A Settled Hill

Few sunny spells, 17º, little wind, a bit brighter than yesterday.

One of these days we will find something exceptional on the hill but today was not the day.

The hill has settled down with the usual breeding birds present now, however a Lesser Whitethroat still around also, a few Swift and Swallow overhead. 

Sorry if you are getting fed up with Corn Bunting pics but they are so photogenic!

3 Pied Wagtail flew over.

A Coal Tit frequenting the garden today.

 Corn Bunting in full flow

 Common Whitethroat doing it's best to avoid the camera

 Robin, Blue Tit, Goldfinch and Coal Tit (Loren)

 Coal Tit (Loren)

 Meadow Grasshopper (Loren)

 Buff-tailed Bumble Bee (Loren)

 ? (Loren)

 Myrmica rubra ? (Loren)

 Woodlouse sp (Loren)

 2-spot Ladybird

Swifts

A dull oppressive day with overcast skies no wind and 14º.

A couple of hours around Lollingdon hill this afternoon on a very dull day. A few small flocks of Swift feeding over the hill and around 16:00 I noticed a few Swift at a higher altitude. On looking through binoculars I could see quite a few more higher, most could not be seen with the naked eye, in fact I counted 250+ all swirling around and gradually drifting west. Roughly and hour later we were on the north side of the hill and I noticed some more Swift passing over, around 100+ and this time 50+ House Martin were feeding alongside them. This flock eventually drifted off to the north east.

Well over 300 Swift seen today, is this still migration going on or weather related movement................or both?

Other species noted were: 6 Swallow, 3 Chiffchaff, 5 Blackcap, 6 Common Whitethroat, 9 Corn Bunting, 5 Yellowhammer, 14 Linnet, 1 Yellow Wagtail, 1 Green Woodpecker, 1 Great-spotted Woodpecker, 1 Buzzard, 3 Red Kite and a few corvid species.

Insects

 A dull oppressive day with overcast skies no wind and 14º.

Whilst we were on the hill today Loren was finding plenty of Insects to photograph, no butterflies or dragonflies but a few other species. An Orange Moth (early?) seen, some very small Grasshoppers and 3 species of Ladybug: 2 spot, 14 spot and 7 Spot! Also a lot of unidentified insects.

All photos courtesy Loren

 Greenbottle

Nephrotoma quadrifaria ?

 ?

 Field Grasshopper

 14-spot Ladybird

 ?

 ?

 ?

 ?

2-spot Ladybird

All quiet!

Cloudy, a few light showers, 18º, light SE.

A sucker for punishment and visited the hill again today.....................at least the birds were more vocal today, in particular Skylark, Corn Bunting and Yellowhammer.

A few Swallow and Swift overhead, 1 Kestrel and a couple of Red Kite.

The only bird of note was a 2^nd summer Lesser Blackback Gull that flew over, the first gull noted in the past few months here.

Cuckoo near Cholsey SF this morning (per Brian Wyatt).

Goldcrest & Bullfinch in the garden recently.

                                                     Corn Bunting

Rain and more Rain

Rain, 12º, light NW!

Regardless of the weather we were intent on getting out today despite over 48 hours of rain!

We had to go to Savages in Blewbury so we took a visit to Churn......and given the weather we did not expect much. However a Quail was calling almost constantly from one of the fields.

A couple of Yellow Wagtail, Common Whitethroat and 5 Corn Bunting, also several Lapwing present in the area.

Also a couple of suspicious and unsavoury looking characters with 2 muzzled Husky type dogs noted!

Decided then to take a look at Lollingdon hill...................again relatively quiet, the odd Corn Bunting, Yellowhammer, Common Whitethroat and Blackcap singing, a Yellow Wagtail heard, a couple of Swift overhead and 4 Swallow taking a break and resting on a fence.

A pair of Lapwing still present nearby, a Chiffchaff was calling and a Song Thrush singing.

Hedgehog active in garden this week.

 

 Swallows resting up during the rain.

Not getting out birding!

A week-end of visitors and visiting and not getting out birding, a few pics taken from the garden.

 Blackbird

 Great-spotted Woodpecker

Family of 6 Great Tit (2 ad, 4 yng) in the garden Monday morning.

SFA

Rain, 13º, breezy SSE.

Only managed an hour on the hill today wet’n’windy was the theme. Occasional song heard from Corn Bunting, Yellowhammer and Common Whitethroat and a few calls from a Yellow Wagtail. A few Swallow and Swift overhead and a single Red Kite but that was it!

No pics today!