Oxfordshire weekend

Another rather pleasant session in Oxfordshire. 

Unfortunately I've not been able to escape the stress of Beddington Farmlands completely as been working on the Save the Lapwings campaign (after my startling visit a couple of weeks ago)  and Viridor have also put a planning application in to clear a planning condition that involves putting a cycle path across the farmlands so been responding to that (yes they have put in a planning application to cop out of an existing planning condition to create a cycle path ) . On Friday also had a meeting with new campaigners who have moved into the neighbourhood and there's been discussions with Extinction Rebellion and various local activists about re-escalating campaign activity in light of recently exposed quagmires in both the CSG and CAMC and the stalling of progress on the restoration and attempts at reversing existing planning conditions. To crown the whole mess back in the crack, a planning application has been submitted here in Oxfordshire to build a 200 acre lorry park on green belt next to Waterstock Local Nature Reserve which the locals are beginning to fight. I really am getting sick of these people destroying what's left of nature.  There is a lot of extremely clever and wealthy people fighting the capitalists here, Oxfordshire has overall been very well preserved from the capitalist pandemic (still Spotted Flycatchers all over the village, Yellow Wagtails and Corn Buntings, Grey Partridges, breeding Curlews all on the doorstep)- maybe I can swap some street savy tactics for some high brow stuff? Might be just what we need? So much for my escape from eco-politics- within two weeks I have been completely sucked back in at even more fronts than before! 

Anyway on the sightings and outings front, the moth trapping has been pretty good, on Monday morning I did Otmoor and we had a family visit to Kirtlington Quarry in the afternoon. This morning I visited the airfield. The mini-farm has been doing well. On Sunday we had a roast dinner with home made and grown horse radish sauce, snap dragon peas, spinach and for pudding garden raspberry and strawberry pavlova. I'm hoping within a few weeks we will have at least some days when we will be completely self sufficient. 

 Curlew over Otmoor- several singing birds out on the MOD land . Also had a Grasshopper Warbler singing, Cuckoo and Marsh Harrier. 

Yellow Wagtail on the airfield- great to see these birds nesting in farmland crops. Also great to see nesting are Goldfinches in our wisteria at the Old Vic. The Spotted Flycatchers have also been in the garden and I also had them on the airfield and in the village.  Our Great Spotted Woodpeckers have fledged from the Walnut. 

 Corn Bunting at the airfield- great to see Yellow Wagtails and Corn Buntings doing well up there

 Common Starlings.  There were about 1000 on the MOD land at Otmoor but I couldn't find a Pinkie. 

 Plain Golden Y- what a stunner. A moth lifer 

 Saturday night was good for Plusiinae with 6 Burnished Brass (above) and 3 Plain Golden Y

 Orange Pine Twist 

 Orange Spotted Shoot 

 Shark 

 Light and dark morph Pepper Moths . Comment from county recorder Dave Wilton Nice! When you get one of the two melanic forms (the partial f.insularia or, as here, the fully melanic f.carbonaria) it would be very helpful if you could mention it as a comment. They are becoming much rarer these days.

 Fenland Pearl 

 Thyme Marble, Celypha cespitana . Comment from county recorder Dave Wilton Might be, can't be sure from the picture unfortunately. C.cespitana is not at all common in Bucks so would really need dissection to confirm.

 Sandy Longhorn . Comment from county recorder Dave Wilton Very difficult to separate metaxella and schwarziellus from a photo, I'm afraid.

 Dusky Pearl

Lappet, Elephant, Pine and Poplar Hawkmoth and Buff-tip

 Kirtlington Quarry (above and below). A Middle Jurrasic geological SSSI, where early mammals where found and a few dinosaurs. Had a few Pyramidal orchids. The walk along the canal was nice with all the long boats- another little local nature reserve gem in the local area. I've been toying with the idea of starting a new project (once I finish a couple of major papers I'm currently writing) - looking for fossil birds! I studied geology for years as I originally planned to go into mine restoration. There are some good Eocene deposits in North Kent which have been good for fossil birds. Recently on the Azores new rail species and quail species have been discovered which have been fascinating to read about. I might give it a go considering I live so close to some decent deposits. Will be good to get the old hammer out again and combine birding with geology! 

 The moth trap tonight lighting up the mini-farm