A quiet end to April with Swifts passing thru

Sunny spells, 11°, light NNE.

Lollingdon hill fairly quiet today with 3 Wheatear on the hill, 2 Yellow Wagtail and 2 Pied Wagtail. 14 Swallow flew north and a Raven flew south.

A Goldcrest singing consistently near the Millennium wood over the last 2 weeks.

2 Common Tern seen again by Alan along the river, also several Swift, a Willow Warbler, Cetti’s Warbler etc on the Marsh.

On returning 6 Swift flew over the garden and Alan had 4 over Papist Way.

Butterflies: Brimstone, Orange Tip, Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock.

Wheatear

Common Whitethroat

Common Tern courtesy Alan

Herring Gull

Still cool

Cloudy with the odd sunny spell and a light rain shower, 9°, light NNW.

Male Ring Ouzel still present on Lollingdon Hill (staying high) along with 4 Wheatear, 2 Yellow Wagtail, 2 Pied Wagtail and 4-5 Linnet.

2 Common Whitethroat, 3 Blackcap and a couple of Chiffchaff, 3 Corn Bunting, a Kestrel and a Peregrine Falcon overhead.

5 Swallow and 2 House Martin flew north.

Alan found our first Lesser Whitethroat of the year down on the Marsh plus the 2 Common Tern along the river and several House Martin and Swallow.

Butterflies: Brimstone.

Male Ring Ouzel high on the hill ↕

Wheatear

Inflight Lesser Whitethroat courtesy Alan

Rain

Overcast with frequent light rain showers, 10°, light NE.

Quite a cooler day than of late and some welcome rain.

An influx of Hirundines today with c30 of each Swallow and Sand Martin and 50+ House Martin. (Per Alan along the river) and 25+ Swallow and 6+ House Martin along the Bunk line.

Around 20 Yellow Wagtail seen along the Bunk line between CSW and the gravel pit. Plus Reed Bunting, Yellowhammer, Linnet etc.

2 Herring Gull and c20 Black-headed Gull in the vicinity of CSW.

The Whinchat and 2 Wheatear still present on Lollingdon Hill.

2 Common Tern still along the river and both Sedge and Reed Warbler on the Marsh along with Cetti’s Warbler, Blackcap and Common Whitethroat. Plus all the usuals.

Herring Gull ↕

A Birdy day

Bright at first then clouding over, 12°, light SSW.

A hike out to the Lees then loop around to Lollingdon and back.

Lollingdon threw up some good birds today and some more good sightings along the river for Alan.

The Lees were fairly quiet but for Chiffchaff and Blackcap singing, a Grey Heron feeding in the “Long Ditch” and several Reed Bunting present. 1 Reed Warbler and at least 2 Sedge Warbler along the “Reedy Ditch”

The walk then to Lollingdon was uneventful with just Chiffchaff and Blackcap in song along with a couple of Common Whitethroat.

Lollingdon Hill was fairly active with a male Ring Ouzel, a male Whinchat, 2 Wheatear, a Kestrel, c6 Yellow Wagtail, 2 Pied Wagtail, 3 Corn Bunting, 2 Common Whitethroat and 2 Blackcap and a Raven overhead.

A quick call to both Alan and Tony who both arrived and saw the birds.

A Little Owl and another Ring Ouzel (female) nearby but she was not as obliging as the male and flew off along the hedgerow and was not seen again.

A steady walk back found good numbers of Yellowhammer and Reed Bunting and several more Common Whitethroat.

Alan took an early visit to the Marsh with Common Tern, Common Sandpiper and a pair of Tufted Duck. Along with the usual suspects on the Marsh.

Later in the day along the Bunk Line but somewhat quiet except for a handful of Yellow Wagtail at CSW.

Also some action in the garden with a male Blackbird feeding 3 young only for a male Sparrowhawk to take one of the youngsters 5 minutes later. A Mistle Thrush bathing in the garden and a small flock of adult and juvenile Starling feeding in the meadow early evening.

A Swift and a House Martin seen over Station road allotments this afternoon. Per Frederick Hurd.  

Mammals: Brown Hare, Stoat and Roe Deer.

Butterflies: Brimstone, Orange Tip, Peacock and Speckled Wood.

Lots of photos today 😲

Wheatear

Whinchat courtesy Alan

Ring Ouzel ↕

Ring Ouzel courtesy Alan

Yellow Wagtail

Yellow Wagtail courtesy Alan

Wheatear

Kestrel

Whinchat

Male Blackbird feeding young

Sparrowhawk on prey

Mistle Thrush taking a bath ↕

Not much change

Sunny, 13°, breezy NE.

A nice bright day but still a little cool with a northerly airflow.

A Wheatear on Lollingdon Hill today and shortly joined by 2 more but all 3 appeared to have moved off within the hour.

Several Corn Bunting in song and a Raven and a single Swallow overhead.

A few more Common Whitethroat in and on territories and a Little Owl nearby.

Alan did Bow Bridge to Ferry lane today with Nuthatch, Chiffchaff, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Blackcap, Common Whitethroat, Cetti’s Warbler, Kingfisher, Water Rail and Reed Bunting.

Mammals: Brown Hare & Roe Deer.

Butterflies: Brimstone, Small White, Orange Tip, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Comma and Speckled Wood.

Insects: Black Oil Beetle.

Wheatear courtesy Alan

Common Whitethroat courtesy Alan

Kingfisher (m&f) courtesy Alan

Black Oil Beetle

Gropper

Sunshine, 13°, breezy ENE.

Alan on the Marsh this morning with the first Grasshopper Warbler of the year. Along with Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Common Whitethroat, Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Reed Bunting.

Plus Kingfisher, Water Rail and several Swallow.

A walk along Bunk line and gravel pit proved fruitless to a degree. A single Common Whitethroat, 2 Herring Gull and a handful of Black-headed Gull. No sign of any Lapwing!

A few butterflies on the wing: Brimstone, Orange Tip, Holly Blue, Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock.

Photos courtesy Alan Dawson.

Lollingdon and Bunk line

Sunshine, 14°, light ENE.

Alan out today around Lollingdon and Bunk line.

2 Wheatear (f) on the hill and 2 Swallow over and a Little Owl nearby.

A number of Yellow Wagtail at CSW but very mobile and difficult to count, also Common Whitethroat and 2 Herring Gull.

A male and female Ring Ouzel at a nearby site just outside the parish.

Looks as though a couple of the local Swallow are back as they have been feeding actively over Church road and seen over the allotments on Station road. But no House Martin yet!

One of the Yellow Wagtail at CSW. courtesy Alan

Ring Ouzel courtesy Alan

A few more turning up

Sunshine, 16°, light to breezy ESE.

Alan out early along the Marsh this morning with 2 Common Tern and 2 Common Sandpiper (new for the year) along the river and all the usual suspects present on the Marsh.

Lollingdon Hill hosted a single Wheatear and a Whinchat today. The Whinchat was along the fence line to the west of the hill but not relocated after a search.

A Sparrowhawk hunting nearby and a single Swallow and a Raven overhead. Another Swallow over the garden earlier.

A few more Common Whitethroat present.

Mammals: Brown Hare.

Butterflies: Brimstone, Orange Tip, Holly Blue, Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock.

Wheatear

Blackcap courtesy Alan

Blue Tit collecting nest material

Wren

Linnet courtesy Alan

VizMig Slow

Sunny, 13°, breezy E.

A cool easterly breeze blowing today didn’t give up much for visible migration with just 3 Swallow and a single Yellow Wagtail over Lollingdon Hill.

A couple of Common Whitethroat, Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Corn Bunting in song around the hill.

Cholsey Marsh: no change per Alan.

Mammals: Brown Hare & Roe Deer. Alan photographed an American Mink down on the Marsh today. Hope this does not take up residence as they can devastate the local wildlife population.

Butterflies: Brimstone, Orange Tip, Holly Blue, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock and Speckled Wood.

Common Whitethroat

Chiffchaff

Sedge Warbler courtesy Alan

American Mink courtesy Alan

Stock Doves

Whinchat & Ring Ouzel but not in Cholsey

Sunny intervals, 13°, breezy NE.

Not much to report today. A Yellow Wagtail over Lollingdon Hill and a Willow Warbler and Goldcrest near the Millennium Wood.

Another Willow Warbler and several more Common Whitethroat out at Lollingdon along with the usual Little Owl.

No change on the Marsh today with no new arrivals present. 2 Common Snipe flew over. Per Alan.

Alan was out of the parish (not far out) this afternoon with the best finds of a male Ring Ouzel and a Whinchat.

Mammals: Brown Hare & Roe Deer.

Butterflies: Peacock.

Whinchat

Ring Ouzel ↕

Increase in numbers

Sunshine, 16°, light ENE.

Another warm day with butterflies on the wing and more migrants arriving.

Alan was down on the Marsh again early morning with a definite increase in Blackcap and Common Whitethroat numbers. i.e. 6 male Blackcap in one tree! Also more Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler and 6+ Willow Warbler.

I did the long circuit from the Church to the Lees, skirting Aston Tirrold to Lollingdon and back via Little Lollingdon to the Bullshole.

8 Willow Warbler, 14 Blackcap and 2 Common Whitethroat. A single Yellow Wagtail flew overhead, heading towards Cholsey Hill and a singing Sedge Warbler along the “Reedy Ditch”

Lollingdon Hill was relatively quiet, 2 Pied Wagtail dropped in, a Kestrel present and several Corn Bunting in song and another Common Whitethroat present.

Mammals: Brown Hare, Roe Deer and Muntjac Deer (briefly in the garden).

Butterflies: Brimstone, Orange Tip, Holly Blue, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock and Speckled Wood.

Corn Bunting

Willow Warbler courtesy Alan

Weather improving

Sunshine, 16°, light SE.

A good start to the day with a Willow Warbler singing near the garden.

7 Wheatear on Lollingdon hill this morning but all appeared to have gone by midday. Another Willow Warbler on the hill and 3 Raven overhead.

Seems to be plenty of Blackcap around now and a Little Owl nearby.

Alan found at least 1 Reed Warbler on the Marsh this morning. Presumably arrived overnight as this was the first for the year.

All the usual suspects noted and around 50 species noted between us.

Mammals: Brown Hare & Roe Deer and unfortunately an Otter found dead along the Wallingford road.

Butterflies: Brimstone, Orange Tip, Holly Blue, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock & Speckled Wood.

Insects: Black Oil Beetle (first ones noted on the hill) & Dark-edged Bee-fly (Per Alan).

Black Oil Beetle

Coal Tit bathing

Raven

Dark-edged Bee-fly courtesy Alan

Mistle Thrush

Common Whitethroat courtesy Alan

Mistle Thrush