Chris sent me this photo. He said …

On 1st Feb me and the family were walking home from the town centre at lunchtime, along the road next to the River Ock.

A guy was there fishing, and just as we were passing he hooked a huge fish and was struggling to get it in his net.

I helped hold the rod and he managed to land the fish. He asked me to take a picture of him holding his catch with his phone, but its battery was dead, so I offered to take the picture on my phone of this giant pike he was so pleased to have caught!

I gave him one of my work business cards I had in my wallet so he could email me and I could send him back the pictures.

But maybe he lost my card because he never got in touch…

Maybe you could post this on the blog as I’d love to be able to send him the pictures. He was so proud to have caught this Ock ness monster, and said he had been after this one for a while!

Thought maybe a blog reader might know who this is and put us in touch?

You can email me at backstreet60@gmail.com and I can forward any responses to Chris.

Paul Gustafson, who lives and is well known in Abingdon, wrote a book on this very subject. It goes into detail how you can develop techniques that will catch bigger pike when fishing any location. He describes how to locate the biggest fish in a fishery, the best way of catching it, and how to apply various clever techniques and the most effective tackle to achieve greater success.

A family friendly multimedia exhibition called Animals on the Move will be at St Swithun’s Church Hall in Kennington next weekend:
Saturday 18th January 10:30 – 16:30
Sunday 19th January 11:30 – 16:30

The exhibition brings together local artists, conservation organisations and scientific researchers to show the journeys made by our migratory animals.

I saw the posters and the bird box at the Barton Fields Nature Reserve in Abingdon.

The reserve contains meadow and woodland. Lots of catkins on this tree / bush in Barton Fields.

There is also scrub and marsh with a number of ponds.

On one side runs the Sustrans cycle path and Abingdon Science Park. On the other side is the Thames Path alongside a stream, separated from the River Thames by a narrow strip of land.

I will return every month in 2020 and see what I can see and capture with the camera.

Anti-roosting spikes have been added beneath the County Hall in Abingdon.

The arcaded ground floor of the County Hall has been open to pigeons since being built in 1862, and being a building of great historical importance does need protection. Pigeons like nothing better than to defecate all over it.

Berries can be rich with sugar and, at this time of year, provide a great source of food for birds. Birds have competition from humans when it comes to blackberries.

Humans also go for elderberries although they don’t agree with everybody and are best made into drinks.

Not many humans would try the red berries even if they came from the Guelder Rose.

The Mountain Ash berries will probably not be eaten by birds until they are ripe or food is more scarce.

Birds must also, as needs must, eat the berries of Lords and Ladies to help disperse the seeds. They do not tempt many humans with their clammy poisonous look.