Murcott Meadows SSSI

Today I had a short break from work for an afternoon walk over Murcott Meadows SSSI (http://tinyurl.com/32muucx). The temperature was about 2°C; however, the cloud was thin and the sun was out! All ground was still frozen in the areas of shade.

The following were of note.

Flora:

Nothing of great interest; however, I did take the following photographs of lichen encrusted Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa). This was a very common sight on the north side of the spinney.

Birds:

17 species were seen and/or heard and recorded in BirdTrack (http://www.bto.org/birdtrack/). Of main interest were good views of Fieldfares (Turdus pilaris) and Redwings (Turdus iliacus), plus small groups of Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) heading towards the Otmoor roost (http://tinyurl.com/39lsnys).

Mammals:

Fresh Mole (Talpa europaea) activity in evidence around the meadow boundaries, plus one Grey squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) seen.