Cholsey Birds (190 sp)

 Cholsey Bird records

Mute Swan (Common to scarce resident)
Whooper Swan (Very rare winter visitor)
Tundra Swan (Very rare winter visitor)
White-fronted Goose (Very rare winter visitor, last record Jan 2011)
Greylag Goose (Scarce feral resident)
Canada Goose (Common introduced resident)
Egyptian Goose (increasing number of records on the Thames) Shelduck (Rare passage visitor on floods)
Mallard (Common resident)
Gadwall (Regular winter visitor)
Pintail (Rare winter visitor)
Shoveler (Scarce winter visitor)
Wigeon (Scarce winter visitor)
Mandarin Duck (Annual records on Thames)
Teal (Regular winter visitor)
Garganey (Rare passage migrant)
Pochard (Scarce winter visitor)
Tufted Duck (Scarce resident)
Goldeneye (Scarce winter visitor)
Smew (rare winter visitor)
Goosander (Scarce winter visitor)
Red-breasted Merganser (1 record, flew upriver 1st Feb 2013)
Red-legged Partridge (Common introduced species)
Grey Partridge (Scarce to common resident)
Quail (Rare to common summer visitor)
Corncrake (Regular until early 1960's). Last record May 1999
Pheasant (Common resident)
Slavonian Grebe (Very rare 1 record on the Thames, Jan 1980)
Little Grebe (Common resident)
Great-crested Grebe (Common resident)
Leach's Petrel (1 record of dead bird 15th Nov 1952)
Gannet (Very rare 1 record, June 1985)
Cormorant (Common non breeder)
Bittern (Very rare winter visitor)
Little Egret (1st record 23rd Aug 2001, then 2 in Dec 2010, Jan 2011)
Grey Heron (Common non breeder)

White Stork (6 Cholsey Hill, 26^th Apr 2012, possibly some old records also)
Osprey (Very rare passage migrant)
Red Kite (Common resident since re-introduction, few records prior)
Marsh Harrier (Rare passage migrant, possibly increasing)
Hen Harrier (Rare winter visitor)
Montagu's Harrier (Very rare passage migrant)
Common Buzzard (Common resident)
Rough-legged Buzzard (6 records all Cholsey Downs from 1935 to 1975, also 1 record March 2011)
Sparrowhawk (Common resident)
Goshawk (1 record, Cholsey Fairmile 2nd Aug 1978)
Kestrel (Common resident)
Hobby (Scarce to common summer visitor)
Peregrine (Regular visitor)
Merlin (Uncommon winter visitor)
Water Rail (Common resident)
Spotted Crake (Once common, last record Aug 1957, now very rare)
Moorhen (Common resident)
Coot (Common resident)
Oystercatcher (rare passage migrant)
Stone Curlew (very rare passage migrant)
Little Ringed Plover (rare passage migrant)
Ringed Plover (rare passage migrant)
Dotterel (very rare passage migrant)
Golden Plover (Scarce to common winter visitor)
Grey Plover (1 record, Cholsey common, July 1962)
Lapwing (Declining resident and winter visitor)
Dunlin (rare passage migrant)
Wood Sandpiper (Very rare passage migrant)
Green Sandpiper (rare passage migrant and winter visitor)
Common Sandpiper (regular passage migrant)
Redshank (Irregular visitor, has bred)
Spotted Redshank (Very rare passage migrant)
Greenshank (rare passage migrant)
Curlew (Rare visitor, regular breeder in the 60's. Last bred in 1978)
Whimbrel (rare passage migrant)
Woodcock (scarce to rare winter visitor)
Common Snipe (Scarce, intermittent breeder, more regular in winter)
Jack Snipe (rare winter visitor)
Ruff (rare passage migrant)
Black-headed Gull (common winter visitor)
Common Gull (Uncommon winter visitor)
Herring Gull (Uncommon winter visitor)
Yellow-legged Gull (1 record so far, Feb 2011)
Great Black-backed Gull (Rare winter visitor)
Lesser Black-backed Gull (Common winter visitor)
Kittiwake (1 record, dead Cholsey Common, 17th Nov 1957)
Common Tern (scarce passage migrant and scarce visitor along the Thames)
Black Tern (Very rare, Few records, passage migrant along Thames)
Little Auk (1 record found dead on road nr Cholsey Hill, 9th Nov 1957)
Stock Dove (Common resident)
Wood Pigeon (Common resident)
Collared Dove (Common resident)
Turtle Dove (Once common now very rare summer visitor)
Ring-necked Parakeet (Two record 02/05/2006 and Nov 2011)
Cuckoo (Declining summer visitor)
Long-eared Owl (Rare visitor)
Short-eared Owl (Rare winter visitor)
Tawny Owl (Common resident)
Barn Owl (Rare resident)
Little Owl (Scarce resident, under recorded?)
Nightjar (Now very rare, bred Cholsey Downs, last record 1966)
Swift (Common summer visitor, declining)
Alpine Swift (1 record, July 1975)
Hoopoe (2 records, May 1st 1962, Apr 29th 1994)
Kingfisher (Common resident)
Green Woodpecker (Common resident)
Great-spotted Woodpecker (Common resident)
Lesser-spotted Woodpecker (probably extinct, last bred early 1980's)
Wryneck (Formerly uncommon summer visitor, now very rare)
Skylark (Common resident)
Woodlark (Several records in the 1950's and 1960's on Cholsey Downs)
Sand Martin (Common passage migrant, especially along Thames, has bred 1981)
Swallow (Common summer visitor)
House Martin (Common summer visitor)
Richard's Pipit (1 record, Dec 1961)
Meadow Pipit (Common passage migrant and regular winter visitor)
Tree Pipit (Very rare passage migrant now, has bred)
Water Pipit (1 Cholsey Sewage Farm, 27th March 1966)
Pied Wagtail (Common resident)
Yellow Wagtail (Scarce to common summer visitor)
Grey Wagtail (Scarce resident)
Waxwing (Rare "irruptive" species, last record, 10 in Jan 2011)
Dunnock (Common resident)
Robin (Common resident)
Nightingale (Historically bred, no recent records)
Redstart (last bred 1960's, now very rare migrant)
Black Redstart (Rare passage migrant, last record April 2010)
Wheatear (Common passage migrant)
Whinchat (Scarce passage migrant)
Stonechat (Rare passage and winter visitor)
Song Thrush (Scarce to common resident)
Redwing (Common winter visitor)
Mistle Thrush (Scarce to common resident)
Fieldfare (Common winter visitor)
Blackbird (Common resident)
Ring Ousel (Scarce to rare passage migrant, last record Lollingdon Hill 2011)
Garden Warbler (Scarce summer visitor)
Blackcap (Common summer visitor)
Whitethroat (Common summer visitor)
Lesser Whitethroat (Scarce summer visitor)
Dartford Warbler (19th cent records, none since)
Sedge Warbler (Common summer visitor)
Grasshopper Warbler (Scarce summer visitor)
Cetti's Warbler (Rare, bred in 1990's)
Reed Warbler (Scarce summer visitor)
Marsh Warbler (Very rare, 1 record from Cholsey Common Aug 1962)
Willow Warbler (Scarce summer visitor, once common)
Wood Warbler (Very rare passage migrant, poss. bred)
Chiffchaff (Common summer visitor)
Goldcrest (Common resident)
Firecrest (3 records, 12th Mar 1965, 17th Mar 1978, 13th Oct 1984)
Wren (Common resident)
Spotted Flycatcher (Declining summer visitor, now rare)
Pied Flycatcher (Very rare passage migrant)
Great Tit (Common resident)
Coal Tit (Common resident)
Blue Tit (Common resident)
Willow Tit (Very rare visitor, once regular)
Marsh Tit (Scarce resident)
Long-tailed Tit (Common resident)
Bearded Tit (1 current record, 2 Jan 1965)
Nuthatch (scarce resident, 3 records 2011)
Treecreeper (Common resident)
Great Grey Shrike (3 or 4 records, 1 Cholsey Common, Nov to Dec 1966, 1 Lollingdon Hill, 17th Oct 2002, 1 Lollingdon, 21^st Dec 2012, and probably same at  Cholsey Marsh, Jan-Feb 2013)
Red-backed Shrike (Very rare visitor, last bred Westfield rd in 1960's)
Magpie (Common resident)
Jay (Common resident)
Nutcracker (1 record, 2-3 Dec 1968 to Jan 1969)
Jackdaw (Common resident)
Rook (Common resident)
Carrion Crow (Common resident)
Hooded Crow (2 records, 17th Nov 1966 and 26th Feb 1967)
Raven (Once very rare, now scarce visitor)
Starling (Common resident)
House Sparrow (Common resident)
Tree Sparrow (Very rare, once common in 1980's)
Chaffinch (Common resident)
Brambling (Scarce winter visitor)
Linnet (Common resident, scarcer in winter)
Twite (1 record, 2+ Cholsey Downs, 16th Dec 1962)
Mealy Redpoll (1 record Feb 2010)
Lesser Redpoll (Scarce winter visitor)
Goldfinch (Common resident)
Greenfinch (Common resident though declining)
Siskin (Common winter visitor)
Bullfinch (Common resident)
Hawfinch (Very rare visitor)
Common Crossbill (Rare "irruptive" species)
Reed Bunting (Common resident)
Snow Bunting (2 records, Kingstanding Hill, Dec 1961)
Yellowhammer (Common resident)
Cirl Bunting (Formerly common, bred, now extinct, last record in 1968)
Corn Bunting (Common resident)

190 species status refers to Cholsey Parish.

Escapes:
Wood Duck (1 record on Thames)
Ruddy Shelduck (few records on Thames)
Bar-headed Goose (1 record near 4 Arches)
Harris Hawk (several records since 2009)

4 species


Any mistakes are totally mine!

If anyone has any other records please let me know. Thanks

Status may change after more research.

Records from Wallingford (not included in main list) Sewage Farm in 50's and 60's (on the boundary) include.
Little Stint, Avocet, Black-tailed Godwit, Bar-tailed Godwit, Temmink’s Stint, Sanderling, Curlew Sandpiper, Knot, Spotted Redshank, Arctic Tern, Sandwich Tern, Turnstone, Little Crake.

Also a male Black-headed Wagtail (a race of Yellow Wagtail) seen very close to or within the parish boundary in Brightwell in June/July 1988).

Shag (I found this bird by the side of the Habitat warehouse early September 1974. Brian Wyatt then took it home to Cholsey where it recuperated and we released it on a lake at Dorchester on Sep 10^th 1974).