Bunk & Gravel Pit

Mainly sunny, 23°, mod breeze E.

Not too much human activity at the gravel pit today.

A Green Sandpiper and a Common Sandpiper, 15 Lapwing, a Coot, Little Grebe, 2 Tufted Duck, 4 Egyptian Geese, 20+ Greylag Geese and c100 Canada Geese,

100+ large Gulls and a similar number of Black-headed Gull.

Elsewhere along the Bunk it was very quiet. A single Yellow Wagtail, a Swallow, Grey Heron, 2 Yellowhammer and 5 Chiffchaff.

Dragonflies: Migrant Hawker and Common Darter.

Butterflies: 2 Clouded Yellow, both Whites common, Common Blue and Meadow Brown.

Hard work

Mainly cloudy, 20°, light N.

Hard work finding stuff today on a 4 hour walk out to the Lees then around to Lollingdon.

Singles of Common Redstart, Lesser Whitethroat and Yellow Wagtail, a couple of Blackcap, several Chiffchaff and Yellowhammer, good numbers of Swallow moving through (100+) and 20+ House Martin.

Green Sandpiper over the gravel pit. Per Brian Wyatt.  

Mammals: Brown Hare and Roe Deer.

Dragonflies: Migrant Hawker and Common Darter.

Butterflies: 7 Clouded Yellow, Large White, Small White, Common Blue, Painted Lady, Meadow Brown and Small Heath.

A few oddities today, a Helmeted Guinea Fowl running across a field and a Falconer hunting Hares with a Red-tailed Hawk (didn't catch any).

Bunk

Sunny, 23°, breezy SW.

Bunk line: A Spotted Flycatcher in the small wood near the gravel pit and 5 Yellow Wagtail with the cattle near Church Road.

The gravel pit was quite busy with heavy machinery and around 200 Canada Geese and 20+ Greylag all congregating on one side of the pit and a lone Coot with them.

Approx. 200 Lesser Black-back Gull flushed from the pit and flew off towards Cholsey Hill.

100+ Black-headed Gull at CSW along with 2 Herring Gull.

A flock of c50 Goldfinch feeding on thistle heads along one of the field margins, 6 Yellowhammer, several Chiffchaff and a Blackcap.

Dragonflies: Migrant Hawker and Common Darter.

Butterflies: numbers down. Large White, Small White, Red Admiral, Meadow Brown and Small Heath.

A Moth and a couple of Shieldbug in garden.

Yellowhammer

Flounced Rustic

Hairy Shieldbug

Red-legged Shieldbug

Lollingdon

Mainly cloudy, 27°, light SW.

Lollingdon: A Common Redstart near Little Lollingdon and a Wheatear on the hill. A Lesser Whitethroat also on the hill plus 2 Common Whitethroat and several Chiffchaff and a Tree Pipit over.

Blackcap and several more Chiffchaff nearby and 2 Raven overhead.

And a trickle of Swallow and House Martin over.

RB had a Reeve’s Pheasant in his garden recently.

2 Tawny Owl in the garden last night.  

Mammals: Short-tailed Vole.

Dragonflies: Banded Demoiselle and Common Darter.

Butterflies: 9 Clouded Yellow, Large White, Small White, Common Blue, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown and Small Heath. Plus Hummingbird Hawkmoth on the hill.

Moths

Sunny, 36°, light SE.

Another scorcher and not an incentive to get out for a walk, so occupied myself looking around the garden and building for moths.

And came up with a few. just hope I've ID'd them correctly.

Orange Swift

Rusty Dot Pearl

Scorched Carpet

Small Blood Vein

Small Dusty Wave

Turnip Moth

Jersey Tigers plus

Sunny, 32°, light SE.

A couple of pics from Geoff Wyatt today of a Jersey Tiger Moth (red form) and a Hummingbird Hawkmoth.

I had a Jersey Tiger (yellow form) in the garden today along with a Migrant Hawker Dragonfly, a Painted Lady Butterfly and Peacock, Red Admiral and Holly Blue.

The Jersey Tiger is polymorphic. i.e. the underwing can show either red or orange/yellow.

Later that day we went out to watch the partial eclipse. Slightly disappointing as I had seen the one in 1999 in Cornwall which was total.

But it was an experience. At one point a flock of c80 Canada Geese flew from the Bunk area, maybe thinking it was dusk and fly to the fields to feed and then it started to get brighter again and they flew back to the Bunk area.

Hummingbird Hawkmoth, above and Jersey Tiger, below. Courtesy Geoff Wyatt

Jersey Tiger

Eclipse photos courtesy Loren

Canada Geese courtesy Loren

Lollingdon

Hazy sunshine, 26°, light NNE.

Lollingdon: Common Redstart, Lesser Whitethroat, 4 Common Whitethroat, 3 Blackcap, 10+ Chiffchaff, 2 Yellowhammer, a Hobby, a Kestrel, a Sparrowhawk and 20+ Swallow.

House Martins have just fledged their second brood (2 young) on Church Road.

Mammals: Brown Hare.

Dragonflies: Migrant Hawker and Common Darter.

Butterflies: 5 Clouded Yellow, Large White, Small White, Common Blue, Red Admiral, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper and Meadow Brown.

Weekend bits

sunny, 27°, light W.

2 encounters with Grass Snake this week. The first was a neighbour who had a Grass Snake in her living room. It had come in through the patio doors and disappeared behind the TV furniture. Another neighbour and myself moved the furniture and the snake then slithered back out into the garden.

The 2nd was a Grass Snake in a pond and was unable to get out. I managed to get it to curl around a twig and safely land it and it managed to move to cover.

Bothe the snakes were youngsters and no longer than 30cm.

A Wheatear on Lollingdon Hill on Saturday. Per Phil Dyson.

A Raven, south over the village also on Saturday and a Green Woodpecker, Tawny Owl and Chiffchaff in the garden today.

A Southern Migrant Hawker in the garden Sunday afternoon and a Southern Hawker.

Painted Lady and Hummingbird Hawkmoth again present in garden.

Long Hoverfly - Sphaerophoria scripta. 10mm in length.

Cooler

Mainly cloudy, 22°, light WNW.

Another Common Redstart found along Green Lane today and 10 Yellowhammer, 4 Common Whitethroat and several Chiffchaff.

The gravel pit was fairly quiet, 2 Little Grebe and a Tufted Duck amongst the Canada and Greylag Geese.

A light passage of Swallow and House Martin overhead and a Sparrowhawk.

Dragonflies: Emperor, Migrant Hawker, Southern Hawker and Black-tailed Skimmer.

Butterflies: Large White, Small White, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Peacock, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown and Small Heath. And the regular Hummingbird Hawkmoth in the garden.

More Clouded Yellow

Sunny intervals, 23°, breezy W.

Another day of Clouded Yellow butterfly, with 6 in a clover field at Little Lollingdon, 1 on Lollingdon Hill and another near the Bullshole.

A Common Redstart and Lesser Whitethroat on Lollingdon Hill, several Chiffchaff and a light southerly passage of Hirundines with c40 Swallow and 60+ House Martin.

2 Grey Heron, a Sparrowhawk and a Kestrel.

Butterflies: Clouded Yellow, Large White, Small White, Common Blue, Holly Blue, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Small Tortoiseshell, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown and Small Heath. A Hummingbird Hawkmoth in the garden.

Saturday: A small (30-40cm) Grass Snake in the garden.

Later on the allotment along Station Road a Clouded Yellow flew through and the regular Painted Lady present along with a few Common Blue. A Sparrowhawk flew through carrying prey.

Clouded Yellows

Sunny, 24°, light WNW.

A walk out to the Lees and an unprecedented number of Clouded Yellow butterflies (7) seen. They were present in a field of Lucerne along with c8 Painted Lady, numerous Common Blue and a Hummingbird Hawkmoth.

It is certainly the most CY’s I’ve seen in one go in the UK.

As for birds, they were in short supply. Although the first Willow Warbler of the autumn was a good one, a few Chiffchaff, c20 Swallow passing over, a Reed Bunting, Yellowhammer, Blackcap etc.

Dragonflies: Beautiful Demoiselle and Ruddy Darter.

Butterflies: Clouded Yellow, Large White, Small White, Common Blue, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown and Small Heath.

Clouded Yellow with an un-identified Bee in the top right. Enlarged crop below.

Melitta tricincta or M. leporina ?

A bit of light precipitation

Cloudy with a few sunny spells, 26°, light WNW.

A cooler day and a walk along the Bunk area up to the gravel pit and back.

A bit of light precipitation which I believe is called rain!

Still pretty slow bird wise with the gravel pit being the most active from what little I could see.

100+ large Gulls, mainly, if not all Lesser Blackback Gull, c50 Black-headed Gull, a Mute Swan, c100 Canada Geese, 6 Greylag Geese, 2 Tufted Duck, loads of Mallard and 6 Lapwing.

Elsewhere, several Chiffchaff and Yellowhammer, 3+ Blackcap feeding on ripened Elderberries and few Swallow, House Martin and Swift overhead.

Dragonflies: Emperor, Migrant Hawker, Common Darter and Ruddy Darter.

Butterflies: Large White, Small White, Common Blue, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown and Small Heath.

Garden: a Blackcap bathing, and Painted Lady and Hummingbird Hawkmoth. The latter 2 species have been around for approx. 6 weeks on and off. Possibly not the same ones but seen virtually every day.

And an impromptu productive meeting with the gravel pit manager.

Lesser Stag Beetle, courtesy Bill Nichols