A quiet start to July

Sunny periods, 23°, light SW.

Bunk area still pretty quiet birdwise: a Hobby heading north, a Sparrowhawk being mobbed by a flock of Hirundines, several Yellowhammer and Common Whitethroat, 20+ Swallow, 10+ House Martin, 3-4 Sand Martin, 20+ Swift, good numbers of Linnet in what looked like family groups, 2 Herring Gull at the usual site and couple of young Green Woodpecker.

Mammals: A Grey Squirrel in the garden feasting on Gooseberries.

Dragonflies: Beautiful and Banded Demoiselle, Common Blue Damsel, Azure Damsel and Southern Hawker.

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

Not a lot

Mainly cloudy, 7°, light NNE.

Another quiet day. The floods out at Lollingdon held a moderate gull flock with the usual Black-headed and Lesser Blackback Gulls plus singles of Herring Gull and Common Gull.

A Sparrowhawk, Raven and 8 Corn Bunting over were the only other notable birds.

Alan visited the river and again relatively quiet. 2 Chiffchaff, Kingfisher, Cormorant, Sparrowhawk and other regulars.

Kinda quiet

Sunshine and showers, 12°, light SSE.

Another fairly quiet day with the river and Bunk line covered.

The Gull flock has dispersed with most on a recently ploughed field on Cholsey hill and the rest scattered in various fields elsewhere incl 2 Herring Gull hanging around CSW.

A couple of Chiffchaff still around, 5 Siskin, Common Snipe, several Teal, a couple of Grey Wagtail, 8 Pied Wagtail accompanying a small cattle herd, Sparrowhawk and Raven.

Alan & Paul.

The Bunk & The Thames

Cloudy with the occasional sunny spell, 12°, light SW.

Bunk line relatively quiet today as far as diversity goes. Around 500 gulls present between CSW and the Gravel pit. Mainly Lesser Blackback Gull, with 100+ Black-headed Gull, at least 2 Great Blackback Gull and 2 Herring Gull.

Loads of Fieldfare present but not so many Redwing. The usual Yellowhammer present (12+), 2 Grey Heron, a Kingfisher and a Chiffchaff.

At one point I heard a wader call that sounded very much like a Grey Plover but was unable to locate the bird.

Alan on his usual route along the river with Siskin, Stonechat, Treecreeper, Reed Bunting, singing Mistle Thrush, Chiffchaff, Water Rail, Kingfisher and the usual “Winter Thrushes” and Meadow Pipit.

Mammals: Roe Deer.

Yellowhammer

Kingfisher courtesy Alan

Siskin ↕ courtesy Alan: note, the one above is ringed

2 Grey Heron ↕

Some of the many Gulls present

Roe Deer

Catch up

A mix of weather this week with both sun and rain and a few breezy spells and not mild.

I have not been out since Monday but Alan has been out and about along the River/Bunk/Lees etc.

As usual for this time of year Fieldfare and Redwing all over plus several Mistle Thrush, Little Grebe, Kingfisher, Sparrowhawk, Little Egret overhead, Bullfinch, 2 Herring Gull, Stonechat, Raven overhead, Goldcrest, Lapwing (possibly 2 flocks totalling 100+), Golden Plover, Peregrine, Meadow Pipit and all the regulars.

And a Barn Owl today.

All photos courtesy Alan

A quiet one.

Cloudy, 11°, light WSW.

Alan on his usual patch along the river today. 20+ Siskin, Water Rail, Redwing, Fieldfare, Mistle Thrush, Song Thrush, Kingfisher, 2 Little Grebe, Treecreeper, 2 Stonechat plus other regulars.

Bunk line/Green Lane: Good numbers of Fieldfare and Redwing, Mistle Thrush, 2 Herring Gull, Jay, Reed Bunting, Yellowhammer, Meadow Pipit and 100+ Black-headed Gull at CSW.

20+ Lapwing and a couple of Golden Plover on Cholsey Hill.

Forgot to mention a Barn Owl along the Bunk yesterday. Per Alan.

Mistle Thrush

Siskin courtesy Alan

Lollingdon, Bunk line, Marsh & River

Mainly cloudy, 16°, light to breezy S.

Overlapping walks today with Alan out earlier along the Bunk line then the river and Cholsey Marsh then me out at Lollingdon the back out along the Bunk line.

Lollingdon was fairly quiet as it was a bit windy on the hill. A single Raven over and 3 Brambling flew north east with a small flock of Chaffinch and a few Redwing moving around.

8 Corn Bunting flew in and settled in a field mingling with a flock of Meadow Pipit. Usual Yellowhammer and Skylark present.

Bunk line early: Fieldfare, Redwing, Chiffchaff, Grey Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Raven, Goldcrest, Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting, Meadow Pipit and Skylark.

Marsh/River: Kingfisher, Sparrowhawk, Reed Bunting, Cetti’s Warbler, 20+ Mistle Thrush and a Stonechat,

Bunk line later: the Herring Gull had been joined by another adult and a 1st winter bird.

Very little in the hedgerows later, several Redwing, a Chiffchaff and a Kestrel nearby.

Dragonflies: 9 Common Darter, with some egg laying in a flooded field margin.

Kingfisher courtesy Alan

Distant Kestrel

Cooler

A sunny but colder day, 10°, light to breezy NW.

3 of us out today with Tony W out at Lollingdon: 2 Stonechat, several Mistle Thrush and Redwing. Also a flock of c30 Golden Plover (1st of the autumn) that flew over West End towards Cholsey Hill.

Alan out at the gravel pit, Cholsey Hill and the farm area: several Reed Bunting, Meadow Pipit and Skylark, then, several Jay, a couple of Chiffchaff (incl 1 in song), a Herring Gull, Stonechat, Little Owl and a Raven.

Alan back out on Cholsey Hill this afternoon and found a flock of approx. 100 Golden Plover.

Also Mike Amphlett reported 15-20 Golden Plover over the Waterloo Close area today.

I covered the Bunk line and Green lane: a Stonechat, several Redwing, a Herring Gull and 3 Lesser Blackback Gull with a flock of 40’ish Black-headed Gull, several Jay, a couple of Chiffchaff and a Grey Heron. Several Meadow Pipit, Skylark and Yellowhammer.

Mammals: Roe Deer.

Dragonflies: Common Darter.

Butterflies: Red Admiral.

Dunnock

Grey Heron checking out a Magpie

Stonechat

Long-tailed Tit

A little of everything

Sunshine, 24°, light SW.

Bunk line: First young Swallow seen on the wing today, the Lesser Whitethroat still singing Green lane and 2 Herring Gull and 2 Black-headed Gull feeding in the same field, a couple of Yellow Wagtail etc.

River: Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, Kingfisher etc.

Dragonflies: Banded Demoiselle, White-legged Damselfly, Blue-tailed Damselfly, Red-eyed Damselfly, Large Red Damselfly, Azure Damselfly & Emperor Dragonfly (nfy).

Butterflies: Dingy Skipper (yesterday), Brimstone, Large White, Small White, Orange Tip, Common Blue, Small Blue, Red Admiral, Peacock & Small Heath.

One of the young Swallows

Dingy Skipper

Kestrel with prey courtesy Alan

White-legged Damselfly courtesy Alan

Small Blue courtesy Alan

Adult Jackdaw in the garden

Young Jackdaw in the garden

After the Rain

Mainly cloudy with a few sunny spells, 14°, mod W.

First day for a time without rain and a walk out along the Bunk line and Green lane though fairly quiet.

A Lesser Whitethroat still present and singing well and a Sedge Warbler still but not in song and a Kingfisher.

Also Common Whitethroat, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Yellowhammer and Reed Bunting.

A Yellow Wagtail overhead plus 20+ Swift and c6 Swallow and an adult Herring Gull.

Alan out yesterday dodging the showers and also out today along the river.

All the usual present.

Mammals: Red Fox.

Dragonflies: Banded Demoiselle, Azure Damselfly and Large Red Damselfly. Per Alan.

Butterflies: Brimstone, Orange Tip, Holly Blue, Marsh Fritillary, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Small Heath and Meadow Brown.

Red Fox

Little Owl courtesy Alan

Silver Y Moth courtesy Alan

Female and Male Reed Bunting carrying food 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 ↕

Gropper

Sunshine, 13°, breezy ENE.

Alan on the Marsh this morning with the first Grasshopper Warbler of the year. Along with Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Common Whitethroat, Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Reed Bunting.

Plus Kingfisher, Water Rail and several Swallow.

A walk along Bunk line and gravel pit proved fruitless to a degree. A single Common Whitethroat, 2 Herring Gull and a handful of Black-headed Gull. No sign of any Lapwing!

A few butterflies on the wing: Brimstone, Orange Tip, Holly Blue, Small Tortoiseshell and Peacock.

Photos courtesy Alan Dawson.

Catchup

A bit of a catchup as I have been unable to get out recently due to eye surgery so have been relying on others. My vision will be limited for another month or so but I still have one good eye and hope to be getting out from next week.

Thanks to, Alan, Tony W, Richard B and others for their observations.

The mild weather at the turn of the month brought out a flurry of butterflies with Brimstone in the ascendency. Also noted in much fewer numbers were Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock and Comma.

Buff-tailed Bumble Bee also made an appearance joining the worker Honey Bees on available flowers.

The first Merlin of the year noted by RB on the 28th Feb.

Alan has been out and about most days and Tony W less frequently.

They have recorded a Cetti’s Warbler in good voice at Cholsey Marsh and the odd wintering Chiffchaff in song.

Also, Water Rail, Grey Wagtail, Siskin, Little Owl, Treecreeper, Kingfisher, Little Grebe, Raven, Herring Gull, Little Egret and Teal along with all the usual suspects. Still good numbers of Fieldfare and Redwing present.

And a regular female Brambling being seen in a garden. Per MA.

The first Oxfordshire Sand Martin was seen at Farmoor on the 3rd March.

We can probably expect the first Swallow by the end of the month and House Martin by the middle of April. The first Swift usually arrives around the 5th May.

All this does depend on weather conditions and they are sometimes early sometimes late!

The first fall of Warblers (Chiffchaff) have been noted on the south coast today and numbers of local birds are becoming territorial with Rook, Mistle Thrush, Collared Dove and Tawny Owl in the midst of their breeding cycle, a Robin nest building and a Blue Tit collecting nesting material.

Blackbird, Song Thrush, Wren and Treecreeper in song, to name a few and Great-spotted Woodpecker drumming out their territories.

All photos courtesy Alan Dawson.

Brimstone

Siskin

Little Grebe

Herring Gull