Down stream on the River Thames

 Instead of taking the boat upstream as we normally do, this weekend we went downstream.
The River Thames becomes a lot wider and has less plants on the river bank after Eynsham lock. On the way there are lots of Narrow boats and a caravan park.
The river bends as it goes passed Farmoor Reservoir which is where we saw the Cormorant.
We only saw two Kingfishers, but there were about five Herons.

Heron

Cormorant

Thank you to Wildlife Kate's website for the information on the difference between a male and female Kestrel.
www.wildlifekate.wordpress.com
This is a male because he has a grey head and spots on his back.
We watched this Kestrel as we were waiting for our turn in Pinkhill Lock
The Kestrel in my slideshow is a female.

Male Kestrel

I thought this was a juvenile Kingfisher at first because it was so fluffy but it is an adult because its legs are orange where as a young Kingfisher has browner feet. 

Male Kingfisher

Bird Survey

My local wood group does quite a few surveys of the wood throughout the year.

They can be surveys on moths, bats, birds, fungi, butterflies and small mammals. 

I have been on quite a few of them and they are always really interesting to walk around the woods with an expert who can show you much more than you would ever see on your own.

This morning we went out on a bird survey with Simon and Ray.

The bird surveys are done a few times a year and they stop in several set places in the wood and record the birds in that area and then compare them to how it changes throughout the year.

During the survey we spotted

Blue tits

Great tits

Wrens 

Blackbird

Marsh Tits

Long tailed tits

Coal tits

Greater spotted Woodpecker

Green Woodpecker

Red Kite

Jays

Magpies

Stoke Doves

Wood Pigeons

Nuthatches

Tree creepers

Kestrel

Lots of Goldcrests

Robin

Swallows

Chiffchaff

Also heard a Buzzard but didn't see one.

As well as lots of grey squirrels

Simon and Ray were brilliant at identifying not only the calls of different types of birds but the different types of calls, such as a contact call, and could tell which bird was around before I could even see a bird.

Green Woodpecker

Lacewing

 On the way out of the woods, I spotted a particular Roe deer that I haven't seen before with marking on its face.

Kestrel