River

Sunny, 20°, light W.

River area: Common Tern, Black-headed Gull, Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Reed Bunting, Chiffchaff, Common Whitethroat, Cuckoo over, Blackcap, Garden Warbler, Cetti’s Warbler, etc.

Dragonflies: Banded Demoiselle, Beautiful Demoiselle, Emperor Dragonfly, Four-spotted Chaser, Black-tailed Skimmer, White-legged Damselfly, Blue-tailed Damselfly, Azure Damselfly, Common Blue Damselfly and Large Red Damselfly.

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

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All photos courtesy Alan

Garden Warbler

Emperor egg laying

Black-tailed Skimmer

Meadow Brown

Small Blue

Speckled Wood

My previous post on this blog was determined to be spam when posted to Facebook, so does not show. I have challenged this but as usual no response from FB.

Lollingdon & River

Sunny, 15°, breezy E.

Lollingdon fairly quiet today, 3 Wheatear (1m & 2f), 5 Yellow Wagtail, 2 Lapwing and a single Black-headed Gull. Plus the usual Warblers etc and several Swallow.

A field that was being ploughed had 36 Red Kite and 5 Buzzard over or on the field and a flock of c100 Corvids.

A singing Goldcrest near the millennium wood.

Elsewhere, 3 Common Tern, 2 Common Sandpiper, 3 Yellow Wagtail, a Lesser Whitethroat plus the now regular Warblers.

Dragonflies: Large Red Damselfly.

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

 Paul & Alan.

Common Sandpiper courtesy Alan

Wheatears

Reed Warbler courtesy Alan

Large Red Damselfly courtesy Alan

A Good day for Butterflies

Sunny, 20°, light NNE.

A good day for butterflies with the first Ringlet of the year and dozens of Meadow Brown flitting around and good numbers of Small Skipper.  

Bunk line was rather quiet today with bird song becoming less frequent as most birds have probably established breeding territories by now. Only the odd Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Common Whitethroat singing.

First young of Swallow seen on the wing with a flock of c16, the majority being young birds.

Several House Martin and Swift feeding overhead and 2 Sand Martin noted.

Alan covered the River/Marsh area: With Common Tern, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Common Whitethroat Etc.

Dragonflies: Red eyed Damselfly, Small Red-eyed Damselfly, Large Red Damselfly, Common Blue Damselfly, Azure Damselfly, White-legged Damselfly, Four Spotted Chaser & Emperor.

Butterflies: Large Skipper, Small Skipper, Large White, Small White, Common Blue, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Comma, Speckled Wood, Marbled White, Meadow Brown, Ringlet and Small Heath.

Paul & Alan.

Small Skippers courtesy Alan

Comma in the Sun

Hornet Mimic Hoverfly

Common Whitethroat

Red-eyed Damsel courtesy Alan

Small Skipper courtesy Alan

Ringlet

Slightly Cooler

Sunny, 24°, breezy E.

A slightly cooler day today and a walk out to Lollingdon and Alan out by the Lees.

The male Common Redstart still on the hill but very elusive, also a couple of Chiffchaff present.

The only songsters heard today were Yellowhammer, Corn Bunting and the occasional Reed Bunting and Chiffchaff.

A Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, Little Owl, Linnet and several Swift also noted.

A Peregrine Falcon overhead out by the Lees, plus a few family groups of Yellow Wagtail.

Also Corn Bunting, Skylark, Linnet and Reed Bunting.

A Common Tern along the river yesterday at dusk. Per Michael Pocock.   

Dragonflies: Banded Demoiselle, Southern Hawker and Common Darter, Lollingdon and Emperor and Black-tailed Skimmer, the Lees.

Butterflies; Lollingdon, Small Skipper, Large Skipper, Brimstone, Large White, Small White, Common Blue, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Speckled Wood, Marbled White, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown & Ringlet, The Lees. Small Skipper, Holly Blue, Red Admiral, Peacock, Comma, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown & Ringlet.

Insects: Hornet.

Meadow Brown

Large Skipper

Brimstone

Common Darter

Yellow Wagtail courtesy Alan

Skylark courtesy Alan

Bunk Line & Thames

Few sunny spells plus a few light rain showers, 20°, breezy SSW.

Bunk line this afternoon: 20+ House Martin and approx. 12 Swallow feeding over and around CSW. Also a couple of Swift present.

A dozen or so Yellowhammer with several singing, plus Blackcap, Common Whitethroat and Chiffchaff.

A young Cormorant flew north-west and a Little Owl calling.

Alan on his patch with: Common Tern, Kingfisher, Garden Warbler, Blackcap, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Chiffchaff, Common Whitethroat, Reed Bunting, Bullfinch etc.

Alan Dragonflies: White-legged Damselfly, Blue-tailed Damselfly, Emperor & Black-tailed Skimmer.

Dragonflies: Southern Hawker and Emperor.

Alan Butterflies: Large Skipper, Small Skipper, Green-veined White, Red Admiral, Comma, Marbled White, Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown, Ringlet & Small Heath.

Butterflies: the area dominated by good numbers of Meadow Brown and Marbled White today. Also: Large Skipper, Small Skipper, Large White, Common Blue, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Comma, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper, Ringlet & Small Heath.

Alan Insects: Yellow Longhorn Beetle, Brassy Longhorn Moth (new for Cholsey).

Insects: Yellow Longhorn Beetle.

Small Skipper

Comma

Common Blue

Red Admiral

Yellowhammer

Greenfinch courtesy Alan

Yellow Longhorn Beetle courtesy Alan

Brassy Longhorn Moth courtesy Alan

Yellow Longhorn Beetle

Sunshine & Showers

Sunshine and showers, 10°, light NNW.

As soon as I stepped out this morning a Swallow was flying overhead and a Chiffchaff singing over the road.

100m up a Lesser Whitethroat was singing in the small wooded area between the school and Bunk Bridge.

Several more Swallow encountered between the Church and Green lane and a couple of Common Whitethroat.

Green lane hosted several Blackcap and Common Whitethroat, 2 Sedge Warbler and a Chiffchaff.

A Grasshopper Warbler heard reeling, distant but clear from the direction of the brook to the south west of the lane.

Alan out on the Marsh early today: with several Swift, Swallow and House Martin, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Cetti’s Warbler, Common Whitethroat, Blackcap, Garden Warbler, Reed Bunting, Common Tern, Sparrowhawk etc.

Blackcap

Lapwing from yesterday courtesy Alan ↕

A Breezy one

Sunny spells, 11°, breezy WNW.

Just Alan out today along the Bunk line and river.

Chiffchaff and Sedge Warbler along Green lane plus a Kingfisher. Several Yellow Wagtail, Common Whitethroat, Swallow and House Martin.

Cholsey Marsh/River: Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Cetti’s Warbler and Common Tern plus the usual’s present and a Wheatear near the 4-Arches.

Cetti's Warbler courtesy Alan

Wheatear courtesy Alan

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 ↕