numbers were there?
The Oxon Feather.

Bulls Eye and a tricky identification.

Today Tuesday I walked the northern parts of Bampton and thoroughly enjoyed the nice sunny weather and the marshy and part flooded terrain or I did until photographing a pair of beautiful Bullfinches when turning and slipping on the muddy brookside ground my hip sort of creaked and meant the rest of my outing was somewhat painful.
Apart from the wonderful Bullfinches I saw around ten Yellowhammers, one Buzzard, many Redwing (120 c) about sixty Fieldfare, three Grey Partridge and one Greenfinch.
Yesterday I noted a dead Gull floating close to the edge of Baulking Fullers Earth Pit and am unable to be sure of its identity, there is something Lesser- Black Backed Gull about it but the light grey and large bill says Yellow Legged Gull but perhaps one of you "Gull Freaks" will be kind enough to enlighten me?
My occasional visits to Baulking Pit are driven by my desire to find the Great Grey Shrike at home but unfortunately this bird has a huge Winter range and as a consequence we have not met up at this site.

The Oxon Feather.             Male Bullfinch

                                             Redwing

                                             Roe Deer

                                              Fieldfare

                                            Beefsteak Fungus

                                                   The Gull ?

                                             Female Bullfinch

                                              Yellowhammer

                                             Robin

                                            Rather dark coloured Buzzard

                                            Redwing

                                            Madam Bullfinch and below Mister B.