A bit quiet-ish

Sunny, 17°, fresh E.

Well, there was bugger all on the gravel pit today. a bulldozer was busy bulldozing the banks and obviously drove off any birds either on the water or anywhere nearby.

Elsewhere along the Bunk line: 5 Chiffchaff, 6 Common Whitethroat, 4 Blackcap, a Kingfisher flashed by and 5 Swallow and 8 House Martin over.

A Grasshopper Warbler has been heard regularly at Cholsey Marsh recently and a Cuckoo intermittently. (several observers).

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

The Lees

Overcast with frequent showers, 11°, light S.

The Lees: 3 Chiffchaff and a Treecreeper with a Tit flock and several Siskin and 2 Jay heard.

2 Stonechat and a Kingfisher along the Long Ditch and 2 Peregrine on the pylons.

50+ Fieldfare and 20+ Redwing.

30+ Skylark, 5 Meadow Pipit, a Reed Bunting, 2 Mute Swan and 100+ Black-headed Gull in adjacent fields.

Male Blackcap in garden.

Did not take the camera out today due to wet weather so an old pic of 2 Stonechat. Pretty much as I saw them today.

2025 bows out

Sunny, 2°, light W.

The last walk of the year out to the Lees and Long Ditch:

Initially appeared very quiet but the longer you are out the more you see.

Up to 100 Skylark in total spread around and c50 Meadow Pipit. 2 Common Snipe along the Long Ditch and a Kingfisher noted nearby.

A fairly large Tit flock at the Lees with c20 Long-tailed Tit, 4 Chiffchaff, 3 Goldcrest and a Treecreeper plus the odd Blue and Great Tit.

A Raven over and a few Fieldfare and Redwing moving and to bow out the year a male Merlin flew towards Cholsey Hill from near the Church.

Mammals: Roe Deer.

And finally a thank you to all contributors of 2025 for various wildlife sightings.

Alan Dawson, Richard Broughton, Marta Maziarz, Tony Williams, Geoff Wyatt, Brian Wyatt, Roger Wyatt, Ian Lewington, Michael Pocock, Mike Amphlett, Andy King, Bill Nicholls, Paul Rainsden, Richard James and several other who’s names I have forgotten, apologies.

A European Beaver photographed by Janie Maclean on 7th May on the River Thames was certainly the most significant observation this year.

Lollingdon

Cloudy with a few light rain showers, 15°, breezy SSW.

A breezy walk out to Lollingdon:

3 Chiffchaff (1 in song), 4 Goldcrest, c120 Fieldfare, c75 Redwing, 2 Mistle Thrush, an increase in Blackbird numbers, 200+ Starling, 50+ Meadow Pipit, 20+ Pied Wagtail, 5 Siskin, 2+ Redpoll, 3 Yellowhammer, 2 Jay and a Kingfisher.

A  male Merlin seen around the Hithercroft area. Per Connor Pimm.

Another near miss today. Mike Amphlett found a Brent Goose with a flock of Gulls just a few hundred meters outside the parish boundary in Moulsford. The species has not been recorded in Cholsey before, so worth keeping an eye out in case it joins the Goose flock on the Cholsey side.

Phone cam photo of Brent Goose (Dark-bellied form), breeds on Arctic coasts of central and western Siberia and winters in coastal western Europe. courtesy Mike Amphlett. Great find.

The Lees

Cloudy, 11°, light SSE.

The Lees:

4 Stonechat today and with 2 along the Bunk and 2 out at Lollingdon there are at least 8 Stonechat in Cholsey at the moment.

A Chiffchaff and a Goldcrest with a Tit flock, a small movement of Finches noted with, 10+ Siskin, a handful of Redpoll, 20+ Linnet, 30+ Goldfinch and 20+ Chaffinch, plus 20-30 birds unidentified.

20+ Skylark, 36 Meadow Pipit, 3 Yellowhammer, 2 Reed Bunting, a Kingfisher and several Fieldfare and Redwing and 7 Shoveler flew north east.

Tawny Owl calling from garden @ 21:35.

Quiet start to October

Mainly cloudy, 17°, light SSW.

2 Stonechat out at Lollingdon, 3 Raven, Sparrowhawk, a Kingfisher, 20+ Meadow Pipit, 4 Yellowhammer, several Siskin, 9 Chiffchaff, a Blackcap etc.

Dragonflies: Common Darter.

Butterflies: Small White, Red Admiral and Peacock.

Rain & Shine

Light rain at first then sunny, 25°, light NE.

Muggy at first then clearing and warm again.

Lollingdon hill relatively quiet this morning, 1 Common Redstart present (only one seen) the other may still be there.

1 Common Whitethroat, 1 Chiffchaff, a Blackcap, 1 Corn Bunting, 3 Yellowhammer in same hedge and 2 Kestrel around the hill.

A light passage of Swallow and House Martin.

2 Raven flew south west, 2 Sparrowhawk (together) flew east and 23 Lesser Blackback Gull loafing in a nearby field with the Rook flock.

Up to 4 Spotted Flycatcher still around the cattle field and several Chiffchaff in same area and a couple of Yellow Wagtail overhead.

Common Sandpiper still present at the new gravel workings. (2 yesterday) Per Alan.

A Kingfisher flying along Cholsey Brook south of the railway.

A Grey Wagtail in the garden again this morning early on and then 5 This evening.

Mammals: Brown Hare.

Dragonflies: Brown Hawker and Common Darter.

Butterflies: Brimstone, Large White, Small White, Red Admiral, Peacock, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper and Meadow Brown.

 Spotted Flycatcher ↕

Grey Wagtail

Forest Shieldbug, there were over 40 of these on an Ash tree.

 5 Grey Wagtail in the garden this evening ↕

A couple of walks

Overcast and light rain, 18°, light NNW.

Took the car into Wallingford for MOT & service this morning and walked back via the river, Bow Bridge and Caps Lane.

A few Black-headed Gull, a single Common Tern and a couple of Egyptian Geese along the river.

3 Kingfisher, Sedge Warbler, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Jay, Yellowhammer and Reed Bunting all noted and Swift, Swallow and House Martin overhead most of the time.

Another walk back to Wallingford later in the day to pick the car up. This time a walk along the Bunk line to Winterbrook.

A few Yellowhammer in song, a few Chiffchaff, Common Whitethroat and a Blackcap.

Yellowhammers seem to be the only consistent songster at the moment with a few other species joining in from time to time.

2 Yellow Wagtail Cholsey Hill.

A good number of Swift over Wallingford with flocks wheeling around over the river near the OU boathouse, another flock over the Hithercroft area and more over the town centre.

Dragonflies: Banded Demoiselle.

Butterflies: few out in the cloudy conditions: Large White, Small White, Common Blue, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Marbled White, Gatekeeper and Meadow Brown.

Song Thrush gathering food.

Here and there.

Mist and fog, 10º, hardly any wind.

1066

Approximately 30 Teal, 4 Shovelor, 6 Wigeon, 1 Gadwall and 2 Common Snipe.

There was a Reed Bunting in Sainsbury’s car park Didcot, a rather unusual spot for one!

The scrape at Day’s Lock is very dry, only one small area of standing water!

A Kingfisher seen, a Nuthatch heard and a male Blackcap (sub song heard) at Day’s Lock.

Lollingdon Hill again quiet, 3 Corn Buntings heard singing in the vicinity, but am anticipating returning Wheatears soon.

Garden still an active area with the 3 Blackcaps still visiting, 2 Song Thrush quite regular and 3 Mallards now regular this week, along with the usual visitors.

At least 2 Tawny Owls vocal last night in the garden and meadow and 2 or 3 Great-spotted Woodpeckers around.

The Rookeries in Church rd have started to become very active this week, possibly 30 to 40 pairs nest building.

2 Red Admirals in garden yesterday.

                                   Kingfisher, Days Lock

Lollingdon Hill & Cholsey Marsh

Overcast, 0º, light rain, light SE.

Lollingdon Hill

20 Lapwing on the hill plus around another 100 in nearby fields, also a Mistle Thrush feeding amongst them on the hill.

Cholsey Marsh

100+ Corn Buntings in at the roost this evening, a few Reed Bunting, 2 Yellowhammer and 2 Meadow Pipit there. Several Bullfinches along the riverbank and a pair of Great-crested Grebe displaying on the river.

A Kingfisher present and 3 Wigeon flushed off the river by a sculling crew.

                                  Lapwings on Lollingdon Hill

Cholsey Marsh.

Overcast, rain, 8º, light W.

15:00 – 16:30

Just under 80 Corn Buntings coming to roost, all came in between approx 16:00 to 16:20.

A Water Rail flushed whilst collecting litter! Also a Kingfisher in one of the Alders along the riverbank.

2 Cormorant flew downriver.

Redwing and Fieldfare in fair numbers, a single Great-spotted Woodpecker seen to flyover. 100+ Geese on an adjacent field (mainly Canada and 3+ Greylag), also 4 Mute Swans in the field and 1 on the river as well. The usual Song Thrush singing nearby.

Another birder was down at the marsh yesterday at dusk but did not see any Corn Bunting but it was very windy. Maybe they flew in low?

Around 50 Golden Plover seen flying over (per Tom W).

A Grey Heron frequenting the brook in the meadow for the past few days and a couple of Pheasants in the meadow today.

Cholsey Marsh at dusk. 7th Dec

Sunny spells. 7º, fresh to strong WSW.

Approximately 50 Corn Buntings coming in to roost, also 12 Reed Buntings and 2 Yellowhammer.

Good numbers of Corvids and Winter Thrushes flying over heading to their own roost sites elsewhere.

A Kingfisher seen flying upstream and 50+ Canada Geese grazing on a nearby field.

Have heard some disturbing evidence of illegal hunting going on at or near the marsh, if anyone sees anything like this going on or any disturbance please contact the police!

On Sunday a Raven was seen flying from the area of Goldfinch Lane where it caused the resident Crows some grief before it flew off directly over Cholsey Church where a service was taking place. (per Tony Rayner)

How to report animal crime

• Call 999 in an emergency. It is an emergency when: a crime is being committed, there is a risk of injury, or there is a risk of serious damage to property.
• If a crime has already happened or you want to give information to the police, call 101. This is the 24-hour Thames Valley Police non-emergency number.
• If you do not want to speak to police or give your name, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

·       Important points to remember

·       The vast majority of animal crime offenders are not local. They often travel some distance to commit their crimes in rural areas.

·       Pay attention to people who you are unfamiliar with or suspicious of. Make a note of their appearance and the details of any vehicles that they are using. If you can, note registration numbers, any damage to the vehicle or other distinctive features.

·       Travelling criminals sometimes use hire cars. If possible, make a note of any hire company details. All of this information can be a great help to police if there is an incident in your area.