Bunk, Gravel pit and a Cuckoo

Sunny spells, 16°, light to breezy SSE.

Bunk and Gravel pit:

A Greenshank appeared briefly and called, only to fly and disappear into one of the pits with no view of it.

In fact most of the birds were doing this today as the viewable pit was being worked and very little on it.

A Mute Swan, 2 Shelduck, 2 Oystercatcher, a Common Sandpiper, 6 Lapwing, a Little Grebe, a Raven over and an ever-dwindling number of Gulls.

A Willow Warbler, 7 Chiffchaff, 5 Blackcap, 2 Common Whitethroat, 5 Swallow and 3 Yellowhammer.

Geoff Wyatt had a pair of Peregrine above Ilges Lane today repeatedly making the “ee-chup” call, a pair bonding call. They were circling and tangling frequently.

James Beaumont found our first Cuckoo of the year on Cholsey Marsh, towards the 4-Arches railway bridge, plus Reed Warbler, Swallow and Kingfisher.  

Mammals: Roe Deer.

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

Spring still giving

Cloudy, 12°, breezy S.

Bunk line and Gravel pit:

75+ Hirundines feeding low over CSW, mainly House Martin and a fair number of Swallow and a Yellow Wagtail present.

GP hosted 2 Shelduck, a Great-crested Grebe, a Common Sandpiper, 2 Oystercatcher, 8 Lapwing and 4 Tufted Duck. 3 House Martin, 2 Swallow and a Sand Martin feeding overhead.

Several Chiffchaff and Blackcap on walk.

On Sunday spent some time in the garden and had an unusual garden tick. An Oystercatcher flew over then 5 minutes later a Kingfisher (5th garden record) flew downstream over the brook.

Butterflies: a few Peacock and a Speckled Wood.

A lot of Hawthorn Fly (Bibio marci) around today.

Unidentified Duck sp found along footpath

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 ↕

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

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

Portland: Day 1.

Showers, 18°, blustery W.

Arrived at Portland a bit late in the day to do any birding. Just a few Chiffchaff in the garden, a Sparrowhawk and a Grey Wagtail over and 6 Gannet flying east over the sea.

22:15: Tree Pipit and Common Sandpiper heard calling overhead after dark.

Still pretty quiet

Sunny periods, 25°, light SSW.

Still pretty quiet out there with visits to both Lollingdon and Bunk areas today.

Common Redstart, 3 Common Whitethroat, several Blackcap and Chiffchaff, Yellow Wagtail, 1, pos 2 Hobby, 2 Raven, a Common Sandpiper and the odd Swallow.

Both Swallow and House Martin still visiting nest sites in Church Road.

Mammals: Brown Hare.

Dragonflies: Southern Hawker, Migrant Hawker and Common Darter.

Butterflies: Large and Small White, Common Blue, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown and Small Heath.

AD & PC.

Common Sandpiper courtesy Alan

Common Blue

Nuthatch

Bunk

Mainly sunny, 20°, WSW.

Bunk: Per Alan. c250 mixed gulls, mainly Lesser Blackback Gull, Corn Bunting, Reed Bunting, Yellowhammer, Common Whitethroat, Common Redstart, Common Sandpiper and an Oystercatcher over, etc.

Mammals: Red Fox.

Dragonflies: Southern Hawker, Common Blue Damsel, Azure Damsel and Common Darter.

Butterflies: Marbled White, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Small Skipper, Red Admiral, Peacock and Comma.

Common Redstart

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

Cholsey

Mainly cloudy, 10°, Light N.

River: Garden Warbler, Blackcap, Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Common Whitethroat, Cetti’s Warbler, Kingfisher and Reed Bunting.

Lollingdon: Willow Warbler, Wheatear, Blackcap, Swallow, Lapwing and Yellow Wagtail.

Bunk: Little Egret, Common Sandpiper, Blackcap, Swallow, House Martin, Lesser Whitethroat, Common Whitethroat and Yellow Wagtail over.

Per Alan.

Yellow Wagtail

Bunk & Lollingdon

Sunny spells and showers,13°, breezy NW.

Bunk: Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Treecreeper, 2 Common Sandpiper, Swallow, Common Whitethroat and Little Egret.

Lollingdon: 4 Wheatear, Chiffchaff and Blackcap.

photos courtesy Alan

Little Egret

Oystercatcher

Bunk & Lollingdon

Sunny spells, 12°, light WSW.

2 Oystercatcher, a Common Sandpiper and 2 Willow Warbler, Bunk area. Per Alan.

Greenshank, Lollingdon. Per Tony W.

Tree Pipit heard flying north over Cholsey Station. Per Richard Broughton.

Sunny but cool

Sunny periods, 11°, breezy NW.

Usual areas covered today: 4 Wheatear, a Yellow Wagtail, 2 Willow Warbler, 3 Common Whitethroat, Cetti’s Warbler, several Chiffchaff and Blackcap, 10+ Swallow, 3 House Martin, 7 Sand Martin, a Bullfinch, 5 Yellowhammer, a Common Sandpiper, several Lapwing, 8 Lesser Blackback Gull, a Grey Heron, a Cormorant etc.

Mammals: Red Fox.

Dragonflies: Large Red Damselfly.

Butterflies: Orange Tip, Red Admiral and Peacock.

AD & PC.

Photos courtesy Alan

Yellow Wagtail

Large Red Damsel

Wheatear

Sunday

Sunshine with cloudy spells, 13°, light SW.

Alan out today with 3 Common Sandpiper along the Bunk area plus Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Reed Bunting and Swallow.

A single Wheatear on Lollingdon Hill plus Corn Bunting, a Raven and Peregrine over, Chiffchaff and Blackcap.

River: Common Whitethroat, Cetti’s Warbler, Swallow etc.

Michael Pocock had a Redpoll in his garden this morning.

Dragonflies: Large Red Damselfly.

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

All photos courtesy Alan  

Common Sandpiper

Common Whitethroat

Holly Blue

Wheatear

Small Tortoiseshell

Spring like?

Sunny then clouding up, 16°, breezy SSW.

Bunk: 2 Oystercatcher and a Common Sandpiper.

River: Swallow over, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Nuthatch, Peregrine, Corn Bunting and another Oystercatcher.

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

AD, PD & PC.

Oystercatcher courtesy Alan

Common Sandpiper courtesy Alan

Holly Blue courtesy Phil Dyson

Orange Tip courtesy Alan

Stonechat

Mainly cloudy, 18°, freshening SW.

A Green Sandpiper on a flood beside Wallingford Road early morning, then flew off. Per Michael Pocock.

Bunk Line this morning: another good passage of Hirundines, mainly House Martin this time with 25% Swallow. Approx. 200 birds.

A Stonechat (same bird Alan found Monday), 9 Chiffchaff, a Kingfisher, 3 Grey Heron, 19 Skylark (one flock), 40+ Meadow Pipit, 1 Yellow Wagtail, 1 Grey Wagtail, 1 Kestrel, 2 Raven, a Green Woodpecker and 5 species of Finch including at least 1 Siskin heard overhead.

Alan along the river: 2 Common Sandpiper flying upstream, several Chiffchaff and numbers of Swallow and House Martin.

Dragonflies: Common Darter.

Butterflies: Small White, Red Admiral, Peacock & Speckled Wood.

A few different aspects of the Stonechat.

Great White

Sunny at first then clouding up, 12°, light NW.

An early morning walk along the Bunk line today:

I had a Little Egret fly over but only seen briefly thru the tree tops. Approx. an hour later I saw another presumed Little Egret rise up over a hedgerow and head off north towards the Wallingford area. This one was in view a little longer and although fairly high and distant and flying away. I could either take some pics or look at it thru my binoculars. I chose the former and managed a few shots before it disappeared over the tree line. It wasn’t until I checked the pics on the computer, I realised it was a Great Egret. The second record for Cholsey.

The rest: c40 Canada Geese and 2 Egyptian Geese on a stubble field, nearby 2 Common Sandpiper and a Green Sandpiper, 1 Little Egret, 2+ Raven, 2 Jay, 3 Herring Gull, 7 Lesser Blackback Gull, 11 Yellow Wagtail, 1 Common Whitethroat, 6 Blackcap, 10+ Chiffchaff, 7 House Martin and 100+ Swallow.

Mammals: Brown Hare & Red Fox.

Butterflies: just the one Small White.