On my monthly visit to the Abbey Fishponds Nature reserve in Abingdon, I did see Marjorie White, from a distance, cutting back some of the sedges. Marjorie was looking after this area long before the Earth Trust took over its management.
Today was cloudy and there was not a lot of direct sunshine. I visited mid morning. This is the view over one basin of sedge and other water loving plants. There are lots of mauve fluffy flowers on long stems below the houses.
There is another meadow area, lower down, where far more varieties of wildflower thrive.
In terms of wildlife the most visible bird is the wood pigeon. I heard a robin chirping an alarm call from a tree, but there was none of the sing song heard earlier in the year.
Blackberries and elderberries are out, as are the fruits of hawthorn and wild rose. Thistles are letting go clouds of fluffy seeds. There were quite a lot of bees, and fewer butterflies. Here is one butterfly on the mint like flowers in the marshy area.
There were plenty of caterpillars.
Over twenty caterpillars were munching their way through the leaves and up into the flowers of this particular ragwort. I don’t know why it was singled out.
Finally a view of the stream that bisects the nature reserve from top to bottom. It is only visible in short sections through all the overhanging plants.
Abbey Fish Ponds – August 2021
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