As the new year begins, it is the season for foxes to find a home to raise their young. Next to our field pond, there is a large mound of earth that is friendly to wildlife. Rabbits use it to dig their burrows. In early January, when the weather was sunny, many birds came to feed amongst the fallen leaves. We saw starlings, redwings, fieldfares and garden birds, including a cheeky blue tit that pecked at the camera. We also had many rabbits, a squirrel who luckily has not discovered the bird feeders, and a mouse. The fox visited several times, inspecting the holes. It won’t be long before the rabbits move out for a while when the fox cubs arrive.
Please ignore the date on the camera, the day and time are correct, but the month is wrong. This is January, not March.
This week, our outing was to the National Museum of Computing, near Bletchley Park. It’s a separate museum with cool old working computers, like the code-breaking machines Colossus and Bombe (though Colossus was sadly off that day). They even have a recreation of the EDSAC computer from Cambridge University!
Seeing the IBM 370/165 brought back memories from my university days, writing programs on that clunky machine. I swear, it always kept me waiting with those compilation errors! And was it just me, or did Cambridge get a dud? It didn’t even have virtual storage at first, which cost a huge chunk of money to add. My next job had a smaller 370, one that actually did have virtual storage, thankfully.
After the big machines, the museum had an awesome collection of personal computers, from Sinclairs to Pets and early IBM PCs. Some were even working! They also had a cool collection of old mobile phones and organizers. It reminded me about cleaning out our office desk at work, full of outdated tech.
After the museum, we headed to IKEA for some classic Swedish meatballs, mash, and gravy. Delicious!
Wanting to escape the boredom of same-old, same-old days, R and I have embarked on a self-proclaimed “Odyssey.” Every week, we vow to venture out, taking turns in choosing our destination. Last week, we meandered through the tranquil hues of College Lake in Tring. This week, our second expedition on this self-imposed odyssey, we went to the grand expanse of the National Trust’s Stowe Gardens. (Usually, Stowe beckons us in early spring to view Snowdrops, but this year, that season had slipped through our fingers.)
A brisk stroll led us around the lake, past the imposing house (now a private school), viewing poignant poppy decorations, each a silent tribute to fallen soldiers in conflicts past, as well as large silhouettes of soldiers standing stoic as stark reminders of sacrifice and valour. Our exploration complete, we sought the NT cafe for lunch.
The relentless drizzle had transformed our field into a patchwork of glistening puddles. Few green blades of grass, just grey puddles reflecting the leaden sky. A new habitat perhaps?
Drawn by the waters, flocks of starlings arrived, their speckled plumage gleaming against the grey backdrop. They alighted with a flurry of wings onto the makeshift islands, their chatter livening up the drabness. Their beady eyes darted, scanning the water’s surface for morsels, their movements a blur of avian industry.
But the stars of this soggy symphony were the Egrets and Grey Herons. Tall and elegant, they stalked the flooded fields with an air of regal entitlement. Their long, sinuous necks dipped and probed, their sharp beaks spearing unsuspecting invertebrates from the murky depths. Each successful strike elicited a guttural croak, a triumphant fanfare echoing through the wet air.
Their movements were almost balletic. The Egrets, poised and delicate, walked across the water, their snowy plumage a stark contrast to the muddy green canvas. The Grey Herons, larger and more imposing, waded with measured steps, their piercing yellow eyes missing nothing.
This soggy interlude, born from the whims of the weather, has transformed our familiar field into a vibrant wetland teeming with life. It was a reminder that even the most mundane corners have the potential for unexpected beauty.
The College Lake, near Tring, but in Buckinghamshire, serves as the flagship location for the Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT), of which we are members. Apparently, the acquisition of this quarry by BBOWT is steeped in historical significance. Originally a working chalk quarry, the site underwent transformation in the mid-20th century into a nature reserve due to the collective efforts of conservationists and the local community. This shift from industrial use to a conservation area marked a pivotal moment in the history of BBOWT, signifying their dedication to preserving natural habitats and fostering biodiversity.
Returning from our holiday in France, we intended to make Tuesdays special with an outing. Our first visit would be to College Lake, an attraction long overlooked despite our longstanding membership and support of BBOWT. The day boasted ideal conditions—abundant sunshine and warmth—perfect for a leisurely walk around the lake, an exploration chosen for its length, preceding a well-deserved lunch break.
The trail predominantly comprises cement pathways, ensuring accessibility even during soggy weather in the winter months. However, the paths unfortunately veer away from the lake’s edge, posing challenges for wildlife observation and photography. Though hides offering closer proximity to potential wader sightings were present, the allure of lunch prompted a deferment of this exploration.
On the far side of the lake stood a collection of antiquated farming machinery, serving as an intriguing interlude during the walk.
Upon our return to the BBOWT shop, we had lunch outdoors.
While we were sitting outside eating lunch, we became aware of some paragliders flying over us. In total there must have been around eight. Some were high, and a few were quite low. I was expecting these to land in fields around us. They recovered and found some lift and were soon very high.
They were moving in a north easterly direction being blown along by the south westerly wind. Where had they come from and where were they going? I had heard of previous flights from Combe Gibbet and Milk Hill and landing somewhere in Norfolk. I read a report about a flight on the 26th of July from Milk Hill to Kings Lynn but have not seen any reports of this August flight.
A group of us visited Addingrove Farm to see their new robotic milking parlour. We arrived at Chilton and were taken down to the farm on the back of a couple of tractors and trailers. On route we drove through a “closed” road, where Thames Water was endeavouring to fix a leak. At the farm, we were divided into two groups to look at the milking parlour.
The barn has room for 200 cows, plus a few more dry ones. Normally they are able to go in and out of the barn and graze the fields, as they wish We were told that many of the cows preferred to stay inside, and when it rained there was a stampede for cover. The barn had feed on both sides. In the centre were the cows water beds where they could lie in comfort. The cows were on slats which robots patrolled, scraping the excrement through the slats into a special processing system down underneath.
There were four milking cubicles, and the cows would enter these of their own accord and be automatically milked. They could be milked up to four times a day. If they entered the milking parlour again, they were not fed, and were ejected. Those cows who chose not to be miked in 24 hours could be identified on the computer screen and action taken to persuade them to be milked.
In the evening, the lights are dimmed to a red glow.
It all seemed to work smoothly, we saw cows entering and being milked, and others, who were trying it on, being ejected.
After the visit we were transported back to Chilton, where we bought beers from the Chiltern Brewery and BBQed burgers from the local butcher. They were excellent burgers, and I did go in for a second round. The money raised went to the church
Following the burgers, we finished the evening at George’s drinking Scotch. As we left at 10.10 I spotted a bright moving light in the sky. I later checked. It was the International Space Station.
It has been a long while since I posted a video about our fox cubs. This five-minute video shows the fox cubs still with the Vixen down at our waterhole. The timeline is from mid-end June.
On the waterhole (pond) you can see a pair of moorhens racing around the pond, and preening. In one shot at about 32 seconds in you can see a fox cub on the bank, and the moorhens in the pond.
At 45 seconds in, a Muntjac (?) deer makes an appearance, after which we see a Vixen and her two cubs walking along the bank in the darkness.
During daylight hours, a grey heron comes fishing and catches a small unidentified morsal of food from the pond.
More fox cubs and their mother appear during daylight and darkness, often to come for a drink from the pond.
A Greater Spotted Woodpecker appears at 3.15. It hangs around entertaining us for a few seconds.
This week’s fox cub video was a success. The battery did not fail, and I was able to capture footage of three cubs playing and exploring their immediate surroudnings. I moved the camera partway through the week to a lower vantage point, which allowed me to get better shots of the cubs.
There were originally two vixens and six cubs, but this week I saw only three cubs and no vixens. I believe one vixen has moved home. Towards the end of the week, only one cub remained by the den. I believe the other two cubs have begun to explore a larger area. Last year, they were often seen sleeping under the willow trees. There are also many other large holes on this side of the earth mound and the other sides of the mound.
I am eager to receive my new camera trap. The model I ordered is currently on back order, but I am hopeful that it will arrive soon. In the meantime, I will continue to monitor the fox cubs with my current camera.
I am also pleased to report that the rabbits have returned to the area. They were seen exploring the fox den several times this week. I believe the cubs are not a threat to the rabbits. Too small, or ignorant, to hunt?
Beating the Bounds is a tradition where members of a parish walk around their parish boundary. In the case of Grendon Underwood this is around 15 miles. The walk is performed once every 7 years, and has a number of strange customs. Crosses are chopped into the bark of prominent trees on the boundary, failing a tree, a cross is cut into the soil.. Children are supposed to have their bottoms smacked with a spade at these locations. This is to remind them of where the boundaries are. In our woke society this becomes men and women having their turns at being beaten. Thankfully the police were not around, with their new arrest powers what would they have made of us, carrying spades ands axes along and across the HS2 line.
As you can see there were a couple of detours which added to the distance. Nesting birds neccesitated us to walk around the perimeter of the BBOWT nature reserve and not along the Tetchwick Brook. Because of newly laid concrete by HS2 we had to take a detour around the incinerator to cross HS2.
The day was an ideal walking day. No rain, a breeze and not too hot. The ground was wet underfoot, the recent sunny weather had not yet dried the land out,
We started the walk at Gallow’s Bridge, walking around the perimeter of the reserve, being led by the BBOWT warden, Ilona. (As I said, the walk along the bounday of Tetchwick Brook not being allowed because of nesting birds.)
There were a further couple of short detours from the route before we reached Edgcott, these because of unsympathetic landowners.
We stopped at Prune Farm for tea and cakes and then headed onwards to the Energy from Waste incinerator and HS2. A large detour around the incinerator, because of newly laid concrete, back on track we headed to Finemere Hill House for our packed lunches. Lovely views, but spolit by the Incinerator and the workings of HS2.
After lunch we headed on down the hill and across HS2, almost on the correct path. In all these crossinsg we were helped by four HS2 employees to ensure we didn’t tie ourselves to the trees. After that, we were back in wild Buckinghamshire walking through Grendon and Doddershall woods, stopping to view the King Tree. We met up with the Waddesddon boundary walkers at Ham Home Wood. Another welcome stop was in store for us, beer and sandwiches at Canaletto. The sandwiches kept on coming!
Now the final couple of miles and we were back at Gallow’s Bridge. in all we walked 25.4km, taking 9 hours and 20 minutes. We started at around 51 meters, and rose to a maximum altitude of 135 meters.
This is useful view, you can see where we strayed from the parish boundary. There is one tracking error in the route. I some how turned off the tracker as we exited Doddershall woods, and failed to reenable it untilwe had walked a 100 meters along the road. The Google maps track is correct.
