Random Stuff

Dark nights and mornings, Christmas preparations and not to say horrid winter colds has meant that getting down to the river (or elsewhere) has been virtually impossible recently.  Perhaps it's a time to go through some recent pictures which, for whatever reason, did not make it into a post:
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Buzzard: Buzzards are a frequent subject of this blog, as fortunately at least one pair has been breeding near the river. Although having one fly low overhead is somewhat unusual, especially with the lighting conditions making the patterns on their wings and bodies obvious - as this one seen in late November.
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There are four birds of prey that are often seen by the river, sparrowhawks, kestrels, red kites and buzzards.
What is somewhat interesting is red kites and buzzards share the same food - carrion, rabbits and when times are hard - worms, yet they don't seem to be territorial with each other.
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Severed Fish Head: There probably aren't too many people in Abingdon who not only get excited about finding a severed fish head, let alone stop and take a photograph of one.  But this one, seen along the Ock Valley walk back in October is probably an otter kill.
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The mother and the two cubs seen back in May would probably have now separated, with the mother driving the cubs out and she seeks to breed again.  Could this have been mother? Or one of the cubs trying to set up a territory or a dog otter, living in the nearby Thames, coming into feed and maybe seek out a receptive female?


Kingfisher: The steep banks along the river make the Ock an ideal habitat for kingfishers and it  is not uncommon to see the bright flash as one streaks past and they can sometimes be seen sat on a branch watching for fish.  But as they are easily disturbed, being able to take a picture of one is unusual. In fact in late November, whilst walking to work, presented one of the few opportunities this year to be close enough to get a picture:

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As the weather gets harsher and the river gets fuller and starts to freeze, the kingfishers may migrate to warmer parts of the country, where it is easier to find food.  Returning in spring to breed again.


Starlings:As regular readers of this blog will know, the starlings at Otmoor are a favourite subject of this blog.  It is certainly one of the sights of the county, if not the country with hundreds of thousands of starlings woshing overhead and forming mesmerising shapes.
However,  the autumn and winter of 2011 have been very disappointing with starling murmuration consisting of just several hundred, as seen in November

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There is even a sign saying the starling numbers are significantly down this year, the lack of rain through the summer has meant the reed beds have dried up, as a result predators like foxes make the reeds less secure, so naturally, the starlings have gone on to find safer roosts.

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