Hi from W Oxon

[Billy Wobble Dagger]

Hi Undine, you live in a lovely part of the England, we spent over 6 very happy years living near Witney. Lots of wildlife close by. Enjoy this wonderful site.

BWD

[eve miles]

Hello 'W Oxon'. I'm from South Oxon (Thame) and share your view about housing developments - a large number of residents here have recently been fighting plans to stick 550 houses on one site in Thame. I think it's an ongoing problem everywhere and something those who love the natural environment will have to keep on fighting, but as you say there is still plenty to see, and nature will always come back fighting anyway - daffodils grow through the cracks in pavements - it's incredible how strong nature's survival instinct is. I think Oxfordshire, though I have heard some knock it, is a great place for wildlife with a fantastic mosaic of habitats from river and fen to wood to chalkhill meadows and I (think) and a certain amount of farmland not being intensively farmed, thus allowing the farmland birds to thrive in a number of places - shame it couldn't be everywhere though. I've yet to see a flock of lapwings - (except at College Lake reserve in Bucks (near Tring - fantastic place for lapwings, wigeon, other wildfowl and waterbirds and plenty of woodland and garden birds - old chalk quarries now become lakes, and a small woodland and hide, great visitor centre) - but there's a farmland walk between Thame and Haddenham, just over the Bucks border, couple of miles away, where there are supposed to be flocks of lapwings over the fields - also plenty of skylark activity and a few minutes from my house there's a 'skylark field' - (barley field) - where they breed and you can hear and see them all year round. Being in the south-east - just - we are in prime country for urban developments, but I think considering that we have managed to preserve a good deal of rurality and bucolic essence and from what I've personally seen and read, across Oxon there's a wide variety of birds, and tons of quality nature reserves. If you haven't been, Otmoor, Farmoor, and Port Meadow all brilliant for birding, though they're more over Oxford way. Lapwings there. Also Berks Bucks and Oxon Wildlife Trust have lots of great reserves over the county - I think 'Foxholes' is near you. They've got a website. Lucky you, living in West Oxon!

[undine2006]

Thanks for all your kind messages, much appreciated.

Eve - you seem to know all the good places for birding, thanks for all the advice. Have heard of College Lake reserve, must check it out as well as the other places you mention.

Must say I don't venture out into the wild much since I lost my furkid, will have to find a birding buddy or join a group