Portland

Cloudy, 12°, light ENE.

Arrived at Portland bird obs around mid-afternoon and by the time we unpacked and got some shopping in there was not much time for birding.

After an evening meal went out for a walk in the crown field and obs quarry area.

Plenty of House Sparrow and Linnet but no migrants other than 3 Swallow and a Whimbrel.

Later, a pod of what we believe were Common Dolphin seen “bow riding” a ship moving out of Weymouth bay.

A few Manx Shearwater moving early evening and after dark several Little Owl heard calling and a Barn Owl call.

Lets see what tomorrow brings.

 

 

Pretty quiet

Rain at first then brightening, 19°, fresh SW.

Still windy after a wet start and not much going on. A patchy sea-watch and a couple of brief walks but very little of note.

A Willow Warbler, 1 Common Whitethroat, 1 Wheatear, a Grey Wagtail over and 7 Swallow and 9 Sand Martin. A Barn Owl late evening and a Grey Heron.

Sea-watch: 4 Balearic Shearwater, 2 Fulmar, 2 Common Scoter and a few Kittiwake along with good numbers of Gannet.

Mammals: Common Pipistrelle.  

Dragonflies: Migrant Hawker and Common Darter.

Butterflies: Large White, Small White, Common Blue, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Speckled Wood, Wall Brown and Small Heath.

Moths: Hummingbird Hawkmoth.

Bunk

Overcast, 14°, moderate NE.

The BBC weather app was way out today. It was indicating 20° and sunny spells. Clearly not the case as I didn’t see the sun at all whilst out and with the moderate breeze from the NE it felt even cooler than the actual 14°!

The Bunk area was relatively quiet with no Butterflies or Dragons on the wing.

Good numbers of Hirundines feeding along tree lines in the lee of the wind with 50+ Swallow, 50+ House Martin and a few Swift and Sand Martin.

2 Shelduck overhead and a Reed Warbler in song, plus, several Chiffchaff, 4 Blackcap, 5 Common whitethroat and 4 Yellowhammer.

A Barn Owl courtesy Andy King. One of two found hunting last evening.

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.

Dunlin

Sunny spells, 10°, light WNW.

2 Dunlin in flight with c45 Lapwing, the usual gulls, Teal, Shoveler, Wigeon and a Raven over. Lollingdon. Per AD.

Barn Owl this evening. Per RB.

2 Dunlin with Lapwing courtesy Alan

Magpie hoping for some leftovers. courtesy Andy King.

Sunshine & Showers

Sunshine and showers, 12°, fresh SW.

Lollingdon: 2 Shelduck back on the flooded field, along with the usual Shoveler, Lapwing, Lesser Blackback Gull, Teal and Common Gull.

Morton Floods: c60 Lesser Blackback Gull, c150 Lapwing, 2 Golden Plover, c100 Teal, 3 Chiffchaff, a Cormorant and 4 Wigeon.

Wallingford Rd Floods: c130 Teal, 7 Grey Heron, 1 Little Egret, c10 Wigeon and 4 Tufted Duck.

Bunk: 2 Chiffchaff incl 1 in song, Yellowhammer and Treecreeper in song, 14 Fieldfare, 10 Redwing, Coot, 6 Tufted Duck.

2 Barn Owl noted this evening. LC & AD.

5 Wigeon on the school pond. RB.  

A Smooth Newt found at the weekend hibernating, Per RD and a Red Admiral on Sunday in the garden.

AD, LC, PC. & RB.

Kestrel

Frog spawn in Alan's pond

Shelduck

Golden Plover with Lapwing courtesy Alan

Grey days

Overcast, 4°, light NE.

Another dull day but a good number of Ducks on and around the floods.

Moreton Floods: c500 Lapwing, 4 Golden Plover, c45 Shoveler, c50 Teal, 6 Pintail, 2 Shelduck, 8 Wigeon, 2 Gadwall, several Reed Bunting.

A Barn Owl hunting near Caps Lane.  

Bunk: somewhat quieter, a Mute Swan over, a single Chiffchaff and c200 Starling, c100 Fieldfare and c50 Redwing of note.

Mammals: Roe Deer.

AD & PC.

Another January passes by

Cloudy with a few rain showers, 6°, light ESE.

Still fairly quiet.

Bunk: 5 Chiffchaff, 40+ Pied Wagtail, a Grey Wagtail, 5 Meadow Pipit, Goldcrest, Treecreeper, 40+ Redwing, 20+ Fieldfare, 2 Coot, 2 Gadwall, 6 Tufted Duck, usual Gull species, etc.

Lollingdon: c150 Lapwing, c50 Lesser Blackback Gull, c100 Black-headed Gull, 5 Teal, a few hundred Fieldfare and Redwing and a Goldcrest.

Caps Lane: Barn Owl hunting - 5.00pm ‘ish.

AD & PC.

Pied Wagtail

Robin

A rather naff shot of a Treecreeper

Lollingdon

Cloudy, 5°, light SW.

Lollingdon area:

Long Ditch: Barn Owl - 11.25am, Reed Bunting, Raven over, Chiffchaff and Lesser Blackback Gull.

Lollingdon: c50 Lesser Blackback Gull, one of which had a green ring on the left leg, c150 Black-headed Gull, 3 Herring Gull, 4 Common Gull, c200 Lapwing, 25 Teal and 4 Shoveler.

AD.

Barn Owl courtesy Alan.

Cholsey

Sunny spells, 4°, light SSE.

Alan out today along the Bunk, Lollingdon and a few other spots: Peregrine, Sparrowhawk, c700 Lapwing in 2 large flocks, c50 Golden Plover over, 3 Little Egret, 9 Teal, 6 Common Snipe, 2 Herring Gull, c50 Lesser Blackback Gull, c100 Black-headed Gull, 3 Chiffchaff , 2 Barn Owl, etc.

A cold one

Mainly cloudy, -2°, light ENE.

A cold, crisp day.

Bunk and River area: Goldcrest, Treecreeper, Cetti’s Warbler, Chiffchaff, Siskin (9 noted yesterday. Per Alan), Reed Bunting, 2 Grey Wagtail, good numbers of Redwing and a handful of Fieldfare, a couple of Song Thrush, 400+ Starling, Teal, Cormorant, c200 Black-headed Gull, a Common Gull, 5 Herring Gull and c50 Lesser Blackback Gull, plus a Barn Owl yesterday.

AD & PC.

Siskin pics courtesy Alan

A steady start

Sunny, 4°, light NNW.

Lollingdon & Bunk: c400 Lapwing, c40 Teal, a Little Egret, 2 Sparrowhawk, Barn Owl, 2 Common Gull, 2 Raven, 2 Grey Wagtail, a Chiffchaff, etc, etc.

In addition, several Wigeon and Shoveler (yesterday).

Mammals: Roe Deer.

AD, LC & PC.

Chiffchaff ↕

Sparrowhawk courtesy Alan

Roe Deer

Bits & Pieces

Overcast with rain later, 8°, light SW.

Lollingdon Floods: c250 Lapwing over, only 2 birds on the floods and they were Common Gull. c20 Corn Bunting nearby. AD.

A Song Thrush has started singing in the meadow at dawn and dusk this week. PC.

A Barn Owl hunting between Wallingford Road and Caps Lane yesterday. HP.

A couple of bits

Overcast, 10°, light S.

Tail-less Red Kite over Ilges Lane yesterday. Per Geoff Wyatt and a Barn Owl Cholsey Marsh today. Per Alan.

A little quiet

Mainly sunny, 18°, light SSE.

A brief visit to Lollingdon and Bunk areas today and proved somewhat quiet:

Lesser Whitethroat, Common Whitethroat, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Corn Bunting, Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting, Yellow Wagtail, Lapwing, Swallow, House Martin and Swift.

A Barn Owl earlier in week. Per Andy King.

Mammals: Brown Hare & Red Fox.

Dragonflies: Beautiful Demoiselle, Banded Demoiselle & Large Red Damselfly.

Butterflies: Brimstone, Large White, Orange Tip, Peacock & Speckled Wood.

AD, AK, PC & TW.

Barn Owl courtesy Andy King

Hairy Dragonfly courtesy Alan

Mother Shipton courtesy Alan

Speckled Wood

Common Whitethroat doing its best to avoid the camera

May Day

Sunny at first then clouding up, 17°, light NE.

Lollingdon, Bunk, River and Long Ditch areas covered today.

Back to birding in Cholsey after a 10-day stint at Portland. A coldish time but viz-mig was good with 96 species.

Firstly a Barn Owl heard at 22:15 last night over Ilges Lane. Per Geoff Wyatt.

Other areas: Oystercatcher, Little Ringed Plover, 2 Common Sandpiper, Little Egret, 2 Herring Gull, 2 Raven, Lapwing, Tree Pipit (flew over garden), Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Garden Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Cetti’s Warbler, 8+ Common Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, 3+ Yellow Wagtail, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Corn Bunting, Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting, 2 Swift, several Swallow and House Martin and a single Sand Martin.

Mammals: Brown Hare.

Dragonflies: Azure Damselfly.

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

Contributors: AD, AK, GW, LC & PC.

  

Yellow Wagtail courtesy Andy King

Little Egret courtesy Alan

Azure Damselfly courtesy Alan

Buff-tailed Bumblebee courtesy Loren

Firecrest, Redpoll & Barn Owl

Overcast, 2°, light NE.

A call from Tony W this afternoon stirred both myself and Alan to shoot up to Caps Lane, where Tony had just seen a Firecrest, Blackcap and some Siskin and Redpoll.

By the time we got there, no Firecrest was to be found but plenty of Finches around with many Goldfinch plus several Chaffinch, 3-4 Siskin and 1-2 Redpoll.

Also Nuthatch, a Treecreeper, plenty of Blue, Great and Long-tailed Tit plus Fieldfare and Redwing and a single Goldcrest and Alan found a Barn Owl a bit later.

Mammals: A Red Fox, a Muntjac Deer and 5 Roe Deer.

AD, PC & TW.

Siskin courtesy Alan

Fieldfare

Still rather quiet

Overcast again, 12°, light S.

Bunk line covered in morning and afternoon (AD & PC) and Long Ditch covered (AD):

2 Stonechat, Long Ditch and not much else, Bunk: a Little Egret, 6 Grey Heron, c500 Lesser Blackback Gull, (am sure there is a Caspian or Yellow-legged Gull in amongst but too distant without a scope), 50+ Black-headed Gull, 5 Herring Gull, incl the 2 regulars at CSW, Chiffchaff, 2+ Siskin, Grey Wagtail, Meadow Pipit and Barn Owl plus the usual Thrushes.

Black-headed Gull

Grey Heron

Showers

Rain, hail and sunshine, 12°, breezy SW.

A quieter day than of late. Lollingdon hill was deserted which was not surprising considering the wind was blasting the southern face. Just 6 Red Kite and 2 Buzzard taking advantage of the sunny spells and gusting wind.

Nearby a flock of 100+ Fieldfare, Redwing and Starling, 3-4 Yellowhammer, several Chiffchaff and a flock of 30-40 Goldfinch.

After all the rain recently some of the fields are beginning to flood again and approx. 12 Pied Wagtail taking advantage.

A Sparrowhawk in the garden again.

Bunk line and river still fairly quiet. A few Yellowhammer and Chiffchaff.

One I forgot was Alan saw a Barn Owl hunting up near Westfield road earlier in the week.

Mammals: Brown Hare.

Sparrowhawk

Frogs in Alan's pond

Getting colder

Sunny, 4°, light WNW.

Alan out along the Bunk line today with numbers of Gulls present. Lesser Blackback Gull, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull and Herring Gull. Plus a Raven overhead and several Fieldfare and Redwing and a Grey Wagtail.

A Barn Owl seen at the weekend (Per Loren) on Cholsey Hill plus c 20 Lapwing (per Alan).

Reptiles: unfortunately Alan found a dead Grass Snake.

Common Gull courtesy Alan

Grass Snake courtesy Alan

Barn Owl courtesy Loren