Rather a lot of time spend at the desk this weekend so it was good to get out for a run this afternoon, binoculars in the rucksack. Heading eastwards towards Eydon, my best sighting was a whinchat doing what whinchats like to do - perch on a post and watch over a nice weedy field margin, ready to pounce after an insect.
Navigating through field after field of no doubt very valuable equines, then a herd of cows with a bull, I came across a bizarre situation where a right of way crosses a patch of woodland with some long abandoned wartime buildings (near Chipping Warden). A dispenser with protective glasses had been erected and an advisory notice requested people wear them while walking along a right of way. The reason being this wood has been taken over by some sort of shooting activity group. Needless to say I did not comply, but won't be too keen to go back. Can that be legal?
Returning to much more benign surroundings closer to Upper Wardington, a flock of about thirty meadow pipits lifted from a hilltop stubble field. These birds are very much more common than just a week or two ago, with flocks passing through our area on migration from our uplands to milder climes, most likely Spain. Now that sounds like a good idea...
Yesterday, a brief stop at Balscote Quarry nature reserve, produced another flock of meadow pipits and a light passage of swallows and house martins. The wetland areas are now pretty much dry, but there is still quite a lot to see and the feeders are just about to be re-loaded for the autumn season. So still worth a look if you are in the area.
Nature in the Heart of England: A personal view of nature at the junction of Oxfordshire, Warwickshire and Northamptonshire - also known as "Banburyshire". Sometimes further afield too!
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