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

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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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.

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Fieldfare

Fieldfare & Redwing

Long-tailed Tit

Grey Heron

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.

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

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.

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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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Cholsey Hill

Sunny spells, 16°, breezy SSE.

3 Stonechat to the south west of Cholsey Hill and another south of the Lees.

Good numbers of Meadow Pipit and Skylark in the area and hundreds of Wood Pigeon.

[There appears to have been a mass movement of Wood Pigeon lately with an estimated 150000+ seen moving off from Portland, Dorset, yesterday.]

c50 Golden Plover on Cholsey Hill and c50 Lapwing over. Alan also noted a Little Egret this morning.

Mammals: Roe Deer.

Dragonflies: Migrant Hawker and Common Darter.

Butterflies: Brimstone.

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Stonechat

Male Stonechat

Female Stonechat courtesy Alan

Lapwing courtesy Alan

Roe Deer

Stonechats

Mainly cloudy, 14°, light SSW.

Still c100 Golden Plover on Cholsey Hill today but Grey Plover not seen.

Pretty quiet along the Bunk today, 2 Raven, a Grey Wagtail, a Chiffchaff, a Cormorant over, 2 Siskin over, a Yellowhammer, 50+ Redwing, c100 Meadow Pipit, 8 Pied Wagtail and 20+ Skylark.

Had not long got back home when Alan messaged me to say he had found a Stonechat near the farm. So as its not too far I went out again and came across a male and female in the same area. Alan also found another out towards the Lees and 2 on the farm track south of the main-line railway but we think these were the 2 initially on the north side. 

1000+ Wood Pigeon noted in the area.

Dragonflies: Common Darter.

Butterflies: a single Small White.

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Male Stonechat courtesy Alan

Golden Plover courtesy Alan

Female Stonechat (at distance and into the sun)

Bunk & Cholsey Hill

Sunny intervals, 15°, light WSW.

A little quieter today: the Grey Plover with c100 Golden Plover still on Cholsey Hill.

Bunk: c20 Shoveler, 4 Tufted Duck, 3 Goose species, a Chiffchaff, c30 Redwing, several Meadow Pipit and Skylark and a Ring-necked Parakeet.

Dragonflies: several Common Darter.

Butterflies: 2 Red Admiral and a Speckled Wood.

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A few of  the Shoveler this afternoon

A basking Common Darter in the late sunshine

Kestrel on the look out

Starlings preparing to fly to roost

Grey Plover relocated.

Overcast, 14°, light SSW.

Grey Plover still present on Cholsey Hill with 78 Golden Plover, plus 1 Swallow over.

Bunk: 4 (3&1) Swallow, 6 Grey Wagtail, c20 Pied Wagtail, c50 Meadow Pipit, c20 Skylark, a Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Jay, Reed Bunting, plenty of Redwing and a Grey Heron.

Lollingdon: very quiet. Just 4 Lapwing and a Chiffchaff worth a mention.

Dragonflies: Common Darter.

AD, MP & PC.

Grey Plover courtesy Alan ↕

Lapwing

Swallow

A quieter Day

Sunny spells, 15°, light SSW.

A quieter day today. c100 Redwing, 2 Swallow, 3 Chiffchaff, a Blackcap, 25+ Skylark, c50 Meadow Pipit, 10+ Pied Wagtail and a Grey Heron.

River: Cetti’s Warbler and Water Rail. Per Alan.

Dragonflies: as usual, several Common Darter.

Butterflies: 2 Brimstone, a Large White, 2 Small White, 2 Red Admiral and a Speckled Wood.

Grey Plover

Overcast, 18°, light SSE.

A pretty good day all round. Alan covered Bunk this morning and Cholsey Hill this afternoon and I covered Bunk this afternoon.

A Grey Plover (3rd Cholsey record) with c60 Golden Plover on Cholsey Hill was the highlight and a single Swallow over.

Bunk: c300 Redwing, 10 Fieldfare over, 4-500 Starling, and increase in both Song Thrush and Blackbird numbers, 5 Siskin, 7 Swallow, 6 Chiffchaff, 2 Blackcap, several Meadow Pipit, Skylark and Pied Wagtail, a single Grey Wagtail and a Common Snipe.

2 Wigeon on flood near Wallingford Road this morning. Per Michael Pocock.

Dragonflies: several Common Darter.

Butterflies: 2 Small White.

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Grey Plover with Golden Plover. bottom right in above pic and bottom left in pic below. Courtesy Alan.

One of several Swallow

A distant Redwing

A swarm of insects near CSW.

Redwings arrive as Swallows leave

Sunny spells and a few showers, 14°, light WNW.

Alan finally found our first Redwing of this winter period with 9 along Green Lane, presumably feeding on Hawthorn berries. As Redwing are coming in Swallow are in the process of leaving and approx 20 passed over moving south. Also a Blackcap still present.

Redwing (from my archive)

Sunshiny Day

A sunny day, 12°, light S.

Another quietish day along the Bunk: 3 Swallow, a single Chiffchaff and Blackcap, a Coot (first of the year) , Kingfisher, 2 Raven, c80 Meadow Pipit, 10+ Pied Wagtail, 2 Grey Wagtail, several Skylark and 3 Goose species.

Dragonflies: several Common Darter.

Butterflies: a Large White, 2 Small White and 5 Red Admiral.

Long-tailed Tit

Egyptian Goose

Common Darter