Review of the year.

Looking back over the past 12 months, this blog has consisted of 82 posts, a staggering 150 comments have been received and 2851 photographs have been taken (thankfully most of them have not been posted). And as this is probably the last post of the year it seems a good opportunity to reflect upon my favourite posts:
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Wytham Woods:  During 2010 this blog ventured further afield  - from the beech trees of Buckinghamshire to a Ghost Forest in Oxford.  But probably the favourite places visited is Wytham Woods near Oxford.
As it is owned by the University of Oxford it requires a permit to visit and as a result you are more likely to encounter a badger than a dog walker.
http://viewsoftheock.blogspot.com/2010/10/way-through-woods.html
With over 200 different types, it is also a great place to try to search for fungus:
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Even armed with two field guides and an iPod app it proved to be very difficult: http://viewsoftheock.blogspot.com/2010/10/more-fungus.html
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Views of Norfolk:  Written after a holiday in Norfolk and  despite not being near the Ock (or Oxfordshire) it does contain two of my favourite photographs taken this year - a stoat (one of my favourite animals), given it's proximity to a small stream, it could be hunting water voles: 
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And possibly the best kingfisher photo I'll ever take, it did help that I was in a hide - something which isn't possible on the Ock.
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The full post (and seal photos) at: http://viewsoftheock.blogspot.com/2010/09/views-of-norfolk.html
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Birds of Prey: Once rare, birds of Prey are now quite common. Buzzards now nest near-by; peregrines can been seen in Oxfordshire (I've seen them at Otmoor) and kestrels are often seen hunting over the fields.  But to have a sparrowhawk in the garden was a bonus(even though it is a rubbish picture) and I have struggled to get decent picture of a red kite since (once extinct in England, now have made a remarkable comeback), so it was good to finally get one.
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The full post: http://viewsoftheock.blogspot.com/2010/10/birds-of-prey.html
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Water Voles: Nearly 20% of the this years posts have been about water voles, so there are plenty to choose from, but my favourite is the post documenting the water voles on Radley Brook where I managed to film this one eating an apple core I left for it (not quite Terry Whittaker standard).
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.What makes this post the best of the year is that it was thought the colony was extinct (a BBOWT survey earlier had drawn a blank) - wiped out by mink, one of which I saw in March:
The full post (and more films): http://viewsoftheock.blogspot.com/2010/09/movies-from-radley-brook.html
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Otter:The otter activity in the Ock has become a bit of an obsession in recent posts, perhaps not surprising as it was only 20 years ago that they were extinct in Oxfordshire, now they have  recolonised the Ock and the Thames and without doubt my favourite post of the year was back in February when I first found signs of otters (even if it was just a pile of poo!!):
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The full post is at: http://viewsoftheock.blogspot.com/2010/02/in-search-of-otters.html
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Thank you to everyone who has read this blog in the past 12 months, whether a regular or an occasional visitor and thank you to everyone who has commented on this blog  - hopefully there has occasionally been something of interest.  

Blog Roll review of the year

2010 has been a mixed year in the blogosphere, Martin decided to end his 'Gullivers Travels' blog, which was also an inspiration for photography, but on the plus side I've found several excellent new blogs.
So, as last year, I thought I would use this period up to new year to review some of my favourite posts over the past 12 months:
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Life in an Oxfordshire Lawn - Crane Fly: I am a huge fan of Henry Wallon's extraordinary blog on the wildlife found in his garden, but this recent post grabbed my attention:
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http://lifeonanoxfordlawn.blogspot.com/2010/12/crane-fly-in-family-limonia-nebeculosa.html
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In a post in Autumn I tried to identify some of the crane flies I encountered and found it virtually impossible as there are 10,000 species of fly that can be considered as a crane fly  and as Henry discusses it is very difficult to identify them. So full credit to Henry for managing to identify his - remarkable.
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Abingdon Blog -  Fox on Ock Street: I am an avid reader of Backstreeter's Abingdon Blog, showing a daily update in our town and it is the first web site I visit each day (followed by the cricket scores on the BBC).
But this post caught my interest, firstly it is one of the best fox photographs I've seen - a lovely portrait of a young fox cub:
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http://www.abingdonblog.co.uk/?p=275
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But what makes this post is the 10 comments that follow, showing that blogging is as much dependent upon the commenters as the blogger - especially the last one from Lyndsey "... then I see he’s been killed near town.".

About a Brook: Kate's water vole blog is a gem and one of the inspirations behind my own blog, full of interesting information about the water voles that live in Shropshire it is hard to pick out one post, but this one shows the excellent pictures she has managed to capture and follow the same vole as it grows up.
- keep up the good work Kate.
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http://staggsbrook.blogspot.com/2010/08/baby-grown-up.html
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Gardening with binoculars - Starlings: Back in November I wrote a post about starlings at otmoor and mentioned the decline in starlings in the UK in recent years.
I found Gardening with binoculars on the Nature Blog Network and I was fascinated in this post written by Anne McCormack on the same subject. Except hers is written in America, where (as she mentions) starlings were deliberately introduced by the 'The Acclimatization Society' who wanted to introduce european wildlife into America, especially those mentioned in the works of Shakespeare.
Something which is completely unnecessary, as Anne goes onto show, American wildlife is just (if not more) wonderful than what we have in the UK and just makes you wonder, what were our fore bearers thinking.
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http://gardeningwithbinoculars.blogspot.com/2010/12/critical-mass-of-starlings.html
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Terry Whittaker - Water Voles: Terry Whittaker is a professional photographer based in Kent and his  blog covers many subject, from the depressing - the trade in tiger parts and bear bile to the uplifting - pine martens caught on a camera trap.
But my favourite post of Terry's is his water vole films, which in a few seconds encapsulates why these are one of my favourite animals.
Now I have finally made the leap into DSLR terrioritary, it's very tempting to attend one of Terry's water vole photography workshops.
http://terrywhittakerphoto.blogspot.com/2010/06/mill-stream-water-vole-updates.html
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A huge thank you to all the blog writers featured and those who haven't, I have learnt a great deal from all these blogs.

Footprints

I received this intriguing comment on a previous post:

I spotted what I think were Otter footprints in the snow beneath the bridge along the Ock Valley Walk - be interesting to see if you can verify they are Otter prints.

Which has inspired me to seek out the various footprints left in the recent snow and to try and identify them:

Birds: Some bird footprints are easy to identify, such as these left by mallards and moorhens along the ock valley walk.

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Smaller birds are harder to identify as they just leave small holes in the snow.

Leporids: The two prints at the front and one behind are almost certainly left by a rabbit
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The other candidate would be a brown hare.  I have never seen a hare in the locality, although I have seen them near Wantage, so it is not impossible that they frequent the area.

Canine: There are two species of canine that can be seen along ock, the red fox and domestic dog.  This footprint is from a domestic dog, taken in a place that is popular with dog walkers.

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Mustelids: There are several species of mustelid that could be found along the Ock - badger, otter, mink and stoats, weasels and polecats.

What differentiates a mustelid footprint from a canine is five toes, whilst a canine has four.  This footprint found in south Abingdon could be a badger, but it is hard to count the number of toes but it was found near where I have seen badgers previously:

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This footprint was found along the ock valley walk, where the previous commenter said they have seen possible otter footprints.

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A close up shows (now circled) five toes, so it almost certainly a mustelid and given it's location it could definitely be an otter and it is where I have previously found a dead crayfish (common otter prey), so thank you very much for the tip-off.

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A good example of an otter footprint is snow is from Charlie Hamilton James' Twitter Feed: http://twitpic.com/3if160

As always, comments are very welcome, especially if I have misidentified something.

More Snow

One of the advantages of living in south Abingdon and working in north Abingdon is the walk to work can be very picturesque after heavy snow and the rivers are at their finest.
The river Ock in south Abingdon:
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Burford Bridge spanning the Thames.

From the footbridge over the Abbey Stream looking towards the Thames weir.

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And the view of St. Helens Wharf  from Burford Bridge is the classic Abingdon Christmas card scene.

Snow!!

Fourteen centimetres (5.5 inches) of snow fell in a few hours on Saturday morning and as expected, this caused complete traffic chaos in this part of Oxfordshire.
However, the Ock Valley Walk was very scenic
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The Lower Ock had even frozen in places:
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And a pleasant surprise of two muntjac deer near the town centre.
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And if the snow persists it will be interesting to see what footprints have been left by the animals who have been struggling even more than the local transport system.
The Abingdon blog has more photos of the snow

Otters 2010

As discussed in recent posts, the  recent findings of spraints along the river demonstrate that the spraint found in March wasn't just a single occurrence. So it seems an opportunity to reflect upon the various otter related postings over the past 12 months.
Like the water vole map, a map of otter activity can be plotted using google maps:



View Otters 2010 in a larger map

Pin A: Is the original spraint recorded in February:http://viewsoftheock.blogspot.com/2010/02/in-search-of-otters.html
It is also the site of the recent spraints as recorded in these two recent posts:
http://viewsoftheock.blogspot.com/2010/11/return-of-otter.html in November and this one three weeks later  http://viewsoftheock.blogspot.com/2010/12/more-otter.html 
Pin B: Is the location of a mutilated cray fish found by Drayton Road bridge , found back in July:
http://viewsoftheock.blogspot.com/2010/07/murder-mystery-on-ock.html
Although the post considers various options on what killed it, in retrospect I am convinced it was an Otter.
Pin C: Is another dead crayfish, this one was intact, so it may be not have been an otter killing: http://viewsoftheock.blogspot.com/2010/08/crayfish-murders-another-victim.html
Pin D: Is possible otter sighting, seen having retrieved the spraint as described at the end of this recent spraint post: http://viewsoftheock.blogspot.com/2010/11/return-of-otter.html
As with the water vole and other wildlife sightings recorded in this blog they are sent to the Thames Valley Environmental Records Centre.
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This blog isn't the only record of otter activity in the area and by expanding the map these can be seen relative to the four discussed in this blog, showing the area now covered by otters in this part of Oxfordshire:

View Otters 2010 in a larger map

Pin E: An otter spraint was recorded earlier in the year at Sandford Brook at the Dry Sandford Pit nature reserve (source BBOWT newsletter)
Pin F (near Oxford): The location of an otter spraint recorded at the BBOWT nature reserve at Iffley Meadows along the river Thames (source - BBOWT newsletter).
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The level of otter activity is perhaps not suprising as the Thames catchement has shown one of the largest increases in otter numbers as stated in the environment agency's 2010 otter survey
In 2000 / 2002 there was no evidence of otters along the Ock and the Thames, yet in 2009/2010 16 out of 20 surveys revealed evidence of otters.
The Environment Agency suggest this could be due to improved water quality in recent years as otters moved in from the west (possibly via the kennet and avon canal) and a reintroduction programme in the Upper Thames area in 1999.
Although otters seldom live beyond 6 years, it may be the relatives of these reintroduced otters that are currently resident in the Ock.
The Environment Agency report also highlights one of the biggest threats to otters is in road accidents, such as the Pin G  in the map which is where the dead otter was found at Clifton Hampden mentioned by David in a comment to the original otter spraint post: http://viewsoftheock.blogspot.com/2010/02/in-search-of-otters.html

2011 BBOWT Upper Thames calendar

Each year, the Upper Thames division of the Berks, Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust produce a calendar to assist with fund raising and the 2011 version features two of my water vole photographs - one of the front cover and one for August:

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This year the funds will go towards assisting with the  BBOWT Cothill Fen project. More details can be found at: http://www.bbowt.org.uk/content.asp?did=26091

Frost

With the temperature being below freezing for the past few days there have been plenty of opportunities for photographs of the frost that doesn't seem to melt:.
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All photographs have been taken in north east Abingdon where, unlike south Abingdon, the fields, verges and meadows have not been cut

Yet more spraints...

It's tempting to say otter spraints on the Ock are like buses, you don't see one for a while and then several turn up at the same time.  But this is not entirely accurate as the Abingdon to Oxford bus service is actually very good and reliable.

As mentioned in the post below, the first otter spraint recorded under the A34 was in February 2010 and despite monthly surveys, another one wasn't found till  ten months later.  This is perhaps not surprising as otters are very territorial with a male otter having a territory of over 20 square miles and whilst a female otter has a smaller territory she will not share it with a male and they only meet on the edge of their respective territories. 

Hence it was probable that otters were infrequent visitors, perhaps occasionally moving in from the Thames to feed on crayfish and mark their territory.

However, two days later (19/11/2010) another spraint was found in the same place:

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Then today (4th December 2010), not one but two fresh spraints:

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So it seems for the time being that there is a resident otter along the Ock and as four spraints have been found in the same location within a few weeks there could be more than one otter. This could mean the bridge is an overlap between two territories or there could be a female with a cub......

Return of the Otter

In Feburary I found an otter spraint under the bridge where the Ock flows underneath the A34. Since then I have  regularly checked the site to find if there are more spraints and nine months later I have at last found a new fresh one:
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Like it's predecessor, it was taken home  (in a plastic pot I reserve for such matters) and dissected it.  The best way I've found is to soak it water, not only does it come apart but the jasmine smell becomes stronger - making it evident that is an otter.
I suspected that it might contain signs of crayfish - as I have found two dead ones in the past twelve months (one almost definately a victim of an otter), instead it consisted of small fish bones (like the first one), the 1p coin is to give a sense of scale:
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When leaving the bridge, I thought I saw something swim across the river - to big to be a water vole and definitely not a moorhen, although one was making a swift exit.  So not only have I found another spraint, but perhaps I got a quick glimpse of one of the rarest and elusive creatures in Oxfordshire.
Like the best animal mysteries, no photographic evidence was recorded.

Murmurations

Throughout the spring and summer, starlings have been raising their young in the eves of the some of the houses in south Abingdon.  Now their young have fledged and are now joined by migrants from europe who enjoy the advantage point provoided by the roofs and aerials of the local houses.
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Before roosting, probably in the nearby hedges, or when they're startled by a passing sparrowhawk they form flocks which can be quite impressive, consisting of probably more than 100 birds.

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However, for truley impressive murmurations (the collective name for starlings) in Oxfordshire is the RSPB reserve at Otmoor, just north of Oxford, where the flocks can consist of thousands birds:

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As autumn turns into winter and more and more migrants move to the area, the display can become so impressive as the murmations now consist of hundreds of thousands of birds and these gatherings are now so popular that the RSPB are holding organised walks on 14th and 28th September

Seeing such vast numbers, it is hard to believe they are classified as red listed by the RSPB (a bird of high conservation concern) as starling numbers have declined by 60% since the 1970's.  This decline is blamed on the change to mixed farming, a decline in their food sources like leatherjackets (the larvae of craneflies) and a loss of nesting sites. This is despite starling numbers actually increasing dramatically since the 1800's as europe moved to more managed agriculture.  
Despite this decline, hopefully sites like Otmoor will continue to host displays that are so impressive they make you want to burst into a spontaneous round of applause:

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The BBC website has some very interesting information on murmurations as well as some impressive footage: http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_9175000/9175793.stm

Ock Meadow

In recent weeks this blog has ventured further afield, exploring  the delights of autumn in near (and not so near) locations.  However, it had a bit of shock when it returned to it's natural environment of the river Ock.
This is what the Ock Meadow looked like in early June (more at: http://viewsoftheock.blogspot.com/2010/06/meadows.html):
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And this is what it looks like today:
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Although the land is owned by the Vale of White Horse district council it has been leased out to another land owner who is left it fallow, possibly using it as a part of a set aside scheme. 
Either the land has changed hands and is now has a different manager or the current ones have decided to change tact and use the land for crops.
Whatever the reason, the ploughing has been quite brutal as no verges have been left.  This may annoy local dog walkers who use the field as part of circular walk::
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At least the footpath that forms the 'ock valley walk' has been left:
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With this verge and the ladygrove meadow on the other side of the river, there should be enough habitat left for the water voles.  But what the effect will be on the bank voles, field voles and the mice which in habit the ock meadow and the buzzards and kestrels that feed on them, only time will tell.  Let alone the plants and insects that had formed the meadow.
The ploughing is very deep, probably with purpose of these plants not becoming weeds.
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Instead of a varied flower meadow, it looks like we could have yet another field of rape seed and as anyone who lives nearby will testify, giving the rivers propensity to flood, growing crops next to it is a risky endeavour.

A day at the beeches

Located between Slough and High Wycombe, Burnham Beeches is a 500 acre beech woodland and like Wytham Woods it is lucky to have a wealthy benefactor - the Corporation of London
In 1880 it was threatened with destruction as part of planned housing development, so the Corporation purchased it as an area of recreation of the residents of London. Now they employ six keepers, a full time ecologist and several regular volunteers (I was one once when we lived near Maidenhead) who help maintain these fantastic woodlands and deal with the 500,000 visitors to the site each year.
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One of the things the beeches are famous for is what  the poet Thomas Gray described as 'reverend vegetables' - the ancient  beech and oak pollards. 
These pollards were formed when the beeches were common land by the commoners who cut the trees at head height to gather wood  and stop their grazing animals from eating the regrowing shoots (as would happened if the trees had been coppiced).  Such pollarding has prolonged the life of the trees, some are now several hundred years old:
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Now the commoners have gone, it is responsibility of the keepers to maintain these impressive trees as they form an important and unique habitat for birds, bats, fungus and insects and maintain it's reputation as national nature reserve and an internationally important site for wildlife.

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Whilst some of the trees have maintained their girth, some have practically rotted away, this tree, named the ballerina, now stands on a very thin trunk, most of it has now rotted away and eventually the tree will collapse.  Any pollards that do fall are left in-situ as dead the dead wood helps support the internationally rare fungus and insects that are found at the site.
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Another thing Burnham Beeches is famous for is as a film location. It is where Robin Hood, Prince of Thieves set up camp; Harry Potter met the Thestrals and apparently it's where the Spice Girls met space aliens....

Birds of Prey

Birds of prey have had an impressive recovery in recent years and are an example of how our attitudes to wildife and the environment has changed.
I saw my first buzzard in cornwall and now they are nesting near the Ock and kestrels can frequently be seen hunting over the meadows. In the past week I have had close encounters with two others:
Having been hunted to almost extinction in England at the end of the 19th Centuary, Red Kites are now a common site over Abingdon. In fact most days will guarrante at least one sighting.  This is due to a very successful release program in the Chilterns back in the 1980's.  The one pictured below was seen over Radley Lakes, where the combination of good reflective light and low flying bird presented an ideal opportunity for a picture.

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The other bird of prey encountered this week was a male sparrowhawk in the garden.  Obviously attracted to the increasing numbers of grain feeding birds like sparrows, goldfinches and dunnocks that are using the bird feeders in the garden.
Unlike red kites, the decline in the sparrowhawks is not attributed to hunting, but pesticide use in the 1950's which was being consumed by their prey.   These had the effect of making the egg shells too thin, hence not enough birds hatched.
The population only recovered when these were banned in the 1970's.  Unlike the red kites, there has not been reintroduction of sparrowhawks, instead the 40,000 breeding pairs have recovered naturally as the pesticides have slowly declined in the environment.
This picture is slightly blurred as it was taken through a window.
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Despite the recovery in Birds of Prey and their legal protection, they are still suffer from persecution: http://www.rspb.org.uk/ourwork/policy/wildbirdslaw/wildbirdcrime/birdsofprey.aspx


References:
Red Kites: http://www.redkites.co.uk/
RSPB Handbook of British Birds
Birds of Britain: http://www.birdsofbritain.co.uk/bird-guide/sparrowhawk.asp

Tall Trees

Located between Abingdon and Oxford, Harcourt Arboretum has been managed by Oxford University as part of it's Botanic Gardens since the late 1960's.  The Arboretum was originally created to be part of an impressive entrance to the stately house owned by the Harcourt family, it was sold to University by the last Viscount Harcourt in 1948
Like Wytham Woods (also owned by Oxford University) it is predominately an area for study, with a collection of plants from around the world, including rhododendron and a pinetum of fir, pine and cedar trees as well as an area of restored woodland which has an impressive display of bluebells in spring.
The arboretum is open to the public most days of the week, although a small fee is payable and it is the none native trees - especially the maples - that make it one of the best places in Oxfordshire to see the spectacular autumn colours. 
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It's not only the maple trees that are impressive, the cedar, fir and pine trees most be some of the tallest trees in the county and trying to encompass them in one picture does not do them justice,  so they are ideal for panoramic tree photos.  Where several portrait pictures are stitched together using ArcSoft Panorama maker:

http://www.arcsoft.com/estore/software_title.asp?ProductCode=PMK5PRO

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As well as the trees and the plants, the other main photographic subject for visitors are the peacocks that can be seen wondering the grounds.
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