Still moving

Sunny periods, 16°, light NE.

A milder day than of late and a few more Butterflies on the wing as migrant birds still continue to arrive and pass through and Gull species virtually absent.  

Bunk: 14 Tufted Duck, 2 Oystercatcher, Little Ringed Plover, 3 Lapwing, Herring Gull, 2 Yellow Wagtail, a Grey Wagtail, 2 Yellowhammer, 5 Common Whitethroat, a Lesser Whitethroat, 7 Blackcap, a Willow Warbler, 8 Swallow and 2 Sand Martin.

Yesterday on Cholsey Marsh: a Cuckoo and poss Grasshopper Warbler.  

Mammals: Roe Deer.

Butterflies: Brimstone, Orange Tip, Holly Blue, Red Admiral, Peacock and Speckled Wood.

Oystercatcher

Dunnock

Red Admiral

Rain & Shine

Overcast with a few light showers then clearing later, 14°, light W.

Lollingdon, River, Marsh, Bunk and Lees.

8 Tufted Duck, Greenshank, 2 Little Ringed Plover, 8+ Sand Martin, 6 House Martin, 20+ Swallow, 2 Yellow Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, 2 Wheatear ( 1 Lollingdon and 1nr Church Road), 6 Blackcap, 3 Common Whitethroat, Sedge Warbler, Grasshopper Warbler, Cetti’s Warbler, Reed Warbler, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Jay, 2 Reed Bunting, 5 Yellowhammer and Corn Bunting.

Mammals: Brown Hare and Roe Deer.

Butterflies: Orange Tip.

AD, MP & PC.

Grasshopper Warbler courtesy Alan. Just outside the Cholsey boundary so can't count it in the annual stats.

Cuckoo

Cloudy, 12°, breezy SW.

Cuckoo on the Marsh at 06:15 today. Per Phil Dyson. Heard one last evening from the garden, called 3 times and not heard again.

Some needed rain

Cloudy with showers, 15°, fresh SE.

Bunk, Lollingdon and River/Marsh:

Oystercatcher, 3 Shelduck, Shoveler, Tufted Duck, 2 Little Ringed Plover, Greenshank, 3 Lapwing, Swallow, House Martin, Sand Martin, Yellow Wagtail, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Blackcap, 3 Common Whitethroat, 3 Wheatear, etc.

Butterflies: a single Speckled Wood.

AD & PC.

Photos courtesy Alan

Reed Warbler

Wheatear

Little Ringed Plover

Cholsey

Sunny at first then mostly cloudy, 15°, light S.

Bunk, Lollingdon and River/Marsh:

6 Shoveler, 4 Tufted Duck, Greenshank, Common Sandpiper, 3 Little Ringed Plover, 2 Lapwing, 4 Black-headed Gull, 20+ Swallow, 3+ House Martin, 14+ Sand Martin, 2 Grey Wagtail, 2 Yellow Wagtail, 3 Wheatear, many Chiffchaff, 2 Willow Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Cetti’s Warbler, 5+ Blackcap, 2+ Common Whitethroat, 3 Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting, Sparrowhawk and Tawny Owl.

Butterflies: Brimstone, Green-veined White, Orange Tip, Holly Blue, Red Admiral, Peacock and Speckled Wood.

AD & PC.

Yellow Wagtail courtesy Alan ↕

River & Bunk

Sunny spells and the odd shower, 13°, fresh SW.

River and Bunk:

C25 House Martin, c15 Swallow, several Sand Martin, Common Sandpiper, Oystercatcher and 12+ Yellow Wagtail.

Butterflies: Orange Tip.

AD & MP.

Yellow Wagtail

Wheatears

Cloudy with occasional sunshine, 13°, fresh S.

Lollingdon, Marsh and Bunk areas:

3 Wheatear, 2 Common Whitethroat, 5 Blackcap, Reed Warbler, 2 Yellow Wagtail, 2 Meadow Pipit, 5 Yellowhammer, 6 Swallow, 3 Sand Martin, 4 Lapwing,  Common Sandpiper, Greenshank, and 2 Little Ringed Plover.

Mammals: Brown Hare and Roe Deer.

Butterflies: Orange Tip, Peacock and Speckled Wood.

AD & PC.

Wheatear

Wheatear courtesy Alan ↕

Brown Hare

A change in the weather

Cloudy with some light rain showers. 12°, light SW.

River: Common Whitethroat, Sedge Warbler, Cetti’s Warbler, Oystercatcher over, 2 Swallow + usual suspects.

Bunk: 6 Swallow, Common Sandpiper, Little Ringed Plover, Greenshank, 20 Tufted Duck, Grey Wagtail, Oystercatcher, 4 Yellow Wagtail over, Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff.

AD.

Common Whitethroat courtesy Alan

Greenshank courtesy Alan

Resin Weevil

Sunny at first then cloudy, 16°, light SW.

No sign of the Black Redstart today but Alan caught up with Sedge Warbler, Common Whitethroat and a Ring-necked Parakeet.

I on the other hand was helping Loren on her allotment when this strange insect landed on me. Loren took a photo and we have tentatively ID’d it as a Resin Weevil, which is a pretty scarce beetle in the UK.

Black Red & Green

Another sunny one, 20°, light NNE.

Bunk, River and Lees areas: A female Black Redstart (3rd record) found by Alan late in the day out towards the Lees, elsewhere, 3 Willow Warbler, usual Chiffchaff and Blackcap, Cetti’s Warbler, Common Sandpiper, Greenshank, Oystercatcher, Little Egret, 2 Herring Gull, 8 Black-headed Gull, 5 Lesser Blackback Gull, Gulls becoming less frequent now, 2 Little Grebe, a Teal, 12 Tufted Duck, a Sparrowhawk and a Raven over.

A Ring-necked Parakeet north over Church road approx. 19:00. Per RB.

Mammals: Roe Deer.

Butterflies: Brimstone, Green-veined White, Orange Tip and Peacock.

AD & PC.

Black Redstart courtesy Alan

Black Redstart ↕

Greenshank courtesy Alan

Roe Deer

Another day

Sunny, 16°, light N.

Usual areas covered again today:

Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Little Ringed Plover, 8 Lapwing, 9 Tufted Duck, a Gadwall, 2 Little Grebe, 8+ Swallow, 2 Sand Martin, 1 House Martin, Yellow Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, 2 Meadow Pipit, a single Redwing, Blackcap, Cetti’s Warbler and a Sparrowhawk.

Mammals: unfortunately a dead Otter found by Alan along the river bank today.

Butterflies: Brimstone, Green-veined White, Orange Tip, Peacock and Speckled Wood.

AD & PC.

Common Sandpiper courtesy Alan

Lapwing courtesy Alan

Migrants trickle in

Sunny, 14°, light to mod NE.

Usual spots covered today:

A Common Redstart, Willow Warbler, many Chiffchaff, several Blackcap, Cetti’s Warbler, 10 Swallow, 8 Sand Martin, 2 Treecreeper, several Reed Bunting, a Yellowhammer, 1+ Little Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher, 6 Tufted Duck, Water Rail, Kingfisher, a handful of Black-headed Gull, 2 Herring Gull and a Sparrowhawk.

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

AD & PC.

Chiffchaff

Just over the Oxon border in Streatley, Berks yesterday Alan made the trip for a Hoopoe. One of many to hit the UK’s shores recently.

More sunshine

Sunshiny day, 17°, light ENE.

Lollingdon, River and Bunk areas: Another sunny day but we need some rain.

Wheatear, Yellow Wagtail, Willow Warbler, Common Whitethroat, several Blackcap, Cetti’s Warbler, 3 Meadow Pipit, 2 Mistle Thrush, Swallow, Green Sandpiper, 2 Little Ringed Plover, 5 Lapwing, 8 Tufted Duck, a Teal and a Little Egret on Church road flood again.

Mammals: Brown Hare and Roe Deer.

Butterflies: Brimstone, Green-veined White, Orange Tip, Holly Blue, Peacock and Speckled Wood.

AD, MM, PC & RB.

Kestrel

Roe Deer

Wren

Wheatear courtesy Alan

Peacock courtesy Alan

Weather?

Sunny then clouding over, 18°, breezy E.

Everywhere a little quiet at the moment. Is the weather playing a part?

Green Sandpiper, a Little Ringed Plover, 2 Oystercatcher and 6 Lapwing were the waders noted today. 6 Tufted Duck and 2 Teal and a few Blackcap in song, a Cetti’s Warbler, Water Rail, Yellowhammer, etc.

Mammals: Brown Hare.

Butterflies: Brimstone, Green-veined White and Peacock.

AD & PC.

Green Sandpiper courtesy Alan

A bit of a mix

Sunny, 16°, breezy ENE.

Lollingdon, River and Bunk:

Wheatear, 2 Swallow, a Green Sandpiper, a Little Ringed Plover, Little Egret, 16 Shoveler, 6 Tufted Duck, 2 Teal, 2 Little Grebe, a Grey Heron, Grey Wagtail, 4 Common Gull, 2 Cetti’s Warbler and 2 Redwing.

AD & PC.

Spring on its way

Sunshine, 16°, light E.

Lollingdon, Bunk and Marsh:

Our first Wheatear of the year out at Lollingdon today, plus 2 Corn Bunting, 2 Yellowhammer, a Reed Bunting, a couple of Meadow Pipit, c20 Fieldfare, 6 Teal and c20 Lapwing.

3 Cetti’s Warbler, Water Rail and Reed Bunting on the Marsh.

Bunk: 21 Lapwing, 4 Shoveler, 8 Tufted Duck, 2 Teal, 2 Little Grebe, 2 Jay, 6 Meadow Pipit, Grey Wagtail, Grey Heron, Little Egret and a Little Owl.

Chiffchaff, everywhere.

A Swallow, 2 Gadwall and 2 Oystercatcher over the weekend.

Mammals: Brown Hare and Roe Deer.

Butterflies: Brimstone, Green-veined White and Peacock.

AD, PC & TW.

First Swallow

Prolonged sunny spells, 12°, fresh WNW.

Our first Swallow of the year seen by Alan out at Lollingdon this morning and 4 Ringed Plover later in the day seen by Tony Williams and possibly a 5th one dropped in later. Per Alan.

Elsewhere, pretty quiet, 2 Cetti’s Warbler at Cholsey Marsh along with a Water Rail. A Common Gull, Goldcrest and a couple of Meadow Pipit along the Bunk, an Oystercatcher yesterday but little else.

Butterflies: Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock.

AD, PC & TW.

Peacock

Chiffchaff courtesy Alan

Butterflies on the rise

Sunny, 16°, light WSW.

With warmer weather and early spring on the way, butterflies are on the wing now.  

Lollingdon, Bunk and The Marsh:

Lollingdon: Nothing of note.

Marsh: 2 Cetti’s Warbler, possibly 3 and Chiffchaff everywhere.

Bunk: 2 Sand Martin over, 3 Meadow Pipit, Many Chiffchaff, 3 Little Grebe, a Tufted Duck, 2 Teal, 2 Herring Gull, 30 Black-headed Gull and 50+ Lesser Blackback Gull.

Mammals: Brown Hare & Roe Deer.

Butterflies: Brimstone, Red Admiral, Peacock & Comma.

Insects: Dark-edged Bee-fly.

AD & PC.

Comma

Herring Gull

Roe Deer courtesy Alan

No change

Sunny, eventually, 12°, light N.

A very quiet day all round at Lollingdon and Bunk areas.

The hill was particularly lifeless and the flood held 32 Teal, 2 Shoveler and 10 Lapwing. Well down on previous visits.

A Tawny Owl calling nearby, 2 Yellowhammer and Chiffchaff song ringing out from all sides.

Bunk had little of note, 22 Lapwing and 2 Yellowhammer and Alan noted a Barn Owl around the Church Road area.

Mammals: Brown Hare and Roe Deer.

Still a bit quiet

Overcast, 15°, moderate SE.

A brief late afternoon trek along the Bunk found very little of note. 6 Chiffchaff, 3 Yellowhammer, 30 Fieldfare with a Starling flock, 28 Lapwing, Little Owl, 60+ Black-headed Gull, 10 Lesser Blackback Gull, 6 Herring Gull and Grey Wagtail.

The lull before ?

Sunny, 18°, light S.

The flood out at Lollingdon was a little quieter today. 6 Shoveler, 24 Teal, c30 Lapwing, 30+ Pied Wagtail, 4 Common Gull, 21 Black-headed Gull and a single Lesser Blackback Gull.

Several Chiffchaff in full song nearby.

Mammals: Brown Hare.

Butterflies: many Brimstone.

More Waders

Mainly sunny, 16°, light S.

Lollingdon threw up another wader today with Alan finding a Curlew out on the flood. 2 Little Ringed Plover, a Common Snipe present and a flyover Redshank.

Several singing Chiffchaff nearby.

Bunk area: 6-8 Chiffchaff, Treecreeper, Grey Wagtail, Meadow Pipit, Yellowhammer, 40+ Fieldfare, 20+ Redwing, 38 Lapwing, an Oystercatcher, 5 Gadwall, 6 Tufted Duck, 2 Little Grebe, a Little Owl and the usual Gulls.

Mammals: Brown Hare.

Butterflies: Brimstone.

AD & PC.

Curlew courtesy Alan

Yellowhammer

Red Kite collecting nest material