It was cool and grey as we hit the road and remained so all the way to Oxford. We made a brief stop at Stonehenge for a coffee and a sausage roll before continuing on to Silsbury Hill which disappointingly is no longer accessible to the public. We carried onwards to Avebury and had a walk around the stones and a look around Avebury Manor which was very interesting and with a stunning garden which provided the one and only butterfly sighting of the day, a holly blue which flitted briefly over a yew hedge and out of sight. Better views were had of a young rabbit busily munching the plants and escaping the clutches of the gardeners who were trying to catch it.
Rabbit, Avebury Manor Gardens
Nearing Oxford and red kites began to appear soaring in the skies overhead, a nice sight and a change from buzzards here in the south west, and we arrived safely at our hotel near the centre of Oxford to begin our stay just before the rush hour traffic began.
The weather forecast for the week ahead wasn't looking great with cloud, showers and cool temperatures, not great for butterflying, and despite a favourable forecast for the morning of Tuesday 18th June we decided to head off to Blenheim Palace for the day due to rain being forecast for the afternoon.
Arriving at the Palace and the sun was shining so we had a walk around the Lake first and watched 3 red kites soaring overhead and calling. Sand martins, swifts, swallows and house martins were hawking for insects overhead and tufted ducks and great crested grebes were out on the lake amongst the mallard, coot, Canada geese and greylag geese.
Red Kite, Blenheim Palace
We then had a look around the Palace itself which was very interesting and by the time we had completed the tour of the rooms the clouds had arrived along with the showers and so after some refreshments we had a wander around the formal gardens. I was hoping to find some spotted flycatchers but was out of luck although I am sure I did hear some hidden in the trees. I did however get some good views of 3 treecreepers, some very tame and beautifully patterned male pheasents, blue tailed damselflies, bee orchids, pyramidal orchids and the one and only butterfly sighting of the day, this time a small tortoiseshell feeding on flowers before flying off.
Pheasent, Blenheim Palace
Bee Orchid, Blenheim Palace
Small Tortoiseshell, Blenheim Palace
After a wander around the maze we had a look around the butterfly house nearby and had some great views of some beautiful and exotic butterflies although not the native and wild ones I was hoping for.
Butterfly Sp.
Butterfly Sp.
Butterfly Sp.
Butterfly Sp.
The rain duly arrived as we walked back to the car for the drive back to Oxford but it had been a very enjoyable day out.
Wednesday 19th June was cloudy and cool but humid and we decided to have a day in Oxford to see the sights. From our hotel we walked along the footpath by the River Thames into the city centre and started off with a visit to the botanic gardens which were beautifully laid out and with some lovely glasshouses and I managed a brief sighting of again the only butterfly of the day, a small tortoiseshell, along with a newt species in a pond and a beautiful demoiselle flying over the bushes.
We carried on to the Natural History Museum (free) which was very good with some interesting dinosaur finds from the local area on display and a swift nest cam with 3 chicks in a nest in the museums tower. The adjoining Pitt Rivers Collection (again free) was very good too with a massive collection of anthropomorphic items from all over the world with a focus on the art, design and development of these everyday items.
The final visit of the day was to The Ashmolean Musueum (also free) which was also very interesting and with an amazing Egyptian shrine on display, the only pharaonic building in the UK.
Shrine of Taharqa, Ashmolean Museum
Shrine of Taharqa
Shrine of Taharqa
After dinner and a few drinks in a pub we walked back to the hotel along the River Thames footpath again and the highlights were 2 common terns flying upriver towards the city centre, my first of the year, along with a flyover kestrel, mistle thrushes feeding on a cricket pitch, a large mayfly resting in the hedge and a yaffling green woodpecker heard only.
Mayfly, River Thames, Oxford
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