Hornet Robber Fly

Mainly sunny, 22°, breezy SW.

A Little Egret out at Lollingdon today seen flying over the tree line and landed presumably in one of the streams out of sight.

A female Sparrowhawk flew over causing a certain amount of panic among a flock of Swallow that were passing thru.

2 Kestrel on the hill and 100+ Lesser Blackback Gull around the pig fields and several Black-headed Gull overhead, and the Jays still around.

A Hornet Robber Fly found on the hill and a Silver-washed Fritillary seen nearby.

Dragonflies: Southern Hawker, Brown Hawker, Emperor and Common Darter.

Butterflies: Brimstone, Large White, Small White, Common Blue, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Comma, Silver-washed Fritillary, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper and Meadow Brown.

Other insects: Hornet Robber Fly.

Hornet Robber Fly (quite harmless, unless you are another insect)

 Moorhens catching the early morning sun

After the rain

Mainly cloudy with a few sunny spells, 22°, breezy SSW.

A bit of a wet week end but little impact made as the ground is still very dry. 

Around 150 Swift south over the hill today and several Swallow and House Martin with them.

4-5 Common Whitethroat, 2 Blackcap and a couple of Chiffchaff present in the hedgerows and several Yellowhammer nearby.

Several Jay heard between the village and Lollingdon.

A Nuthatch in the garden this morning and an adult Moorhen with 3 young visiting.

Butterflies: few present: Large White, Small White, Common Blue, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper and Meadow Brown.

 Moorhens

A lot of Goldfinch around feeding on the thistle heads.

Kites eye view.

Friday was another hot day and earlier on the hill I watched a couple of Red Kite and Buzzard rising up on the thermals around the hill, there was little else going on apart from a couple of Kestrel.

Shortly after coming off the hill I noticed a paraglider come over the top of the hill and steadily gain height.

I eventually lost sight of him as he headed north.

I guessed who it was and a day later I had an email from Bryan Regan.

Bryan reached 3500 feet (1067 meters) in approx 7 minutes after take off and he headed north eventually coming down in Banbury. A distance of around 63 kilometers in a time of 2 hours 38 minutes.

Bryan also managed to get a few photos as he was thermalling up and up.

 Cholsey 18 minutes after take off

Lollingdon Hill 3 minutes after take off.

June 2017 Soaring with the Kites

Photos courtesy Bryan Regan.

Let there be rain!

Cloudy with sunny intervals, 28°, light SW.

Another warm one but it started raining just prior to 16:00 and a few claps of thunder but what little there is, was evaporating rather quickly! Let’s hope there is more on the way.

Approx. 200 Swift over the hill today in an extended flock moving south and 2 Kestrel on the hill.

6 Mistle Thrush nearby and a Yellowhammer feeding young in a nest. Several Yellowhammer still in song and 2 Blackcap singing still and a couple of Jay making a racket.

Dragonflies: Azure Damselfly, Southern Hawker, Brown Hawker, Emperor and Common Darter.

Butterflies: Small Skipper, Large White, Small White, Common Blue, Red Admiral, Comma, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper and Meadow Brown.

 Silver-washed Fritillary from earlier this month (courtesy Tony Raynor)

30° and counting!

Another hot day, sunny, 30°, light SSE.

A walk out to the Lees again today and far fewer butterflies present than of late and “whites” dominating the butterflyscape! The warmest Cholsey day this year. 

Anyone know what the record temp (both high & low) has been recorded in Cholsey?

A Peregrine Falcon and a Sparrowhawk both seen carrying a prey item and a Kestrel hunting.

A Chiffchaff working its way along the dyke and 5-6 Reed Bunting and 2 Sedge Warbler present.

A few more Sedge Warbler and 2 Reed Warbler along the reedy ditch at the end.

A few Swallow, House Martin and Swift feeding overhead. 

A Nuthatch heard calling from the trees in the meadow.

Dragonflies: Banded Demoiselle, Brown Hawker & Common Darter.

Butterflies: Small Skipper, Brimstone, Large White, Small White, Common Blue, Holly Blue, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Comma, Dark Green Fritillary (per TR), Silver-washed Fritillary (per TR), Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown & Ringlet.

Brimstone

Common Darter

Dryad's Saddle (a bracket fungus)

Sleepy Roebuck

Sunny spells, 28°, light W.

Yet again another warm day. Several Chiffchaff on and around the hill today also up to 5 Common Whitethroat and 2 Blackcap.

3 Kestrel noted including 1 harrying a Buzzard and a Sparrowhawk overhead.

A Goldcrest with a small Tit flock along the brook.

Mammals: Roe Deer & Muntjac Deer.

Dragonflies: Banded Demoiselle, Azure Damselfly, Southern Hawker, Brown Hawker, Emperor & Common Darter.

Butterflies: Small Skipper, Brimstone, Large White, Small White, Brown Argus, Common Blue (lots), Red Admiral, Peacock, Comma, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown & Ringlet.

 A sleepy looking Roebuck

A Dust Devil approx half mile away.

A good Butterfly year?

Sunny again, 28°, breezy SW.

Another warm one with a warm breeze blowing just enough to keep you relatively cool. Getting bored with this weather now!

A walk out to the Lees and birdwise not a great deal around. The odd Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Yellowhammer and Reed Bunting along the dyke and ditches and a Kestrel in the area.

A couple of Blackcap and a Chiffchaff at the Bullshole and a Sparrowhawk being hounded by Swallows and House Martins over the meadow and a small flock of Swift wheeling overhead.

Dragonflies: Southern Hawker, Brown Hawker and Common Darter.

Butterflies: Small Skipper, Brimstone, Large White, Small White, Common Blue, Red Admiral, Peacock, Comma, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown & Ringlet.

Tony Rayner has recorded 23 species of butterfly in his garden/meadow recently: Small Skipper, Essex Skipper, Large Skipper, Dingy Skipper, Grizzled Skipper, Brimstone, Large White, Small White, Green-veined White, Small Copper, Common Blue, Brown Argus, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Comma, Silver-washed Fritillary, Speckled Wood, Marbled White, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown, Ringlet & Small Heath.

With a few butterfly species recorded earlier in the year Tony has recorded 26 of the 27 butterflies species recorded in the whole of Cholsey this year. that goes to show how important a well managed garden/meadow can be to butterflies and other insects.

Kestrel

Sexton Beetle?

Lunar Spotted Pinion (courtesy Tony Raynor)

Blastobasis adjustella (courtesy Tony Raynor)

A Hot One

Sunny, 29°, light SSW.

Another warm day and most birds conspicuous by their absence.

The odd Yellowhammer, Chiffchaff, Whitethroat and Blackcap seen.

A few small flocks of Goldfinch and Linnet and a Grey Heron but little else.

Dragonflies: Azure Damselfly, Southern Hawker, Brown Hawker, Emperor and Common Darter and an unidentified Darter. 

(A small Darter seen today, pale reddish bodied and in some light showed extensive yellow on the inner part of the wings, more so than on Ruddy. It settled close to the water a few times and by the time I got the camera ready a Brown Hawker had a go at it and it was not seen again! A possible Yellow-winged Darter?)

Butterflies: Large Skipper, Small Skipper, Brimstone, Large White, Small White, Common Blue, Peacock, Comma, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown and Ringlet.

 Ringlet

 Common Blue

Grey Heron feeling the heat

Hornet Robber Fly

Cloudy with a few sunny spells, 22°, light WSW.

The Hornet Robber Fly is one of the UK’s largest flies.it looks quite ferocious but is harmless to humans.

It is a predator of a lot of other insects including Wasps, Grasshoppers and Beetles etc.

There are a few sites in Cholsey for these flies but never guaranteed.

Click here for more information

Photo taken today in the east of Cholsey (courtesy Alan Dawson)

Photo taken last year in the west of Cholsey

Butterflies

Mainly cloudy, 22°, light W.

We had some rain last night on a narrow front that passed over, not enough to make a difference but enough to ease the situation for a short time.

a few recent photos by local photographers.

Common Blue (courtesy Gerry Sexton)

Brimstone (courtesy Alan Dawson)

2 contrasting photos of Lollingdon Hill. Above taken during early spring and the lower taken on Friday.

No rain yet!

Mainly cloudy with a few sunny spells, 24°, light SSE.

Another quiet day out at Lollingdon. According to several weather forecasts there is rain on the way, however so far none has materialised, even the weather radar app on my phone showed rain nearby but as usual it seems to bypass this part of the Thames Valley!

2 Raven around for a couple of hours but too distant for any photos and a flock of 21 very mobile Mistle Thrush nearby.

A few Swallow overhead moving south and a single House Martin.

A Yellow Wagtail flew over and several young Chiffchaff present.

2 Green Woodpecker, a Great-spotted Woodpecker, 2 Jay and a Kestrel around the cattle field.

A Grey Heron flew from the brook near the Bullshole.

The only species still singing today were Yellowhammer.

Dragonflies: Southern Hawker and Emperor Dragonfly.

Butterflies: Whites still the most numerous: Small Skipper, Brimstone, Large White, Small White, Brown Argus, Holly Blue, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Comma, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper and Meadow Brown.

Yellowhammer

Brimstone

Sunbathing

Sunny spells, 24°, light S.

A Stock Dove sunbathing in the garden today.

Where can we order some rain from

Sunny periods, 24°, light SSW.

Very quiet around the hill at the moment and very parched. A local farmer has started feeding hay to his cattle as the fresh grass is not growing in this weather.

30+ Swift wheeling around over Marymead this morning and around 6 House Martin, 22 Swallow feeding out at Lollingdon, a mix of adults and young.

A Hobby flew over the hill and headed off south west (very few seen locally this year). A Raven flew south and a Little Owl seen and heard.

A couple of Grey Heron seen along one of the brooks.

Mammals: A Muntjac Deer with a youngster, a Stoat and a Brown Hare.

Reptiles: several Common Lizard.

Dragonflies: Banded Demoiselle and Southern Hawker.

Butterflies: far fewer numbers again: Small Skipper, Large White, Small White, Small Blue, Brown Argus (per TR), Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Comma, Silver-washed Fritillary (per TR), Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown and Ringlet.

Southern Hawker (f) (courtesy Alan Dawson)

 Great-spotted Woodpecker

Peacock

Quiet times

Sunny intervals and clouding up early afternoon, 26°, light SW.

A rather quiet time out there today and not a lot seen.

A few young Common Whitethroat on the hill today presumably from the breeding pair on the west of the hill. Little else around there.

2 Grey Heron in the area. 

A Treecreeper, Great-spotted Woodpecker and Nuthatch in the garden today.

Dragonflies: Banded Demoiselle, Southern Hawker, Brown Hawker and Emperor.

Butterflies: fewer in number today: Small Skipper, Large Skipper, Large White, Small White, Holly Blue, Common Blue, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Comma, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown & Ringlet.

Hummingbird Hawk Moth (courtesy Alan Dawson)

Treecreeper (courtesy Loren)

 Old Lady

 Unidentified?

 Treecreeper

A few from the week end

Sunny spells, 27°, light SSW.

A few bits from the weekend.

Painted Lady (courtesy Alan Dawson)

Banded Demoiselle (female)

Marbled White on a Potato plant

Painted Lady (courtesy Alan Dawson)

Common Pufball

Amorous Hares

Sunny periods, 24°, light SSE.

A male Peregrine Falcon seen on the way out to Lollingdon this morning and flew towards Aston Tirrold.

Looks as though some of the Corn Bunting around the hill have fledged some young as there were around a dozen present which included several young birds.

7 Lesser Blackback Gull and 2 Black-headed Gull drifted over heading north and a Kestrel briefly overhead.

At least 1 Goldcrest on the north side of the hill with a small Tit flock.

Mammals: Brown Hare & Weasel.

Reptiles: Common Lizard.

Dragonflies: Banded Demoiselle, Brown Hawker, Southern Hawker, Emperor Dragonfly & Common Darter.

Butterflies: Small Skipper, Essex Skipper, Large Skipper, Brimstone, Large White, Small White, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Comma, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown & Ringlet.

4 Brown Hare in an amorous mood.