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I grew up near Oxford and I put the fact I don't get ill very often down to a childhood swimming in the Thames/Isis! You definitely wouldn't want to eat anythin

I grew up near Oxford and I put the fact I don't get ill very often down to a childhood swimming in the Thames/Isis! You definitely wouldn't want to eat anything from the river there but it's mostly coarse fish anyway - they wouldn't be great to eat even if the water was perfect. One positive thing in an otherwise fairly depressing picture is that the reds kites seem to be doing really well, I always thought they were carrion eaters but I was fishing once and saw one dive and pull a fish clean out of the water! There were very few when I was a kid but they were re-introduced from Wales and there's loads back in Oxford now.

denton-scratch 5y ago
There are also shags. Shags are relatives of the cormorant, fish-eaters, and fantastic underwater swimmers; they padddle around on the surface for a yard or two, then dive, then surface 30 metres away, often holding a fish.
- cosmophany 5y ago
  The common cormorant (or shag) lays eggs inside a paper bag [1]. [1] The reason, you will see no doubt, is to keep the lightning out [2]. [2] But what these unobservant birds have failed to notice is that herds of wandering bears may come with buns and steal the bags to hold the crumbs.
globular-toast 5y ago
> One positive thing in an otherwise fairly depressing picture is that the reds kites seem to be doing really well A little too well maybe. Around the Chiltern Hills they are now a very common sight. I saw one many years ago and was amazed, but last time I went there were dozens or them hovering right over the towns! Apparently they have become brave and will swoop down on people, like seagulls but possibly even more alarming.
- deleted 5y ago
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