Not much about

Cloudy, 14°, breezy SSW.

A visit to Lollingdon prior to the rain setting in. a single Stonechat on the hill and a few Meadow Pipit and Skylark around.

40+ House Martin hawking in the lee of the hill and a further 20’ish hawking in the lee of a tree belt nearby. Around 10 Swallow also passing thru.

Apart from c10 Chiffchaff, just the usual Yellowhammer and Linnet, very little else around.

Chiffchaff

Fairly quiet

Cloudy and sunny later, 14°, light N.

Alan out today along the Bunk line. Several Redwing, a Stonechat, several Swallow and House Martin and Meadow Pipit. plus Great-spotted Woodpecker and Grey Heron.

Photos courtesy Alan

A showery day

Sunshine and showers, 14°, light to breezy WNW.

After yesterday’s excitement, back to the usual birding along the Bunk line:

A Stonechat, several Redwing, a single Yellow Wagtail and Grey Wagtail and a couple of Pied Wagtail.

2 Grey Heron, 2 Jay, several Meadow Pipit, Blackcap and good numbers of House Martin and to a lesser extent Swallow.

Tony Rayner has reported a Jack Snipe in his garden, present for a couple of days.

Butterflies: a single, possibly a Red Admiral.

Moths: Tony Rayner has recently caught a Clifden Nonpariel (also known as Blue Underwing) in his garden. A fairly rare moth in these parts.

Alan, Paul & Tony R.

Stonechat in the rain

Nighthawk

Sunny spells, 15°, breezy W.

Both out along the Bunk line this morning, Alan earlier and myself later.

I was halfway out and not seeing much when a message came thru of a Common Nighthawk in Wantage!

My first thought was “What’s a Common Nighthawk (an American relation of a Nightjar and a mega rarity in the UK) doing in Oxfordshire?

Anyway I immediately about turned and phoned Loren to say we were off to Wantage and made it back home as fast as possible. And by around midday we were off.

We arrived onsite fairly quickly and joined a small band of local Oxon birders already present and surprised to see the Nighthawk perched atop a fence in plain view.

This species is crepuscular/nocturnal and rests up during the day and its cryptic plumage helps to camouflage it on trees, logs etc.

Ian Lewington had earlier received a call from a Wantage resident regarding a bird sat on his garden fence that was believed to be a Nightjar but on viewing it, Lew realised it was a rare American cousin and put the news out. A first record for Oxfordshire.

A couple of Oxon birders had also organised a collection bucket for birders to donate to the residents preferred charity as he allowed people to view the bird in his garden.  

As time wore on more birders started to arrive so after approx. and hour, we decided to leave to make room for the crowds that will inevitably turn up later.

Good to see a couple of other Cholsey birders there. Alan and Tony. And thanks to Lew and the local residents.  

Not strictly Cholsey but a bird worth a mention.

All quiet again

Light cloud, 17°, light N.

Rather quiet along the Bunk line today. 3 Blackcap, Green Lane feeding on Elderberry and 10+ Chiffchaff in the area.

Grey Heron, Jay, Pied Wagtail, Yellowhammer and Meadow Pipit also present nearby.

c100 Hirundines noted, most at high altitude and not visible to the naked eye and all moving west.

Dragonflies: Migrant Hawker and Common Darter.

Negative for any butterflies.

Meadow Pipit courtesy Alan

A trickle of migrants

Mainly cloudy with minimal sunshine, 17°, light N.

Busy on the hill today, 3 Stonechat, a Wheatear, a Common Redstart, 10+ Chiffchaff, a Willow Warbler, Common Whitethroat, 2 Blackcap, 2 Yellow Wagtail, 3 Meadow Pipit, 2 Pied Wagtail, 3 Yellowhammer, a few Skylark, 2 Jay and a handful of Swallow and House Martin thru.

Alan along Bunk line: Stonechat still present plus several Chiffchaff and Meadow Pipit, Swallow, House Martin, Yellow Wagtail, Corn Bunting and a Raven over.

Dragonflies: Common Darter. Tony W found a Willow Emerald in his garden.

Butterflies: Small White, Green-veined White, Common Blue, Red Admiral & Speckled Wood.

Stonechat

Wheatear ↕

Stonechat ↕

Stonechat

Mainly cloudy with a few sunny spells, 17°, light W.

Bunk line again and the first Stonechat of the autumn period has turned up.

Still a few migrants around. A Common Whitethroat, Blackcap, 10+ Chiffchaff, good numbers of Swallow and House Martin still on the move and several Yellow Wagtail scattered with the cattle along with a few Meadow Pipit and Pied Wagtail.

Green Woodpecker, 2 Grey Heron, 3 Mistle Thrush, a Grey Wagtail, 2 Jay, several Linnet and Yellowhammer and 2 Kestrel.

Dragonflies: Southern Hawker & Common Darter.

Butterflies: Small White.

Paul & Alan.

4 Stonechat pics, 2nd courtesy Alan.

Cooler

Sunny periods, 17°, breezy N.

Bunk and River area covered today. Alan found the Little Egret again loafing in a field.

Caps Lane: A Hobby overhead, several Meadow Pipit and Yellow Wagtail and a Spotted Flycatcher.

River: Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Common Whitethroat, Kingfisher.

Bunk: Grey Heron, Sparrowhawk seen twice hunting hedgerows, several Yellow Wagtail and Meadow Pipit, a Common Whitethroat, 2 Blackcap, several Chiffchaff and 2 Raven over and a steady movement of House Martin and Swallow.

Dragonflies: Southern Hawker, Migrant Hawker & Common Darter.

Butterflies: Small White, Red Admiral, Speckled Wood & Meadow Brown.

Little Egret courtesy Alan

Magpie hunting for insects/parasites

Chiffs

Mainly cloudy, 17°, light NW.

1, poss 2 Common Redstart out at Lollingdon today. Also a single Spotted Flycatcher and the first Meadow Pipit (12) of the autumn.

c200 Hirundines over the hill in a period of 1.5 hours and a hint of a small movement of Skylark.

A good number of Chiffchaff, including a “flock” of 7 together and a couple of Yellow and Pied Wagtail.

A Little Egret seen briefly out near Little Lollingdon.

Alan along the Silly bridge area with a Wheatear and several more Meadow Pipit and Yellow Wagtail.

Mammals: Brown Hare.

Dragonflies: a couple of Common Darter.

Butterflies: a few Small White, 1 Peacock and 1 Speckled Wood.

Redstart & Whinchat

Sunny, 20°, light N.

A brief walk out along the Bunk line with Loren this afternoon produced a Redstart in the first field.

Also noted were, 2 Kestrel, 11 Pied Wagtail, 2 Yellow Wagtail, a Grey Heron, 3 Chiffchaff, 2 Green Woodpecker, a Great-spotted Woodpecker, Little Owl and a couple of Jay heard.

Alan went to look for the Redstart later and found a Whinchat in the same area.

A quick check at 16:30 and both birds present but then moved closer to Bunk bridge.

Lollingdon: 2 Spotted Flycatcher, a Whinchat and 4 Yellow Wagtail. Per JT.  

Dragonflies: Common Darter.

Butterflies: Large White, Small White and a single Gatekeeper.

Common Redstart

Whinchat courtesy Alan

Flesh Fly sp courtesy Loren

Unidentified Fungi courtesy Loren

Common Redstart

Lollingdon & The Bunk

Cloudy then light rain, 18°, light ENE.

Lollingdon: fairly quiet, single Wheatear present and a Raven over.

Bunk line: several Chiffchaff, 2 Blackcap, 3 Grey Heron, a Hobby, 2 Kestrel, 2 Green Woodpecker, Grey Wagtail, several Yellow Wagtail, 50+ Swallow, 10+ House Martin, 10+ Yellowhammer, 4 Finch species, Kingfisher and Wheatear.

Mammals: Brown Hare.

Dragonflies: Migrant Hawker & Common Darter.

Butterflies: singles of Small White & Gatekeeper.

Observers: Alan, Brian & Paul.

Green Woodpecker

A very worn Gatekeeper

Brown Hare courtesy Alan

Grey Heron

Yellowhammer

Gone quiet

Mainly sunny, 25°, light SSW.

A rather quiet day all round with Lollingdon and Bunk line covered.

Very few migrants noted, a few Swallow and House Martin, several Chiffchaff and Yellow Wagtail and a single Common Whitethroat.

The regular Yellowhammer and Linnet ever present and the odd Kestrel.

Appears to be an increase in Buzzard numbers recently.

Dragonflies: Willow Emerald, Migrant Hawker, Southern Hawker and Common Darter.

Butterflies: Large White, Small White, a Clouded Yellow, 2 Common Blue, a Peacock and a few Speckled Wood.

Paul & Alan.

Kestrel courtesy Alan

Willow Emerald courtesy Alan

Common Buzzard

Marsh Harrier

Cloudy at first the a few sunny spells, 18°, light W.

A busy hill today with close on 400 Hirundines passing thru in 2.5 hours. approx 50/50 Swallow & House Martin, 3 Swift, 2 Raven and 5 Yellow Wagtail also in the mix.

Nearby, 30+ Linnet, 12 Yellowhammer, several Chiffchaff, a Common Whitethroat and a Grey Wagtail.

Alan along the Bunk line: Swallow, House Martin, Sand Martin, Yellow Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Chiffchaff, Common Redstart, Wheatear and Common Whitethroat.

And to top the lot a Marsh Harrier seen out at Lollingdon mid-afternoon. Per Andy King.

Mammals: Brown Hare and Weasel.

Dragonflies: Common Darter.

Butterflies: several Large White & Small White, a Holly Blue, a Peacock and 3 Speckled Wood.

Marsh Harrier courtesy Andy King

Speckled Wood

Respect

Overcast with almost constant rain showers, 17°, light S.

A somewhat damp day for a change but not a lot around.

Both Alan and I out along the Bunk line, Alan early and myself later.

Good numbers of Hirundines, c100+ Swallow, 50+ House Martin and 2-3 Sand Martin.

Church road House Martins still present around nesting sites.

A Kestrel, 3 Grey Heron, Little Owl, several Chiffchaff, a Common Whitethroat, several Yellowhammer, 2 Jay.

Negative for large insects until early evening when the rain cleared and the sun appeared. Just Large White, Small White and Common Darter.

Alan found another Clouded Yellow earlier in the week.

A nice start to September

Overcast and mild, 22°, light E.

Quite lively out at Lollingdon today. 2 Whinchat, a Wheatear, a Common Redstart, a Lesser Whitethroat, several Common Whitethroat and Blackcap, good numbers of Chiffchaff, a Spotted Flycatcher, 7 Yellow Wagtail, 12+ Mistle Thrush, a Sparrowhawk, 2 Kestrel, 5 Reed Bunting, 7 Corn Bunting and 12+ Yellowhammer.

Alan out earlier, Bunk line and Silly bridge. With several Swallow and House Martin, Common Whitethroat, Common Redstart, Wheatear etc. Alan also caught up with the Whinchat and Wheatear on the hill later in the day.

Nuthatch and Great-spotted Woodpecker in garden early morning with an impressive 50+ strong Tit flock.

Mammals: Brown Hare.

Dragonflies: Migrant Hawker & Common Darter.

Butterflies: 1 Brimstone, Large White, Small White, 1 Meadow Brown & 2 Speckled Wood.

Moths: Hummingbird Hawkmoth in garden again.

Insects: A Noon Fly: It lays it’s eggs in a cow pat and the egg will hatch within an hour of deposition. The larvae are carnivorous but the adult is a pollen feeder.

First 4 pics are of the Whinchats present: 2nd & 4th are courtesy Alan.

Noon Fly

Yellow Dung Fly, presumably with prey

Yellow Dung Fly