A quiet end to August

Mainly sunshine, 22°, breezy SSW.

A relatively quiet time today, a Common Redstart (m) on the south side of the hill and 2 Spotted Flycatcher on the north side.

Nearby, a single Blackcap and Common Whitethroat and several Chiffchaff.

The Great Egret seen on the 10th August was seen prior to that on a garden pond near Caps Lane.

Mammals: Brown Hare. A Barbastelle Bat recorded near East End farm in the last week. The detector records each fly past and Barbastelle was recorded most frequently followed by Common Pipistrelle and Noctule.

Dragonflies: Brown Hawker & Common Darter.

Butterflies: Large White, Small White, Red Admiral (1), Painted Lady (4), Speckled Wood and Small Heath (1).

WW and a Hoverfly

Sunny with later cloud, 19°, light SW.

Some good birds today with a Whimbrel heard flying over by Michael Pocock early this morning and 2 Whinchat along the Bunk line found by Alan.

Also an interesting fly with a Footballer Hoverfly found by Alan yesterday.

I've been out of county today so nothing from me!

A bit of a mix

Sunny with cloud building and a few light showers, 21°, light SSW.

3 Common Redstart on the hill today, including a nice male. A Common Whitethroat, 2 Blackcap, 2 Chiffchaff, a flyover Yellow Wagtail and 5 Kestrel.

Nearby 2 Spotted Flycatcher, 2 Common Whitethroat, 1 Lesser Whitethroat, 3 Chiffchaff, a Raven, a Little Owl and a single Wheatear nearer the village.

Just 2 Swallow on passage today and looks as though our local House Martins have departed. 2 nests with at least 2 young each fledged.

Mammals: Brown Hare.

Dragonflies: Blue-tailed Damselfly, Brown Hawker, Black-tailed Skimmer & Common Darter.

Butterflies: Large White, Small White, Red Admiral (5), Painted Lady (4), Small Tortoiseshell (2), Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper (2), Meadow Brown (1) and Small Heath (2).

Moths: Hummingbird Hawkmoth (per Alan Dawson).

 Hummingbird Hawkmoth

 A record shot of Redstart & Spotted Flycatcher

A Hot one

Sunny, 30°, light S.

A brief 2 hour evening visit to the hill today.

1 Common Redstart still present, 2 Spotted Flycatcher, 2 Blackcap, 1 Willow Warbler, 1 Common Whitethroat, 7 Chiffchaff, 5 Mistle Thrush, 2 Kestrel and a Little Owl.

Nuthatch, Treecreeper and Coal Tit in the garden.

Yesterdays Whinchat

An excellent photo of the Whinchat from yesterday by Alan Dawson, taken in better light later in the day.

Whinchat & Wheatear

Sunny, 27°, light SE.

A text from Alan this morning of a Wheatear and a Whinchat along the Bunk Line.

I arrived around 30 minutes later and the Whinchat was still present hawking insects from the fence line but could not find the Wheatear.

1 out of 2 ain’t bad!

 Whinchat

a couple of Painted Lady butterfly and a nice Brimstone also seen.

Getting Warm

Mainly sunny, 24°, light S.

Just the 1 Redstart seen on the hill today, plus 2 Blackcap, 1 Common Whitethroat, a Wheatear and 2 Kestrel.

Nearby 4 Spotted Flycatcher around the paddocks and another on the north side of the hill. Another Common Whitethroat and several Blackcap and Chiffchaff. A single Lesser Whitethroat in a hedge in the cattle field.

A light passage of Swallow and House Martin and 2 Swift over Church road late evening,

Mammals: Brown Hare & Short-tailed Vole.

Reps: 1 Common Lizard.

Dragonflies: Migrant Hawker, Southern Hawker & Common Darter.

Butterflies: Large White, Small White, Red Admiral (3), Painted Lady (5), Small Tortoiseshell (7), Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper (2) and Meadow Brown (1).

 Spotted Flycatcher

Buzzard

A Spotted Flycatcher Day

Sunny intervals, 21°, light SSW.

A Spotted Flycatcher day today with 15-18 out at Lollingdon (15 was the minimum count).

3 small groups of Flycatchers, one of 7, another of 5 all around the paddocks and another group of 3 at Amwell Spring.

On arriving on the hill there were 30 Raptors over the hill, 18 Red Kite, 10 Buzzard and 2 Kestrel. All dispersed after around 30 minutes but the Kestrels stayed.

2 Common Redstart on the hill and a Common Whitethroat, nearby up to 7 Blackcap, another 2 Common Whitethroat and several Chiffchaff.

A Yellow Wagtail flew over on the walk out and a Sparrowhawk seen near Amwell Spring and 3 Swift drifting south with a small Hirundine flock.

Both TW & AD present out at Lollingdon.

Mammals: Short-tailed Vole & Brown Hare.

Dragonflies: Southern Hawker & Common Darter.

Butterflies: Large White, Small White, Red Admiral (2), Painted Lady (4), Small Tortoiseshell (2), Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper (2) and Meadow Brown (3).

 Blackcap

 Common Darter (m)

Brown Hare (courtesy Alan Dawson)

Butterflies & Dragons

Sunny spells, 19°, breezy W.

An afternoon walk alongside the Bunk line to Winterbrook and back.

Not much birdwise, a few Chiffchaff and singles of Blackcap and Common Whitethroat.

2 Raven heard “cronking” towards Cholsey Hill, a couple of Yellowhammer and around 50 Swallow over the water works.

A single Swift south over Church road mid-afternoon, and another 8 Swift flew over the garden drifting south with several Swallow and House Martin early evening.

Dragonflies: Southern Hawker, Migrant Hawker and Common Darter.

Butterflies: Large White, Small White, Green-veined White (1), Common Blue, Red Admiral (2), Painted Lady (7), Small Tortoiseshell (3), Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper (2), Meadow Brown (3).

 Common Blue (above & below)

 Common Darter

 Small White (?)

 Common Darter

Small Tortoiseshell

A good day

Sunny spells with a few light showers. 20°, blustery WSW.

A 5 hour stint out today between Lollingdon and Cholsey village, with warblers and butterflies in fair numbers.

A light but steady passage of Swallow and House Martin passing south and 6 Swift.

Searching sheltered hedgerows produced: 2 Common Redstart, 3 Spotted Flycatcher, 1 Wheatear, 3 Common Whitethroat, 2 Lesser Whitethroat, 1 Sedge Warbler, 5 Blackcap, 1 Willow Warbler, and 7 Chiffchaff.

A small flock of 8 Mistle Thrush, 3 Starling, 2 Raven over the Bullshole and 2 over Lollingdon Hill.

1 Hobby, per Dave,

Mammals: Brown Hare & Roe Deer.

Reps: 2 Common Lizard.

Dragonflies: 2 Southern Hawker, 5 Common Darter.

Butterflies: low numbers but good variety, Large White, Small White, Green-veined White (1), Small Copper (1), Brown Argus (1), Common Blue (2), Red Admiral (3), Painted Lady (4), Small Tortoiseshell (2), Peacock (1), Comma (2), Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper (1), Meadow Brown (2) and Small Heath (1).

Insects: 2 Hornet Robber Fly. Per Alan.

 Raven (courtesy Alan Dawson)

 Redstart

 Wheatear

 Spotted Flycatcher

Painted Lady

Migrant Hawker

Migrant Hawker dragonfly at Cholsey Marsh.

Photo courtesy Alan Dawson.

5 Swift feeding over the north of the village yesterday and gradually drifted off south.

Wet 'n Windy

Rain and a blustery wind, 17°, moderate SSW.

2 Common Redstart and a single Lesser Whitethroat on the hill today. All appeared during a brief respite in the rain and feeding in the open.

3 Kestrel also active on the hill.

A flock of 50-60 Swallow and House Martin feeding over a field in the lee of the hill. A flock of sheep had only just been put in the field and their movement through the long grass was disturbing insects the Hirundine flock was feeding on.

A Common Whitethroat and 2+ Spotted Flycatcher nearby. A few Chiffchaff around including 1 in the garden this afternoon.

Little else of note in the wet and windy conditions.

Redstarts and a Lesser Whitethroat snuck into the 4th pic.

This one courtesy of Alan Dawson from yesterday.

Spot Flys

3+ Spotted Flycatcher and a Common Redstart out at Lollingdon today. Per Alan Dawson.

A couple from yesterday

Rain stopped play today!

A couple of photos from yesterday. A Buzzard over the village closely resembles an individual seen out at Lollingdon regularly, maybe the same one.

Photo courtesy Alan Dawson.

And one of the Nuthatch that visits the garden regularly.

Grasshopper & Butterfly

A few photos from Alan.

Meadow Grasshopper and Painted Lady butterflies.