Monday 18 March 2024

1st Wheatears arrive

Mainly cloudy, 14°, light SSW.

4 good birds found by Alan today. A Wheatear on Lollingdon Hill and a Curlew and Green Sandpiper along the Bunk area and a Peregrine seen.

A Wheatear also found on Saturday an Lollingdon Hill. Per Michael Pocock.

Butterflies: 2 Brimstone on the allotments yesterday.

Green Sandpiper courtesy Alan
Wheatear courtesy Alan
Brimstone

Friday 15 March 2024

Hithercroft & Bunk

Sunshine and showers, 14°, breezy SW.

Hithercroft floods: Little Egret, 3 Shelduck over, Common Snipe, Herring Gull, Lesser Blackback Gull, Black-headed Gull, Chiffchaff - many singing, Reed Bunting and Lapwing.

Bunk area: 7 Chiffchaff, several in song, a Blackcap singing, 3 Yellowhammer, 2 Siskin, a Sparrowhawk, 14 Fieldfare, 1 Redwing, 50+ Starling, a Grey Wagtail, 8 Pied Wagtail, 5 Meadow Pipit, 1 Lapwing, 1 Mute Swan, 32 Lesser Blackback Gull, 7 Black-headed Gull, 2 Herring Gull and 1 Common Gull, etc.

Mammals: Short-tailed Vole, Wood Mouse & Brown Hare.

Amphibians: Smooth Newt (per Bill Nicholls, garden pond).

Butterflies: Brimstone, Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock.

AD, BN & PC.

Shelduck courtesy Alan
Sparrowhawk
Wood Mouse courtesy Bill Nicholls

Wednesday 13 March 2024

Spring? Not yet!

Cloudy and breezy, 14°, moderate WSW.

Lollingdon very quiet today: 7 Lapwing, a singing Chiffchaff, a handful of Yellowhammer, c 50 Redwing in the cattle field, 10+ Pied Wagtail on the hill and the odd Meadow Pipit.

Below the hill, a field being ploughed hosted approx. 60 Lesser Blackback Gull, at least 1 Herring Gull and a flock of c200 Thrush, mainly Fieldfare and Starling.

Also a Peregrine noted in the area.

c40 Teal and 2 Gadwall on Wallingford road flood. Per MP.

Mammals: Brown Hare, Muntjac Deer and Roe Deer.

AD & PC.

Redwing
Brown Hare courtesy Alan

Monday 11 March 2024

Oystercatcher

Overcast, 10°, light NNW.

An Oystercatcher found by Alan today on the floods along the Bunk but flushed by a dog walker, back mid-afternoon.

Approx. 80 Lesser Blackback Gull, 50 Black-headed Gull, 3 Herring Gull and a single Common Gull. A Grey Heron, 2 Mute Swan, 12 Greylag Geese, 20+ Canada Geese, a Gadwall, c20 Teal, 40+ Shoveler and c20 Tufted Duck.

6 Chiffchaff, a Corn Bunting, Reed Bunting, 6 Yellowhammer, 6 Pied Wagtail, a Kestrel, a large flock of Fieldfare, Starling and Redwing, (c600 birds) and a Peregrine Falcon.

Mammals: Roe Deer.

AD, BW & PC.

Oystercatcher courtesy Alan
Dunnock
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Black-headed Gulls and a Common Gull
Curlew from last week courtesy Alan
Common Gull courtesy Alan

Thursday 7 March 2024

Feeling colder

Mainly cloudy with some light rain, 9°, breezy ENE.

Bunk line: 4 Chiffchaff (1 in song), 5 Yellowhammer, a Reed Bunting, a Grey Wagtail, 6 Pied Wagtail, fewer Fieldfare and Redwing than of late, a Lapwing, 2 Mute Swan and 4 Gull species.

c200 Golden Plover on Cholsey hill and a Cormorant overhead, (per Alan), also the Plovers seen in the air from the Bunk area.

Mammals: Roe Deer.

Pied Wagtail bathing
Chiffchaff courtesy Alan
Robin
Greenfinch courtesy Alan

Wednesday 6 March 2024

Lollingdon

Sunny, 10°, light SSE.

A visit out to Lollingdon today and still relatively quiet: 20+ Pied Wagtail on the hill following the sheep around and feeding on whatever was kicked up.

A large flock of mainly Fieldfare with Redwing and Starling flew over the hill heading north east. Approx. 400 birds.

A Lapwing and 2 Common Snipe on the flooded field and 6+ Yellowhammer in the hedgerows nearby.

A couple of Great-spotted Woodpecker drumming and a couple of very vocal Green Woodpecker. Also a Tawny Owl heard calling.

Mammals: Short-tailed Vole, Brown Hare and Roe Deer.

Lapwing
Yellowhammer

Tuesday 5 March 2024

Bunk

Sunny periods, 10°, light NNW.

An afternoon walk out along the Bunk: somewhat quiet, c100 Lesser Blackback Gull, 5 Herring Gull, 3 Black-headed Gull, 1 Common Gull, 2 Mute Swan and a Greylag Goose on the “not so flooded” field.

c100 Fieldfare, c150 Starling, 30+ Redwing, 4 Song Thrush and a Mistle Thrush, 2 Chiffchaff, 5 Yellowhammer, a Reed Bunting, Kestrel, 2 Raven and a Lapwing.

Chiffchaff
Yellowhammer courtesy Alan
Goldfinch (above) and Red Kite (below) courtesy Bill Nicholls

Monday 4 March 2024

Weekend Bits

Weekend bits: a Firecrest found at the Bullshole by Tony Williams on Saturday, also seen by Alan but extremely elusive and not found on Sunday.

c500 Golden Plover seen on and over Cholsey Hill over the last few days.

Today, Bunk and Cholsey Hill. 3 Gull species, Golden Plover, Lapwing, Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Goldcrest. Noted by Alan.

Golden Plover courtesy Alan
One of the many Skylark in the area. courtesy Alan

Thursday 29 February 2024

Bunk

Overcast with light rain showers, 8°, light WSW.

Both along Bunk this afternoon: 20+ Greylag Geese, 6 Canada Geese, 2 Mute Swan, 50+ Lesser Blackback Gull, 3 Herring Gull, 3 Black-headed Gull and a single Common Gull on the floods.

“An interesting Gull on the floods along the Bunk this afternoon. With an off-white mantle and wings, black wing tips and a black tail tip, white head and rump, yellowish legs and a yellow bill with dark tip. Similar size to Lesser Blackbacks present but flew of west before I could get a pic.”

Around 50 Shoveler and 20 Tufted Duck in the air after an overflying Chinook flew over.

200+ Starling with a similar amount of Fieldfare and Redwing, a Lapwing, 2 Raven, a Chiffchaff, Coal Tit, 2 Siskin and both Green and Great-spotted Woodpecker.

c150 Golden Plover over Cholsey Hill. Per Geoff Wyatt.  

A Great-spotted Woodpecker drumming in the Brook meadow today.

Black-headed Gull courtesy Alan
Common Gull courtesy Alan
Starlings with the odd Fieldfare and Redwing
Lapwing
Lesser Blackback Gull courtesy Alan

Wednesday 28 February 2024

Egrets

A cloudy day with some light showers, 10°, light SSW.

Bunk with Alan: A Cattle Egret (3rd record) flew over heading NW.

Black-headed Gull, Lesser Blackback Gull, Herring Gull, Raven over, Shoveler over, Chiffchaff, Reed Bunting, Goldcrest, Lapwing, Meadow Pipit and 4 Mute Swan.

A call later in the day from TW alerted us to 2 Great Egret back on the flood near Winterbrook bridge. They then flew towards Bow bridge but were relocated back at the initial site by Alan later.

Looks as though all 3 Egret species will became a regular sight locally in the future as they have done in other parts of Oxfordshire.

Egret photos courtesy Alan





Tuesday 27 February 2024

Pretty quiet times

Few sunny spells, 8°, light SSW.

Very little along the Bunk area this afternoon. 2 Mute Swan still frequenting the area plus a reasonable flock of Fieldfare, Redwing and Starling roaming the flooded fields.

Other than that, a Chiffchaff and several Yellowhammer present.

Jackdaws at the church
Corn Bunting courtesy Alan

Friday 23 February 2024

Lollingdon & Garden

Cloudy with a few showers, 7°, light SW.

A very damp walk out to Lollingdon today: 12 Lapwing, 2 Raven, 2 Jay, 8 Yellowhammer with a few in song, single Reed Bunting, several Skylark, Pied Wagtail and Meadow Pipit.

Good numbers of Fieldfare, Redwing and Starling roaming and several small flocks of Linnet and Goldfinch.

Blackcap, 2 Nuthatch and Sparrowhawk in the garden, a Raven overhead and 2 Tawny Owl last night.

Green Sandpiper still present in the Bunk line area yesterday. Per Alan.  

Mammals: Brown Hare.

Butterflies: a single Red Admiral.




Tuesday 20 February 2024

Bunk

Mainly cloudy, 11°, light SSW.

Bunk area: 2 Mute Swan, 102 Greylag Geese, Green Sandpiper, 18 Shoveler, 14 Tufted Duck, 250+ flock of Fieldfare, Redwing & Starling, Raven, Chiffchaff, 3 Pied Wagtail and 2 Yellowhammer.

A Mistle Thrush and 2 Song Thrush singing.

AD & PC.

Fieldfare, Redwing & Starling ↕

Peregrine from yesterday courtesy Alan

Friday 16 February 2024

Lollingdon & Bunk

Mainly cloudy, 13°, breezy SW.

Rather quiet out at Lollingdon today. 9 Lapwing, c50 Fieldfare, 2 Raven, a handful of Redwing, Yellowhammer and Meadow Pipit, 2 Song Thrush, a Mistle Thrush and several Skylark in song.

Bunk area proved a little more active for Alan. 3-5 Stonechat, 2 Raven, a Sparrowhawk, 6 Lapwing, 2 Peregrine, Goldcrest, Chiffchaff, Meadow Pipit, 2 Mute Swan, 8 Grey Partridge and several Skylark in song.

A Barn Owl seen yesterday on Cholsey Hill. Per Michael Pocock.

Mammals: Brown Hare.

Butterflies: yesterday, both Brimstone and Peacock on the wing.

Stonechat courtesy Alan
Meadow Pipit courtesy Alan

Wednesday 14 February 2024

Egrets

Overcast, 13°, light S.

The day started with a Great White Egret found by Geoff Wyatt on the Thames flood by Nosworthy Way, Winterbrook bridge. When Michael Pocock arrived a little later it had been joined by a second. 3rd & 4th records for Cholsey.

Possibly a 3rd GWE seen on the flood in the horse field  near Caps lane later in the day. Per MA.

Bunk pretty quiet. Very few Thrushes with c20 Fieldfare and a handful of Redwing. 4 Yellowhammer, several Chiffchaff, 2 Mute Swan still on the flood and c50 Shoveler flying over and 2 Peregrine.

River: Water Rail, Little Egret, singing Mistle Thrush, Siskin and good numbers Of Fieldfare and Redwing. Per Alan.

A Ring-necked Parakeet over CSW yesterday and a Blackcap in song. Per Alan.

Mammals: Otter.

Butterflies: Red Admiral.

Great White Egret courtesy Michael Pocock
Great White Egret courtesy Alan Dawson ↕

Little Egret courtesy Alan
Shoveler ↕