Yesterday I put up a video from Boxhill Wood. Today we were in the other nature area looked after by Abingdon-on-Thames Town Council -The Ock Valley Walk. There was a mixture of sun and shade as we walked between the two streams.
Below the weir a group of geese were paddling in the sparkling water.
We saw Martin Wackenier – Devine Times Photography and said hello from a Social Distance. Martin has been taking pictures every day on his exercise walk during the lockdown. With his sharp eye and lens he sees and identifies lots of birds and insects. First time we have seen him out.
It is a good time to learn to identify birds but not easy to get decent pictures.
Blackbirds and Robins are not that difficult to photograph but other birds like wrens are more elusive to the camera lens..
The other issue is identification. This bird is a wagtail and not pied. Both the grey and yellow wagtail can have yellow underneath. Most likely it is a Grey Wagtail, even though it does not look that grey. It is near flowing water and Greys are more common.
Further along by the other weir was a heron.
There used to be a blog about wildlife by the Ock. It has moved to be a more occasional twitter feed these days.
A couple of cormorants have been spotted recently, perched on green buoys just downstream from the Margaret Brown Gardens.
There are often cormorants up by the weir at Sutton Courtenay. The Chinese fishermen use them to catch the fish.
We are living a in a quiet world and now we have time to see and hear all these delights.
Do the Chinese fishermen in Sutton countenance know it’s out of season.????
Probably not; the notice says Private and they don’t read other people’s private correspondence.
Interesting times (Chinese proverb). I love Sutton Countenance!
Thank you Backstreeter for plugging my twitter account.
The blog ground to a halt as I had over things to focus on, but I am tempted to resurrect it during the lock-down.
On the subject of birds, has anyone heard a cuckoo in Abingdon? I have heard them at Radley Lakes, but never in South Abingdon near the Ock.
Cuckoo heard while on our exercise walk round the Abingdon marina path on Thursday 7th. Haven’t heard one for many years