Malvin sent me this picture of a group of goslings on the cycle path beside the Mill Stream through the Abbey Meadows.

It is always a good idea to cycle slowly at that part on the path. There are pedestrians, and wildlife. In the new Highway Code, the “Hierarchy of Road Users” ranks road users in order of those who are most at risk in the event of an accident. It does not mention wildlife.

I was amazed last weekend to hear the loud sounds of fireworks during the birds breeding season. I have never investigated whether firework displays need to get a license.

Spring is here. Some birds are flitting about peacefully.

Some are having to battle to save their nest and eggs. This thrush and magpie kept diving each other with a nest in the tree.

Bumble Bees manage to fly with big bodies and small wings.

Butterflies have much larger wings for their body size. This Comma Butterfly is resting on a path. The Comma was in severe decline in the twentieth century and is making a comeback in the twenty first century. (according to https://butterfly-conservation.org/butterflies/comma)

At Thrupp Lake today, two members of The Earth Trust were there with leaflets encouraging visitors to become involved by joining as a friend of Earth Trust, not to be confused with Friends of the Earth.

They do not own Thrupp Lake but they do help care for the area.

There was a group of three tufted ducks that frequently dived together. This is a male and female and there was  also a second male.

The black headed gull is an inland bird and not a ‘seagull’ and there were lots bobbing on the water and flying about and making a lot of noise. I had never heard Thrupp Lake quite so noisy, what with them screeching, and geese honking.

The Radley Lakes Trust is working with landowners to protect and enhance the area, and there are new noticeboards on the walk round by the Railway where there are shallower wetlands

There I saw a couple of lapwings.

GWR trains come by frequently, and there also seems to be a lot of chatter from along the track. I saw my first bumble bee of the year buzzing about over an area of ground but could not see any flowers nearby.

There was a wind blowing round Radley Lakes this afternoon. The forecast is that it will get worse over night and tomorrow morning (Storm Eunice). There were lots of birds.

Here is a Coot

and a Cormorant.

There were a lot of snowdrops clustered by the shore at the start of the clockwise walk round Thrupp Lake.

The fir trees that used to stand behind the house Sandals have been cut down.

The restored ash pit, on the other side of the Sustrans Cycle path, is now a mixture of wood, and marshy areas and some water. The walk round was muddy a lot of the way.

This is just one of the remaining watery areas near the railway track. A large flock of birds came over and behind them were a couple of Kites. There was also a hawk, possibly a Kestrel, hanging in the sky and plummeting down, beyond the railway. Various trains went by: two GWR expresses, a goods train and two slower passenger trains.