Water Voles 2018

Recent studies have shown that water voles in the UK are in even more trouble than previously thought, with a decline of 30% in recent years (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/feb/26/water-vole-areas-england-wales-fall-30-percent-decade).
This is on top of the 90% decline in the proceeding decades: http://www.bbowt.org.uk/what-we-do/protecting-wildlife/water-vole-recovery-project-0

As a result, the water vole hotspots in and around Abingdon are more important than ever.

And fortunately after the very wet spring, there are signs of water vole activity, including what burrows in the river banks:

And cut stems, the distinctive sign of water vole feeding.

And the best sign of all, water vole swimming across the river:

Resident Fieldfare

It has been very cold and also heavy snow here in Oxfordshire (although not as heavy as some parts of the country http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43251824)
So this is a difficult time for wildlife and some birds and animals are driven into our gardens looking for warmth, shelter and food. 
And we now have a single resident fieldfare in ours, probably attracted by the supply of apples we have put out for the birds and is now chasing off the resident blackbirds. 
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Like most thrushes they are in decline and is globally threatened https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/fieldfare .

2017 - A whale of a time?

Living in Oxfordshire, it is somewhat difficult to have a regular encounter whale or a dolphin. 

Yet at the Oxford University Museum of Natural History (http://www.oum.ox.ac.uk)  there is a very impressive display of five cetacean skeletons (Minke whale, Orca, Northern Bottlenose dolphin, Beluga whale, Bottlenose dolphin) hung from equally impressive the neo-gothic roof.
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These  were restored in 2013 and more details of the restoration of the skeletons can in this fascinating blog https://onceinawhale.com/

The roof is not only the place to experience these animals, at the entrance to the museum are the jaws of the sperm and humpback whales and illustrate how large and diverse these animals can are.

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Oxford is not the only museum to hang a whale skeleton from the ceiling. The Natural History Museum in London (http://www.nhm.ac.uk/) has taken the art of hanging articulated cetacean skeletons to another level by replacing the famous Dippy the Diplodocus with the skeleton of a Blue Whale:

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Given the name Hope, the poor animal was stranded on a beach in Ireland in 1891 and when it died its skeleton was sold to the Museum and was hung at the back of the mammal hall. 

It has now been restored and moved to make it a breathtaking display as it appears to dive through the Hintze Hall.

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As impressive as these museum displays are, there are few things that compare to seeing animals in the wild and a visit to Iceland in May 2017 gave the opportunity for some whale spotting with Elding adventures (https://www.elding.is).
Outside of Reykjavik harbour, there was a pod of White-Beaked dolphins.
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And further out to sea was an even more impressive sight -  a young male humpback whale, which was fin slapping, tail slapping an even breaching.
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Even if 2018 doesn't provide similar experiences,  our local and national museums will always provide fascinating and thought-provoking days out.

2017 - The year of the deer?

There are six species of deer resident in the UK and throughout last year there several opportunities to encounter five of them.

Muntjac:

Probably now the most common deer found in the UK and certainly the most likely to be encountered during a walk in the English countryside, the Muntjac (also known as the Reeves-Muntjac) is a non-native species from China which escaped from captivity early in the 20th century. 

The size of a large dog it is often found skulking in the undergrowth or in the open when it is darker, as in this photograph taken at dusk during an evening walk along the river Ock earlier this year.

Roe Deer:

One of the only two of the native deer in the UK and like the muntjac is usually a solitary, yet in autumn and winter, they can form small herds.  Such as this pair, glimpsed through a hedgerow near Marcham.

Fallow Deer

Originally introduced by the Romans, Fallow Deer were re-introduced during the medieval era and kept in deer parks and this is still the place to see them.

In central Oxford, they can be seen at Magdalen College (local residents, including those from Abingdon, can get in for free with proof of address).

Smaller than a Roe deer they are one of the most recognisable of theBritishh deer due to the large herds of does and the stag's impressive and distinctive antlers 

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The deer parks in London also have fallow deer, Richmond is the most famous, but the nearby Bushy Park (https://www.royalparks.org.uk/parks/bushy-park) is somewhat smaller and great place for deer spotting as they are accustomed to being close to people:

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Including this magnificent white hart:

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A lot of the medieval deer parks eventually fell into the disrepair and the deer escaped and now several hundred years later it is possible to have an unexpected encounter with a herd of fallow deer, so as Bernwood Forest in Oxfordshire:

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Japanese Sika Deer:

Looking somewhat similar to Fallow deer, although the males have antlers that more resembles a red deer.  

They are mostly found in private deer parks, but these 2017 sightings were at the RSPB nature reserve at Arne (https://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z/arne?gclid=EAIaIQobChMItPPI_Mns2AIVjrftCh387whJEAAYASAAEgJyIfD_BwE) in Dorset.

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Like most deer, the Sika deer rut takes place in Autumn and so in February (when these pictures were taken)  the stags have calmed down, are sociable with each other and starting to lose their antlers.

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Red Deer

The Red Deer is the other native UK deer, it is also the largest British land mammal and like the Fallow Deer there are wild populations.
But the best place to see them is in managed deer parks which are open to the public, such as Wollaton Hall in Nottingham http://www.wollatonhall.org.uk (also home to Nottingham Natural History Museum and will feature in a future blog post): 

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As well as Fallow Deer, Bushy Park has a population of red deer, in late Autumn the rut has finished and the stags have calmed down and the stags are mostly resting and recovering their strength.

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The younger stags and the herd of doe are also amiable.
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But often cause problems for any drivers taking a shortcut through the park. 
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Maybe 2018 will provide more deer spotting opportunities and maybe a chance to see the other species of deer resident in the UK - the very elusive Chinese Water Deer.