Christine's walking & birds blog

A midday walk in the woods brought peace and quiet, and plenty of birds. Only one dog was encountered, which trotted up gently, licked my hand and trotted off again. If only they were all like that!

The huge redpoll flock had split up; these are four of about twenty. Later I would see at least thirty on the far side of the woods.

The treecreepers were loosely associating with a big flock consisting of coal tits and goldcrests; there were at least eight of the latter. Green and great spotted woodpeckers and nuthatches were also seen; and a flock of long-tailed tits drew me into larches where about twenty siskins were feeding, neck-breakingly high.

As I drove home, I spied several fieldfares through the hedgerow of Boveney Wood Farm - my first of the year.

Of incidental interest (but not much):

Boveney Wood Farm is in Boveney Wood Lane, while nearby is Boveney Wood. Not far away, the strip of woodland between Littleworth Common and Burnham Beeches is known as Dorney Wood; while in the same neighbourhood can be found Dorney Wood Lane, Dorney Wood Road - and, of course, Dorneywood House, of croquet-playing-Prescott fame.

All of which should not be confused with the area a few miles to the south, where Dorney Court and Dorney village lie between Dorney Wetlands (Berkshire) and Dorney Lake (Bucks); while the nearby Dorney Common is bisected by Boveney Road - leading to the River Thames past Boveney Court Farm and - well, Boveney.

Try sorting that lot out when you're out walking around Burnham or Taplow and someone in a car stops to ask you the way.

It might have been worse. In the late nineteenth century, the residential area to the east of Dorney Common was known as Boveney New Town; but this became absorbed by, and also known as, Eton Wick.

For which we may all be truly thankful.