13. Hurst Water Meadow

This is a late addition to the sites of interest after I spent a pleasant hour exploring in early June 1999. This area, comprising a damp meadow between two arms of the River Thame, is flooded most winters. The area has a large number of Crack Willows and other trees together with Hawthorn bushes. The birds seen or heard during my visit were limited to common species but there was a Grey Wagtail feeding young at the Mill and another insect hunting over the stream some distance away and a Tawny Owl being mobbed by Blackbirds. The area appears to be good for Warblers and the stream should support Kingfishers. It is a good area for a walk and could produce an interesting selection of bird, butterfly and dragonfly species. Access is by a footpath off the road signposted Overy just south west of Dorchester Abbey and the road bridge over the Thame.

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