To set the scene, here is the Millstream viewed from the concrete bridge built by the old Abingdon firm Cowley Concrete. This was early this morning, with the ducks all resting on the bank and the reflections perfectly clear on the still water.

A mute swan, one of two, gliding past with its reflection distorted by the water.

A pair of ducks going about together. Hopefully there will be ducklings to report before too long.

A moorhen moving through rippling water, the surface reflecting the brick fronts of the Thamesview houses.

One of the many robins that sing along this stretch of the stream.

A blackbird, fresh from a squabble with a rival, pausing on a low perch overlooking the Abbey Meadows.

Finally, a muntjac deer. I saw another two among the wilder bushes today, and also startled an egret, though neither stayed long enough for a photograph. This one lingered on the bank near the CEF industrial unit.

In late winter, wildlife comes closer to people and gardens. Near the Thamesview houses by the Millstream there is a bird feeder, and the spilled feed has attracted not only birds but also a muntjac and a squirrel.

Sometimes there is a pair of swans on this stretch of water. Sometimes there is only one. When they come back together, they greet each other with arching and dipping necks. Here they were feeding underwater and I was waiting for both to have their heads up together.

Moorhens usually keep close to the bank, and this lone moorhen appears to paddle at the centre of a swirl of reflections.

A song thrush is attracted to the ivy berries, as are other birds, though it is not always easy to spot them among the leaves.

With the sun higher in the sky there are bright reflections, and the Thamesview houses and bridge are mirrored in the water. There are small leaves on the weeping willows. Not many trees have leaves yet.

February has been mild, and the evenings have been getting lighter. Here the sun is setting at around 5.30pm, with darker trees and water reflections looking back across the Abbey Meadows.

According to Agnes Baker (¹), access to Abingdon Abbey was once controlled by at least four gateways, of which the surviving Abbey Gateway was the principal entrance.

Above is the Abbey Room; straight ahead stands the Old Abbey House Hotel in Abbey Close; and to the right is the Abbey Hall, home to the Abbey Cinema. Walk on and you reach the Abbey Gardens, and beyond that the Abbey Meadows. Down Checker Walk are the Abbey Buildings that did belong to the Abbey. Even though most of the Abbey has long since vanished, the name Abbey is everywhere.

When I took this picture, on Wednesday, a broad band of late afternoon light stretched down the middle of the gateway. Since then, we have had two days of rain.

¹ Baker, Agnes. Historic Streets of Abingdon. Abingdon: The Abbey Press, 1957.