A great couple of days in Oxon and Bucks skywatching. Yesterday I did a couple of hours standing like a lemon in the Old Vic garden from dawn. Had 10 Hawfinches, 1, 5 and 4 heading south, 5 Golden Plover, also 1 Bullfinch, 2 Siskin, Redpoll, 200+ Woodpigeon, Fieldfares and Redwings, Chaffinches and the odd Mipit and Pied Wagtail. There was Coal Tit and Goldcrest in the garden.
This morning I got to Brill Windmill at dawn (a high point overlooking Bucks) and had another 2 Hawfinch, 8 Siskin, 1 Redpoll, 100+ Woodpigeon, 4 Skylark, 1 Reed Bunting, 20+ Fieldfare, 100+ Redwing, 5 Song Thrush, 1 Mistle Thrush, 2 Pied Wagtail, 3 Meadow Pipit and 10 Chaffinch.
Brill Windmill at dusk (the night before noticed some Chaffinches moving so gave it a go this morning as a skywatching post- success)
One of the Brill Hawfinches flying over just after dawn in poor light
Pied Wagtail on the move
Coal Tit in the Old Vic garden
Marsh Harrier at Otmoor- popped into Otmoor with Jacob yesterday- not a lot moving there (maybe not on a flight line?)
Turnip moth and Beaded Chestnut at the Old Vic
Dawn from Brill Windmill
Dawn from Brill
Spent this afternoon at the new shopping centre (Westgate) in Oxford wondering why more people don't get out in the beautiful countryside round here rather than walking round these hell holes. As hell holes go this one wasn't so bad- a roof terrace, open aspect, a bit of planting for pollinators going on, a massive Lush store and quite a few independent outlets. Had a Red Admiral on the roof.
2 comments:
"Spent this afternoon at the new shopping centre (Westgate) in Oxford wondering why more people don't get out in the beautiful countryside round here rather than walking round these hell holes."
Mixed emotions on this, sad that people don't care about our countryside and are more interested in the utter sh*te that comes with consumerism, yet happy that these people are contained in such places and thus don't go out and spoil the countryside.
Yes good idea to keep them where a lot of them are- being completely turned over and drained of their souls.
However need more people engaging with nature if reserves are too sustain themselves in the future.
All the old bastards that support the RSPB etc are dieing off and their kids have got fuck all so conservation needs a new model. Reserves will need to prove their value and ecosystem services/natural capital assessments will involve a degree of increased public engagement- one of the biggest arguments will be the antedote to soul destroying consumerism that engagement with nature brings, so some of the shopping monkies will be re-directed to the reserves.
At Beddington we are being turned over by Viridor because of the lack of public engagement/ involvement and our main arguments rest on the value to a stressed and pathological urban society that urban nature reserves bring.
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