Another cold one.

Sunny with some cloud, 2°, light WNW.

Not a lot to report on today, only Alan was out.

A flock of 50-60 Lapwing on Cholsey Hill along with 12 Grey Partridge and a Barn Owl present around dusk at Cholsey Marsh.

A scarce sighting of 2 Starling in the garden today.

Dazed & Confused

Overcast and murky, 13°, light NE.

A much cooler day than of late and no butterflies on the wing.

Very little noted today, a single Swallow flew north over the hill, a Raven over and 2 Mistle Thrush and 2 Grey Partridge on the hill.

Early evening there was a sudden thump on the living room window and a few feathers falling. On looking out I could see a grounded Greenfinch that had obviously flown into the window. I went down stairs and out to the garden to find the bird in a rather dazed and confused state.

I picked it up and determined that there were no obvious injuries and just held it for a while. It still looked a bit dazed so I put it down on a flower pot and went up to get a small box for it to recover in. by the time I got back down and approached it, it decided to fly off, appearing none the worse for its ordeal. Good result!

The Greenfinch

Grey Partridge

More litter - this came drifting over the hill and landed approx half mile away in the middle of a field of barley. 60th birthday pollution and a danger to wildlife!

Drying out

Hazy sunshine, 7º, light to moderate NE, felt colder in the wind.

The ground is beginning to dry out but still a bit soggy in places.

My usual circular walk out to Lollingdon, the Lees etc. Lollingdon area was fairly quiet a hundred or so winter thrushes (c60 Fieldfare and c40 Redwing), two Grey Partridge, a Skylark in song and a Grey Heron, the rest of the area was quite devoid of any small passerines.
Near the Lees and the area leading up to Cholsey hill there were a few more birds, a ♂ Peregrine, several small flocks of Lapwing totalling around one hundred and fifty birds, several hundred Golden Plover in the air at a distance (probably over the Moreton floods), over two hundred Skylark (60+ in one flock), sixty plus Meadow Pipit, forty Linnet and several hundred winter thrushes.

Two Goldcrest seen close to the garden today and two Moorhen in the garden, one of the Moorhens took a liking to some of the apple I’ve been putting out for the Blackbirds, also a Blue Tit seen feeding on apple.

 Stock Dove dozing on the lawn

Grey Heron

No sign of the Shrike!

Rain, 8º, light W.

Out for two and half very wet hours this morning looking for the Shrike but not found, also a pheasant shoot in the area so everything jittery.

A couple of Bullfinch seen in the Millennium wood and several flocks of Golden Plover and Lapwing in the area.

Plenty of gulls still around on the floods and five Common Gull seen, twenty plus Pied Wagtail and seven Grey Partridge noted, also several hundred Fieldfare and Redwing.

A Sparrowhawk seen soaring over the meadow this afternoon and Robin and Song Thrush singing near garden.