An interesting recovery

On the 3rd February Alan found a dead adult Lesser Blackback Gull that had presumably died after a collision with some power cables out near Lollingdon.

Details were sent to both the BTO and to the Natural History Museum in Brussels, Belgium as it had a Belgian ring.

We received some information back from Belgium today:

The bird was ringed as an adult at Zeebrugge, Belgium on the 20th June 2007 so the bird was at least 16 years old when it died, 304 Km west of where it was ringed.

Stonechat

Mainly cloudy, 22°, light SW.

An interesting young Stonechat on the hill today attracted Tony W, Alan and myself up there to take a look.

In the prevailing light conditions it was a rather grey looking bird reminding Tony of a Flycatcher initially.

Never really got very close to us but seen in the middle distance was thought by us to be another Redstart. However it has been pointed out that the bird is actually a juv Stonechat. Should pay more attention to the plumage details which on closer inspection tells it all.

A single Lesser Blackback Gull and a Herring Gull flew overhead late afternoon.

Photos courtesy Alan.

Halfway

Overcast with light rain, 15°, light SSW.

An early walk out to Lollingdon and back.

The Black-headed Gull cruising the Millennium field and nearby areas this morning and a Grey Wagtail near the Bullshole.

There has been 2 BHG’s noted in the area and 3 more joined them one evening last week. Per AM & JW. The 3 may have been passing thru?

The one or two have been present for the last couple of months and maybe are non-breeders. They usually breed in wetlands. i.e. coastal, reservoirs, lakes, marshes etc. and are a colonial breeder. They have not bred in Cholsey to my knowledge but a few are seen along the Thames in summer. However there is an outside chance they may?

2 Little Owl seen out at Lollingdon and 18 Lesser Black-back Gull flew north east over the hill.

A Kestrel hunting over the hill, several Swift feeding overhead and 2 Mistle Thrush briefly and all the usuals present.

A Yellow Wagtail overhead Little Lollingdon.

Alan walked the Bunk line this morning with good numbers of Swallow, House Martin and Sand Martin around. And also saw a Hornet Robberfly.

2 Common Sandpiper flying down river yesterday. Per Paul Rainsden.

A Treecreeper and a Chiffchaff in the garden this afternoon

Mammals: Brown Hare.

Butterflies: a single Meadow Brown noted.

Not one but two Little Owl

 A pair of Common Whitethroat scalding me this morning and I realised I was too close to their nest site. So moved away post haste!

 Brown Hare

Grey Heron (courtesy Alan Dawson)

Little Owl resurfaces

Light cloud with a few sunny spells, 15°, light NNE.

The Little Owl seen out at Lollingdon today for the first time in over a month! Was getting quite concerned that they had abandond the area or that some ill fortune had overcome them.

6 Swift, 14 House Martin and 8 Swallow feeding around Lollingdon hill today for a good hour or more before drifting off west.

There was a single gull associating with the corvids in the pig fields and although distant it looked like an adult Lesser Blackback Gull, unusual for this time of year. 

All the usual suspects present elsewhere.

Mammals: Brown Hare.

Butterflies: 1 Large Skipper, 2 Small Tortoiseshell and 2 Speckled Wood. 

Interesting that on Alans main walk he sees far more butterflies and insects in general than I do. Alans walk takes in a more diverse riparian habitat whereas my main walk takes in farmland monocultures that have been treated with pesticides and herbicides, therefore a more degraded habitat!

Moths: singles of Brimstone and Cinnabar.

 Little Owl

 Brown Hare

Large Skipper

White Storks and the rest

Wall to wall sunshine, 25°, light S.

The first thing to start with is that 2 White Stork were seen drifting SW over Cholsey this morning at 09:45. Seen by a Benson birder who was at Cholsey Meadows.

There has been a White Stork seen earlier in the year around the Day’s Lock/Dorchester/Wittenham area. So it may be that one teamed up with another as some of the Storks from the Sussex release scheme have been wandering quite widely.

There is a lot of chatter on Wallingford Piper on FB regarding Storks being seen all over. Some of the reports refer to Egrets and Herons that are being misidentified as Storks. Although some reports are accurate.

Anyway back to feet on the ground in Cholsey as I was on a walk out to Lollingdon today and Alan was along the river and Cholsey Marsh.

A singing Sedge Warbler along Cholsey Brook at the millennium field,  a singing Willow Warbler on Lollingdon Hill and this evening Richard Broughton had a Reed Warbler singing by the Church road bridge over the brook. were unexpected and may actually be new arrivals.

House Martins heard calling over Lollingdon Hill but initially not seen. It was not until I scanned overhead with binoculars that I saw them flying very high in a southerly direction and at least 20 birds.

Also a single adult Lesser Blackback Gull overhead and a Yellow Wagtail.

A Lesser Whitethroat heard singing near Amwell Spring and all the usual suspects noted.

A Sparrowhawk seen thermalling over the village mid-afternoon and being mobbed by Swallows and House Martins. And a Mistle Thrush singing away near the Church.

Mammals: Roe Deer and Brown Hare.

Butterflies: again, very few. I wonder if last week’s cold weather had any effect on butterflies and insects in general? A single Brimstone and Orange Tip, a few unidentified Whites, 1 Common Blue and 1 Holly Blue.

Alans tally down by the river was:

Birds: Willow Warbler, Blackcap, Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Reed Bunting, Swift, Swallow, Corn Bunting and Grey Wagtail.

Dragonflies: Red-eyed Damselfly, Azure Damselfly, Common Blue Damselfly, Large Red Damselfly, Blue Emperor , Four-spot Chaser and Broad-bodied Chaser. 

Butterflies: Marsh Fritillary, Common Blue and Peacock.

 Left: White Stork, Cattle Egret, Great White Egret & Little Egret.

Right: Grey Heron & Little Egret.

All have been seen in Oxfordshire in recent months.

 Brown Hare

 Sorry, a Corn Bunting again 😀

A pair of Stock Dove.

Sunshine & Showers

A few sunny spells with a few showers (rain & hail), 13°, moderate W.

A little quieter than Wednesdays walk to Lollingdon but all the usual suspects present.

2 Lesser Whitethroat, a Little Owl and a Kestrel and Sparrowhawk worth a mention.

A few Swallow seen and 8 House Martin overhead near the Church and several Swallow and House Martin over CSW.

A Herring Gull and 8 Lesser Blackback Gull flew overhead near Church road.

Green Woodpecker still quite vocal with 3 heard today.

Alan was on the marsh again today and so was the Cuckoo, along with Lesser Whitethroat, Willow Warbler and supporting cast.

Mammals: Brown Hare and Roe Deer.

Dragonflies: Common Clubtail. Per Alan.

Butterflies: none for me today but Alan had Orange Tip, Red Admiral and Small Heath.

 Little Owl

Corn Bunting

Small Heath (AD)

Quiet and not so quiet!

Sunny spells, 18º, light to fresh W.

A brief visit to Lollingdon Hill this afternoon saw very little. 3-4 Yellowhammers as usual, plus a Kestrel being mobbed by a Carrion Crow, also a Great-spotted Woodpecker seen.

A few Red Kite in the area and a scattering of Rook and Jackdaw around.

The fields to the south were being worked by a couple of tractors and subsequently had a number of gulls following, 300+ in all. Predominately Lesser Blackback Gulls but also 4 Herring Gulls.

I was listening to a conversation last week about Lesser Blackback Gulls being the most numerous gull behind the plough in Oxfordshire and Herring Gulls being the most numerous behind the plough in Berkshire. As to why, I have no idea!

The local Swallows have now left as well, none seen today but a flock of 40+ House Martins over South Moreton yesterday and 3 Swallows over Cholsey Hill.

A Chiffchaff heard calling in the garden also 2 Coal Tits, several Long-tailed Tits and 1-2 Goldcrests.

Also a Migrant Hawker in the garden briefly.

                                   Lesser Blackback Gull

Time for a rantL, over the past months I have been reading about the illegal hunting going on in Malta. What I can’t understand is the mindset of these D***heads that shoot birds like Swallows, Bee-eaters, Marsh Harriers, in a nutshell anything!

I can just about tolerate legal hunting but these characters are something else. They say it’s traditional but so was capital punishment and a whole host of other things that we now find unacceptable. Grow up! With the state of bird life these days, they need all the protection we can give them. A Swallow against a Shotgun, fair fight? If they need to do this go and help our guys in various war zones and see how you cope!

What really hacks me off is that I have Maltese blood in my family a few generations back and they shame me!

On a more positive front the Maltese law enforcement appear to be doing their job and several illegal hunters have been prosecuted but more needs to be done!

Also well done to the “Raptor camp” volunteers and Birdlife Malta who attempt to monitor the hunting. 

http://www.birdlifemalta.org/view.aspx?id=334