Soggy underfoot

Hazy sunshine, 10°, light SW.

A nice 1stw m Bullfinch seen on Lollingdon Hill today, only the 2nd sighting of this species in Cholsey this year.

Again a lot of Fieldfare and Redwing in the area plus at least 6 Mistle Thrush. A scattering of Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting and Skylark plus a couple of Siskin over and 2 Raven.

2 Little Egret a couple of days ago near the flooded field.

Garden very busy this week with Coal, Long-tailed, Blue and Great Tit, Nuthatch, Treecreeper and Great-spotted Woodpecker all visiting.

Reed Bunting

Yellowhammer

Great-spotted Woodpecker

Fog & Sunshine

Foggy, clearing by 13:00, 4°, very light SE.

Bunk area fairly quiet today apart from the hundreds of Fieldfare and Redwing present feeding on Hawthorn berries, plus a good number of Blackbird.

A few small flocks of Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail and Skylark scattered around.

Singles of Raven and Grey Wagtail.

Cholsey Hill area, c50 Golden Plover, c100 Lapwing, a Little Egret and several Meadow Pipit, Per Alan.

Robin

A trio of Collared Dove

A very vocal Rook

Jackdaw

Blackbird

A Frosty start to December

Mainly overcast, 3°, light NNE.

Apart from the hundreds of Fieldfare and Redwing along the Bunk area today and with a good number of Blackbird there was little else to shout about.

A Raven over and several Yellowhammer, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, 20+ Skylark, the usual 2 Herring Gull, 20+ Lesser Blackback Gull and 50+ Black-headed Gull.

AD & PC.

Redshanks

Sunny spells, 4°, light NE.

Lollingdon was a bit of a washout today. Probably due to someone parked up in a pickup in the middle of the south side of the hill sporting a high-powered air rifle.

Taking the odd shot at a target he had place approx. 20m in front of the vehicle.

Subsequently there was not a single bird on the hill!

Nearby, plenty of Fieldfare and Redwing and an increased number of Blackbird.

A single Grey Wagtail and Sparrowhawk noted.

Alan along the Bunk line/Cholsey Hill area: Golden Plover heard calling but not seen, Chiffchaff and Reed Bunting.

Also a Redshank in the area on floods with 2 Common Snipe and 2 more Redshank nearby.

Redshank courtesy Alan ↕

Grey Wagtail

A bit flat at the moment

Partially sunny, 6°, light NW.

Everywhere a bit samey at the moment, just a few snippets. A Raven heard calling over Church Road. 2 Stonechat out along the “Long Ditch”. Per Alan, and several Meadow Pipit, Lollingdon Hill. Per Andy King.

A little bit chilly

Cloud and rain clearing then sunny spells, 9°, breezy NNW.

Lollingdon fairly quiet apart from the hundreds of Fieldfare and Redwing around.

Around 12 Yellowhammer, a Chiffchaff and a Goldcrest on the Hill.

Alan out along the river and Bunk Line with similar results. A Treecreeper and Little Egret to add and c50 Lapwing over Cholsey Hill.

A Song Thrush singing at dusk in the Brook Meadow.

Tawny Owl calling from garden @ 22:00.

Goldfinch courtesy Alan

Little Egret courtesy Alan

Treecreeper courtesy Alan

Yellowhammer

Loads of Thrushes and little else

Overcast with some light rain, 9°, light N.

A trek along the Bunk line this afternoon turned up a Little Egret and c 20 Pied Wagtail out with the cattle.

A lot of Fieldfare and Redwing, just about every hedgerow had good numbers present plus numbers feeding in fields. Alan had a lot this morning along the Bunk and also along the river area, maybe an influx from further north?

Little else other than a Little Owl calling, 2 Herring Gull and a few Meadow Pipit.

One of the Pied Wagtail feeding alongside cattle

Little Egret

2 Herring Gull and 3 Magpie

A bit samey

Few sunny spells, 11°, light WNW.

Lollingdon Hill was very quiet, just a few Yellowhammer and Fieldfare present. Nearby was a lot busier with good numbers of Fieldfare, Redwing and Starling. A Blackcap and Goldcrest mixed in with a Tit flock, c 50 Linnet and a scattering of Meadow Pipit and Pied Wagtail etc.

Alan reported that the river area was very quiet and some Siskin over Church Road. Per RB.

Dragonflies: 2 Common Darter.

Butterflies: a single Red Admiral.

Goldcrest

Thrushes everywhere

Sunny spells, 10°, light SSW.

Although still fairly quiet I managed a total of just under 60 species in 4.5 hours from the garden and out along the Bunk line today.

Many Fieldfare and Redwing (500+ birds), 100+ Starling, a couple of small Siskin flocks overhead, 43 Lapwing, a Chiffchaff, Goldcrest, Coal Tit, Nuthatch, Treecreeper, Green and Great-spotted Woodpecker, 2 Raven, Sparrowhawk, Kingfisher, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, 3 Gull species, etc, etc.

Tony W found our first Bullfinch of the year yesterday near Bow Bridge. A bit concerning that no breeding sites found this year and yesterday’s bird was maybe a transient individual.

Dragonflies: 2 Common Darter.

One of the Starling flocks feeding near the Cattle

A few of the many Fieldfare

Slow times

Sunny periods, 11°, breezy W.

The slow times are persisting with little or no movement. Lollingdon was quieter than usual. A scattering of Fieldfare and Redwing, a few Siskin overhead, several Pied Wagtail, Meadow Pipit and Yellowhammer and a Little Owl and a Tawny Owl heard but little else noted.

Alan fared little better along the Bunk and River. Green Sandpiper still present, Water Rail, a Grey Wagtail, a Chiffchaff, Reed Bunting, Siskin over, several Fieldfare and Redwing.

Mammals: Brown Hare.

Dragonflies: 15+ Common Darter Lollingdon and 20+ Cholsey Meadows.

Common Darter courtesy Alan

Common Darter ↕

Not a lot

Some sunshine after the rain, 10°, light SW.

Both out after the rain along the Bunk line. Not a lot around at the moment.

A Green Sandpiper was a nice find by Alan but one we could expect this time of year.

Plenty of Fieldfare and Redwing, a single high flying Cormorant, several Yellowhammer, Meadow Pipit and Pied Wagtail, 2 Grey Wagtail, 2 Grey Heron, single Chiffchaff and a couple of Raven etc.

Chiffchaff

Frosty start

Sunny, 9°, light N.

Alan out today along River and Bunk Line.

Water Rail, Siskin, Reed Bunting, Kingfisher etc.

Bunk, 2 Little Egret, Usual gulls, Siskin, Sparrowhawk, Teal, Many Lapwing & Fieldfare and 2 Grey Wagtail.

Dragonflies: Common Darter.

Butterflies: Red Admiral.

A little quiet

Mainly cloudy, 9°, breezy NW.

Both along Bunk Line today but at different times:

Little Egret, 2 Raven, good numbers of Fieldfare and Redwing, c20 Meadow Pipit, c30 Pied Wagtail, 10 Yellowhammer, 100+ Lesser Blackback Gull, c50 Black-headed Gull, 2 Herring Gull, 1 Grey Heron, c70 Egyptian Geese and the same of Canada Geese.

Tony W saw the Geese flying from the river over Caps Lane and towards the Bunk Line area earlier.

Tony also had 4 Chiffchaff with a Tit flock at Bow Bridge.

Fieldfare (again)

Redwing & Fieldfare

Raven in the twilight

Cold & Wet

Cloudy after the rain, 10°, light WNW.

Both Alan and I covered the Bunk Line this afternoon after the rain stopped but proved very quiet.

Good numbers of “Winter Thrushes” around, a single Raven, 2 Grey Heron, a Grey Wagtail, a few Meadow Pipit and 20+ Pied Wagtail was about it.

Yesterday Alan found a Red Admiral and a Migrant Hawker still on the wing.

Fieldfare courtesy Andy King

Great-spotted Woodpecker visiting garden feeders

Grey Heron

Redwing & Starling courtesy Andy King

Getting cooler

Mainly sunny, 11°, light WSW.

Still rather quiet out there. Lollingdon, 20+ of each Fieldfare and Redwing, 3 Mistle Thrush, a few Yellowhammer, a small flock of Siskin over, 2 Chiffchaff, several Meadow Pipit and Pied Wagtail etc.

River and Bunk line did not fare any better with Alan. c150 Fieldfare and Redwing, Mistle Thrush, several Meadow Pipit and a good number of Pied Wagtail.

Dragonflies: c20 Common Darter (Lollingdon).

Fieldfare

Redwing

4of the Common Darters