On Monday I went over to Bampton in Oxfordshire. Normally when I go there at this time of year the swifts are very noisy but this year I didn't hear one. The local crows, however, were taking offence at the presence of a red kite and swallows and house martins were visible.
Yesterday I encountered a red legged partridge sitting on a gate beside the road. I was able to stop the car and have a good look at his very handsome markings.
The arable fields between Ley Hill and Latimer have been harvested over the last couple of days. This morning I saw a group of yellowhammers in the middle of the road by a field gate. From the look of things they were eating spilled grain. Instead of flying into the hedgerow they flew away from me along the road at windscreen height. I haven't seen much else recently apart from a distant glimpse of a partridge and the occasional red kite.
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