Wednesday, 20 November 2024

Shooting disturbance?

Sunny, 2°, light NW.

Very little on the Lollingdon flood. 20 Lapwing, c 20 Teal and 10 Black-headed Gull.

Moreton floods: Not one bird! I did think I heard shooting coming from that way earlier.

Little Owl.

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Little Owl, courtesy Alan

Monday, 18 November 2024

Moreton Floods

Overcast with light rain, 8°, light SE.

Moreton floods: Grey Plover still present, c500 Golden Plover, c300 Lapwing, 1 Dunlin, plus Fieldfare and Redwing.

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Grey Plover with Golden Plover, courtesy Alan

Saturday, 16 November 2024

Lollingdon Flood

Mainly cloudy, 11°, light WSW.

Lollingdon floods: 2 Golden Plover, 1 Little Egret, c40 Lesser Blackback Gull, c20 Black-headed Gull, 1 Common Gull, 1 Herring Gull, 15 Egyptian Geese, c50 Teal and a Sparrowhawk over.

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Golden Plover courtesy Alan

Friday, 15 November 2024

Bunk & Moreton Floods

Cloudy with a few sunny spells later, 9°, light SSW.

Bunk area: 10+ Yellowhammer, c50 Fieldfare, 20+ Redwing, 2 Treecreeper, a Goldcrest, Chiffchaff, 50+ Chaffinch, Little Owl, 500+ Starling, c200 Lesser Blackback Gull, 50+ Black-headed Gull and 5 Herring Gull.

Moreton Floods: Grey Plover, c500 Golden Plover, Dunlin, Common Snipe and Stonechat.

Dragonflies: a single Common Darter.

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Grey Plover courtesy Alan
Yellowhammer ↕

Fieldfare, Redwing & Starling
Fieldfare
Grey Plover, with Golden Plover & Lapwing courtesy Alan

Thursday, 14 November 2024

Grey Plover still around

Mainly cloudy with a few sunny periods, 12°, breezy NE.

South Morton Floods: Grey Plover still present with c300 Golden Plover, c200 Lapwing and 2 Dunlin.

Lollingdon Floods: Usual Teal present, c50 Gulls, mainly Lesser Blackback, a Single Common Gull and several Black-headed Gull, a few Mistle Thrush over and a Raven over.

AD.

Teal courtesy Alan

Wednesday, 13 November 2024

Lollingdon Flood

Mainly sunny, 11°, light N.

Time spent watching the flood area and surroundings out at Lollingdon. A lot of comings and goings but a good number of birds present. Alan covered this afternoon.

Approx. 200 Lesser Blackback Gull, 100+ Black-headed Gull, 3 Herring Gull, 2 Common Gull, c50 Teal, 2 Dunlin, 57 Lapwing, a Common Snipe and a couple of Pied Wagtail.

Nearby, a few Redwing and Fieldfare, 1 possibly 2 Chiffchaff, 2 Yellowhammer and several Meadow Pipit.

Dragonflies: several Common Darter.

Butterflies: 2 Red Admiral.

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Monday, 11 November 2024

Sunny but colder.

Sunny spells, 11°, light N.

The floods out at Lollingdon proved to be quite active today for Alan, with c400 Lesser Blackback Gull, c30 Black-headed Gull, a couple of Herring Gull and 4 Common Gull.

Plus, 100+ Teal, 15 Egyptian Geese, c70 Lapwing, several Common Snipe, a Kingfisher, a Stonechat, Chiffchaff, Treecreeper, Nuthatch, Redwing and Fieldfare.

And Coal Tit and Goldcrest, Cholsey Meadows.

I, on the other hand took a walk along the Bunk area, with very little noted, a single Yellowhammer, a handful of Redwing, a Grey Heron, a Greylag Goose and a single Shoveler overhead.

Tawny Owl calling near Church road, just after dark.

Dragonflies: good numbers of Common Darter, Lollingdon and Cholsey Meadows.

Common Darter courtesy Alan
A not so common, Common Gull, courtesy Alan
Greenfinch
Greylag Goose
Teal courtesy Alan

Friday, 8 November 2024

Getting colder

Overcast, hazy, 9°, light ESE.

A complete contrast to Wednesday’s numbers along the Bunk area with bird numbers way down.

However still a fair bit around. c50 Fieldfare, 100+ Redwing, an increase in Blackbird and Song Thrush numbers, 
5 Yellowhammer, 2 Reed Bunting, Little Owl heard calling, a Chiffchaff, 2 Jay, 4 Grey Heron, 2 Egyptian Geese, the regular 2 Herring Gull, 20+ Pied Wagtail, 3 Grey Wagtail, a few Meadow Pipit and Skylark, etc.

Tony and I checked out the Lollingdon flood yesterday and no sign of the Sanderling but 6 Egyptian Geese in with the Gulls, a flock of 20+ Mistle Thrush nearby.

Alan checked the area again today, c50 Lapwing, 15 Teal, 15 Egyptian Geese and a Chiffchaff nearby.

AD, TW & PC.

Song Thrush
Yellowhammer ↕

One of many Rook feeding

Wednesday, 6 November 2024

A dull day but lots of Birds

Overcast, 13°, light SE.

Good to get out after a few days of decorating. A rather dull day weather wise but loads of birds around.

Lollingdon, Cholsey Meadows, River and Bunk areas.

A number of fields have recently been tilled along the Bunk area and Cholsey Hill and it seems to have attracted large numbers of birds.

1000+ Gulls, mainly Lesser Blackback, plus Black-headed and Herring that could be positively ID’d.

1000+ Wood Pigeon, 1000+ Corvids, mainly Rook and Jackdaw with Carrion Crow, Magpie and 2 Raven and a 1000+ Starling.

A few scarcities noted, with a Brambling feeding with c20 Chaffinch and a very late Tree Pipit heard overhead flying with 3 Meadow Pipit in the Bunk area and a Sanderling on the Floods at Lollingdon. Todays Sanderling is a first record for Cholsey that takes us to 204 bird species for the parish.

c50 Pied Wagtail, 100+ Meadow Pipit, 25+ Skylark, 50+ Linnet, 7 Grey Heron, 6 Yellowhammer, a Reed Bunting, Water Rail, Common Snipe, 2 Shoveler, Teal (2 sites), Kingfisher, Sparrowhawk, good numbers of both Fieldfare and Redwing and a Grey Wagtail.

AD & PC.

Sanderling courtesy Alan
Pair of Shoveler courtesy Alan
Black-headed Gull
One of the Gull flocks
Pied Wagtail
Some of the Starling
High flying Sparrowhawk

Friday, 1 November 2024

Quiet start to November

Overcast, 13°, light N.

Grey Plover still present on the Moreton floods and a Common Snipe, Cholsey Hill. Per Alan.

Bunk, rather quiet. Plenty of Redwing and a handful of Fieldfare.

Approx., 300 Gulls loafing in a field, mainly Lesser Blackback Gull, c20 Black-headed Gull, 6 Herring Gull and a single Common Gull.

Nearby, 500+ Starling, a Grey Heron, 2 Yellowhammer and a Chiffchaff of note.

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Thursday, 31 October 2024

October bows out as Fieldfares arrive

Misty at first, then clearing, 14°, light S.

Mist clearing by 14:00 but Lollingdon mainly shrouded earlier with little noted. Alan ventured out later with several hundred Gulls and c50 Lapwing present on flooded areas. A few Fieldfare and Redwing present.

Bunk area: A female Brambling along with Greenfinch and Chaffinch, many Redwing and 60+ Fieldfare, 2+ Raven, a Kingfisher, 4 Grey Heron, a Chiffchaff, Goldcrest, Yellowhammer, numbers of Meadow Pipit, Skylark and the usual Gulls, etc.

Dragonflies: Common Darter at both sites.

AD & PC.

Fieldfare
Fieldfare & Redwing
Long-tailed Tit
Grey Heron

Wednesday, 30 October 2024

Grey Plover(s) still in area

Cloudy with occasional sunny spells, 12°, light NNE.

A disappointing day overall considering over 4 hours in the field.

A flock of 26 Fieldfare seen plus several more heard but not seen. Plenty of Redwing around, 2 Grey Wagtail, 2 Raven, 4 Jay, a Kingfisher, Chiffchaff, Yellowhammer etc.

Alan and Tony W were over at the Moreton floods (just outside the border): c200 Lesser Blackback Gull, a few Black-headed Gull, c30 Teal, c250 Golden Plover, 1, pos 2 Grey Plover and numbers of Meadow Pipit.

Lots of activity on garden feeders, with Blue, Great, Long-tailed and Coal Tit, Nuthatch, Great-spotted Woodpecker and Goldfinch.

Butterflies: a single Red Admiral.

Grey Plover
Redwing
Another plant has rooted in this dead Teazel head, not seen this before.

Monday, 28 October 2024

A brief walk

Cloudy with some light rain, 15°, light SSW.

A short walk out to the Lees and back this afternoon with Loren.

The pair of Stonechat still present, plus a Raven, several Meadow Pipit and Pied Wagtail, 2 Yellowhammer, Jay etc.

Yesterday: Firecrest and Nuthatch. Cholsey Meadows. Per Alan.




The Grey Plover still in the area, just outside the parish on the Moreton floods. Courtesy Alan

Saturday, 26 October 2024

Quiet

Overcast with a rain shower later, 15°, light SSW.

Bunk area, pretty quiet today, albeit 2 Swallow noted by Alan this morning. A Chiffchaff in song this afternoon, in the rain. Plus the usual Meadow Pipit, Skylark, Pied Wagtail.  Redwing, and 2 Yellowhammer, etc.

Around 1000+ Gulls noted, most drifted over from the Cholsey Hill area. Only 3 species identified were Lesser Blackback, Herring and Black-headed Gull but may well have been other species present.

Dragonflies: a single Common Darter, in flight in the light rain.

AD & PC.



Friday, 25 October 2024

Mixed bag

Overcast with rain showers later, 16°, light SSE.

A bit of a mixed bag today.

Alan found 6 Stonechat between the main line railway and the Long Ditch this afternoon, a Common Snipe, Kingfisher and a Chiffchaff.

Also 80 Golden Plover on Cholsey Hill this morning and 2 Grey Wagtail.

Bunk: a single Swallow flew through, 2 Chiffchaff, a Coot, Green Sandpiper, 2 Raven, a Tawny Owl being mobbed by 2 Jay, 2 Yellowhammer, c20 Pied Wagtail, c100 Meadow Pipit, 26 Skylark and approx. 100+ Redwing, scattered widely along the area.

Forgot to mention 10 Teal on the flood by the Wallingford Road yesterday. Per Alan.

Dragonflies: Common Darter.

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