A good day for Butterflies

Cloudy with few sunny spells, 23°, fresh SE.

Bunk line walk.

Little Ringed Plover heard calling at gravel pit and Sand Martin, House Martin, Swallow and Swift feeding overhead.

Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Common Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, and Garden Warbler.

A single Lapwing, Kestrel and 4 Yellowhammer and 3 Herring Gull and 5 Black-headed Gull at CSW.

“Hobby low over the garden this morning. Reed Warbler singing on the brook just off Church Rd just now, and 5 Mallard families there (currently 32 ducklings in total), with another nest in our garden due to hatch this week. Grey Wagtails on 2nd brood at Church Rd/brook bridge (first was successful). Nuthatch calling yesterday.

Goldcrest bred again alongside our garden – fledglings were noisy all last week. Loads of Chub and Minnow in the brook – there’s also been a big shoal of Minnow spawning at the Bullshole tunnel, with Chub hunting them. Otter scats in the garden and on the steps into the brook in the meadow.” Per Richard Broughton.

Mammals: Muntjac Deer.

Dragonflies: Beautiful and Banded Demoiselle, Common Blue Damselfly and a Hairy Dragonfly.

Butterflies: Large Skipper, Small Skipper, Large White, Common Blue, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Marbled White, Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown and Small Heath.

Chrysops divaricatus or Chrysops caecutiens

Lollingdon

Mainly cloudy, 21°, breezy SW.

A bit of a blustery day out at Lollingdon.

Relatively quiet, 4 singing Yellowhammer and a Corn Bunting, the usual Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Common Whitethroat and a Lesser Whitethroat.

20+ Swift feeding over the hill area along with a few Swallow and House Martin.

2 Mistle Thrush in the meadow.

Mammals: Brown Hare.

Dragonflies: Beautiful and Banded Demoiselle.

Butterflies: Large Skipper, Common Blue, Painted Lady, Small Tortoiseshell, Speckled Wood and Meadow Brown.

Moths: Privet Hawkmoth.

Privet Hawkmoth courtesy Bryan Reagan.

Not a lot!

 Rain at first then sunny spells, 18°, light SW.

Still very quiet along the Bunk area. The usual Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Common Whitethroat, plus a pair of Lesser Whitethroat.

No view of the gravel pit but a Little Ringed Plover heard calling, a Lesser Blackback Gull dropped in and a Lapwing over.

2-3 Herring Gull at CSW and 5 Black-headed Gull flew south.

Several Swallow, House Martin and Swift noted.

A Peregrine over Crescent Way on Weds. Per James Beaumont and 2 Oystercatcher at the gravel pit on Sat. Per Brian Wyatt.

Butterflies: Large Skipper, Large White, Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown and Small Heath.

Sunshine and showers

Sunshine and showers, 15°, breezy SW.

A walk out to the Lees, Long Ditch areas.

5 singing Sedge Warbler and 2 singing Reed Warbler, 6 Reed Bunting, 3 Yellowhammer, several Skylark, Chiffchaff, Common Whitethroat, Blackcap, Jay, a couple of Swallow and 50+ Swift feeding overhead.

Both Barn Owl and Kestrel nest sites located but the Church Road House Martins have mysteriously disappeared from their nesting area!

Mammals: Muntjac Deer.

Dragonflies: Beautiful and Banded Demoiselle and a Black-tailed Skimmer. Unusually no Damselflies, maybe the ditch is too polluted?

Butterflies: Large Skipper, Common Blue, 8+ Painted Lady, Meadow Brown and Small Heath.

GSW

Sunny spells, 21°, mod W.

A Great-spotted Woodpecker family in the garden this afternoon. 2 adults and 1 youngster.

Cooler

Sunny spells, 23°, light W.

Another less than fruitful walk along the Bunk area.

2-3 Yellowhammer in song plus the odd Common Whitethroat, Blackcap and Chiffchaff.

5 Lapwing over the gravel pit along with 2 Sand Martin, 10+ House Martin and a handful of Swift.

Butterflies: very few on the wing, having said that 10+ Painted Lady, all but one moving swiftly in a northerly direction.

Recently in a message from Richard James: “I’ve had the following in the garden the last two days or evenings: 1 Wasp Beetle, 2 Beautiful Demoiselle, 1 Broad-bodied Chaser, 2 Scarlet Tiger Moth, 2 Stag Beetle (M), and a partridge! Not sure what ‘flavour’ as it was getting dark.

Oh and a Common Blue butterfly, and lots of Painted Lady at home and on the allotment (about 5).”

I believe these are Tree Bumble Bee that have taken over a Swift box.

Warm Days

Sunny, 28°, light E.

A slightly cooler day than of late but still pretty warm but still not productive for any serious birding locally.

Rooks still raiding the bird feeders whilst the Mallards sit underneath waiting for seeds to drop.

A male Beautiful Demoiselle and a Scarlet Tiger Moth in the garden and a male Stag Beetle nearby.

Courtesy Loren.

Insects

Sunny, 26°, light S.

A walk out to Lollingdon but very little noted bird wise.

A Corn Bunting on the hill and singing and several Yellowhammer nearby.

20+ Red Kite around,  as several fields were being harvested for silage so plenty for the Kites to scavenge on like Skylark chicks or eggs!

Dragonflies: Beautiful Demoiselle.

Butterflies: Brimstone, Large White, Small White, Green-veined White, Holly Blue, Common Blue and Speckled Wood.

Several other insects noted. 

Tanyptera atrata, courtesy Stephen Haigh.

Pale Tussock Moth

Banded Demoiselle

Unknown

Garden bits

Mainly sunny, 22°, light SSW.

A few bits from the garden: several House Martin on the roof today appearing to collect moss, presumably to line their nests. Plus a few other residents.

Disappointing

Sunny intervals, 18°, moderate WSW.

A disappointing time out along the Bunk line today:

A Hobby was the bird of the day that flew through towards the gravel pit.

Several Swift, House Martin, Sand Martin and Swallow feeding overhead.

Nothing more to note at the gravel pit and unable to see in now the nettles have grown high.

The usual Warblers seen and heard on route but little else.

Butterflies: a Large White, 2 Small White, an Orange Tip and Common Blue and 2 Small Heath.

House Sparrows courtesy Bill Nicholls

L’s.

Cloudy, 12°, breezy WSW.

Lollingdon, Lees & Long Ditch.

A breezy day, 60+ Swift and c30 House Martin, south-west over Lollingdon Hill. A singing Corn Bunting present but little else.

Elsewhere: 2 Lesser Whitethroat, several Common Whitethroat, Blackcap and Chiffchaff and several Sedge and Reed Warbler at the Long Ditch area.

10+ Swift and a handful of Swallow, a Grey Heron, 3-4 Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting and Yellow Wagtail.

In the meadow, a Grey Wagtail and a Pied Wagtail, both collecting food, a Coal Tit singing and 2 Mistle Thrush mobbing a Carrion Crow.

Mammals: Brown Hare and Roe Deer.

Dragonflies: A Banded Demoiselle in garden.

Butterflies: singles of Small White, Speckled Wood and Small Heath.

 

Club-tailed Dragonfly

 Courtesy Richard James. One of four found yesterday.

Club-tailed Dragonfly, female.

Back to it

Overcast, 11°, light to breezy NNE.

Back birding in Cholsey after a stay at Portland, Dorset.

The colder weather today has concentrated Hirundines over favoured areas where insects are abundant, with 150+ over CSW and c30 over the gravel pit.

House Martin in the majority with many Swallow and several Sand Martin.

Pretty quiet on the gravel pit with 2 Shelduck still present and a Little Ringed Plover (heard) but a lot of growth now restricting viewing over the pits.

Several Chiffchaff, Common Whitethroat and Blackcap and a Grey Wagtail elsewhere.

2 Lapwing present near Green Lane.  

A dead Polecat found by Stewart Watts out Lollingdon way. An area where they have been seen in previous years.

Polecat, courtesy Stewart Watts

Cinnabar Moth, courtesy Bill Nicholls

Great-spotted Woodpecker, courtesy Loren