Lollingdon

Mainly cloudy, 21°, breezy SW.

A bit of a blustery day out at Lollingdon.

Relatively quiet, 4 singing Yellowhammer and a Corn Bunting, the usual Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Common Whitethroat and a Lesser Whitethroat.

20+ Swift feeding over the hill area along with a few Swallow and House Martin.

2 Mistle Thrush in the meadow.

Mammals: Brown Hare.

Dragonflies: Beautiful and Banded Demoiselle.

Butterflies: Large Skipper, Common Blue, Painted Lady, Small Tortoiseshell, Speckled Wood and Meadow Brown.

Moths: Privet Hawkmoth.

Privet Hawkmoth courtesy Bryan Reagan.

Not a lot!

 Rain at first then sunny spells, 18°, light SW.

Still very quiet along the Bunk area. The usual Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Common Whitethroat, plus a pair of Lesser Whitethroat.

No view of the gravel pit but a Little Ringed Plover heard calling, a Lesser Blackback Gull dropped in and a Lapwing over.

2-3 Herring Gull at CSW and 5 Black-headed Gull flew south.

Several Swallow, House Martin and Swift noted.

A Peregrine over Crescent Way on Weds. Per James Beaumont and 2 Oystercatcher at the gravel pit on Sat. Per Brian Wyatt.

Butterflies: Large Skipper, Large White, Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown and Small Heath.

L’s.

Cloudy, 12°, breezy WSW.

Lollingdon, Lees & Long Ditch.

A breezy day, 60+ Swift and c30 House Martin, south-west over Lollingdon Hill. A singing Corn Bunting present but little else.

Elsewhere: 2 Lesser Whitethroat, several Common Whitethroat, Blackcap and Chiffchaff and several Sedge and Reed Warbler at the Long Ditch area.

10+ Swift and a handful of Swallow, a Grey Heron, 3-4 Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting and Yellow Wagtail.

In the meadow, a Grey Wagtail and a Pied Wagtail, both collecting food, a Coal Tit singing and 2 Mistle Thrush mobbing a Carrion Crow.

Mammals: Brown Hare and Roe Deer.

Dragonflies: A Banded Demoiselle in garden.

Butterflies: singles of Small White, Speckled Wood and Small Heath.

 

A bit quieter

Sunny periods, 17°, Breezy SSE.

A check on the gravel pit today: 12 Tufted Duck, a Little Ringed Plover, 6 Lapwing, I could hear Oystercatcher calling but not see them, overhead, 2 Swallow, 14 House Martin and 10 Sand Martin.

Nearby, 3 Common Whitethroat, a Lesser Whitethroat, several Blackcap and Chiffchaff and 3 Yellowhammer.

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

Saturday snippets

Mainly cloudy, 10°, breezy SW.

A couple more summer arrivals, new for the year:

Lesser Whitethroat Bunk line. Per Brian Wyatt.

Yellow Wagtail Cholsey Hill. Per Richard Broughton.

A pair of Mallard on a neighbours pond.

Bunk

Overcast, 15°, light E.

Bunk area: c15 Swallow and 50+ House Martin over. 14 Chiffchaff, 4 Blackcap, 2 Common Whitethroat, a Lesser Whitethroat, a Garden Warbler, 2 Yellowhammer, 7 Siskin, 14 Greenfinch, 2 Grey Wagtail, c20 Pied Wagtail, 6 Meadow Pipit, a Curlew over, 2 Raven, 2 Grey Heron, 6 Cormorant over, 2 Egyptian Geese, several Greylag and Canada Geese etc.

Tawny Owl in garden @ 21:10.  

Butterflies: 2 Red Admiral.

A wet one

Variable cloud and heavy showers, 16°, light to moderate S.

A trip out to Lollingdon and birding in between the rain showers.

Managed to cover most of the hill area: a Spotted Flycatcher, a Lesser Whitethroat, Blackcap, 6 Chiffchaff, 3 Yellow Wagtail overhead, 2 Wheatear, 2 Stonechat, a Whinchat, Raven etc and c50 Swallow and 6 House Martin over.

A few Geese flying over the garden early evening, 20+ Canada, 20+ Greylag and at least 1 Egyptian Goose.

Moths: Hummingbird Hawkmoth in garden.

Cooler

Overcast, 19°, breezy NNE.

2 Common Redstart still out at Lollingdon, a Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Common Whitethroat, 3 Blackcap and an unexpected fly-by of a Greenshank and c60 Swallow over.

Nearby a couple of Yellowhammer, c100 Linnet and good numbers of Chiffchaff.

A handful of House Martin still present in the Church Road area and appear to be feeding young still and 2 Swift over.

A Peregrine seen from the garden yesterday and several Swift passing over in the last few days.

Mammals: Hedgehog, Muntjac and Common Pipistrelle regular in garden.

Dragonflies: A Southern Hawker on the allotment yesterday.

Butterflies: very few, Small White, Speckled Wood, a Gatekeeper and a few Meadow Brown.

Moths: Hummingbird Hawk in garden.

Lollingdon

Sunny spells, 23°, light W.

Common Redstart still present out at Lollingdon. A large Tit flock came down the hedgerow, c40 strong and accompanying were 5-6 Chiffchaff, a Lesser Whitethroat, a Garden Warbler and at least 2 Blackcap. Possibly more species but feeding group very active and on both sides of hedge.

Nearby 2 Common Whitethroat and a couple of Yellowhammer but little else.

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

Not a good pic but at least you can ID it.

Bunk

Overcast with light cloud, 23°, breezy NNW.

Bunk area:

Marsh Harrier seen over Cholsey Hill, Gull numbers on the increase with c50 Black-headed Gull, c30 Lesser Blackback Gull and a couple of Herring Gull.

5 Chiffchaff, 4 Blackcap, a Common Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, 1 pos 2 Spotted Flycatcher, a Yellow Wagtail, 4 Mistle Thrush, 15 Swallow, 8 House Martin, 3 Sand Martin, 20+ Swift and a Sparrowhawk.

Dragonflies: Common Blue Damsel and a Brown Hawker.

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

Redstart

Sunny spells then clouding up, 25°, light WNW.

Lollingdon: The first Common Redstart of the autumn on the hill today, plus a Sedge Warbler, Chiffchaff, 2-3 Common Whitethroat and Blackcap. Nearby a Lesser Whitethroat, several more Chiffchaff, 5+ Yellowhammer and 3 Grey Heron.

A few Swift moving overhead.

The Marsh Harrier seen on Cholsey Hill again yesterday. Per GW. And a young Chiffchaff frequenting the garden over the last few days.

Mammals: Brown Hare, 2-3 Hedgehog and several Common Pipistrelle after dark in garden over the last week.

Dragonflies: Banded and Beautiful Demoiselle and a Southern Hawker.

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

Moths: A Hummingbird Hawkmoth in garden yesterday.

Lollingdon

Sunny, 22°, breezy SW.

A walk out to Lollingdon today and pretty quiet bird wise. A Lesser Whitethroat in song near Little Lollingdon plus several Common Whitethroat, Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Yellowhammer on the walk.

The Hill was quiet apart from a flock of c200 Rook and Jackdaw, a single Kestrel and 2 Swift over.

30+ Swallow feeding over fields with a good amount of youngsters present.

Mammals: Brown Hare.

Dragonflies: Beautiful and Banded Demoiselle and a Southern Hawker.

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

Bunk

Mainly cloudy with a few light rain showers, 17°, moderate WSW.

Bunk area:

Pretty quiet, a Lesser Whitethroat, 5 Common Whitethroat, 6 Blackcap, 3 Chiffchaff, 7 Yellowhammer, a Yellow Wagtail, 30+ House Martin, 20+ Swallow, several Sand Martin and Swift, a Hobby, a Jay, 23 Lesser Blackback Gull and 2 Black-headed Gull.

Dragonflies: a handful of Common Blue Damsel.

Butterflies: Peacock, Meadow Brown and Small Heath.

Still moving

Sunny periods, 16°, light NE.

A milder day than of late and a few more Butterflies on the wing as migrant birds still continue to arrive and pass through and Gull species virtually absent.  

Bunk: 14 Tufted Duck, 2 Oystercatcher, Little Ringed Plover, 3 Lapwing, Herring Gull, 2 Yellow Wagtail, a Grey Wagtail, 2 Yellowhammer, 5 Common Whitethroat, a Lesser Whitethroat, 7 Blackcap, a Willow Warbler, 8 Swallow and 2 Sand Martin.

Yesterday on Cholsey Marsh: a Cuckoo and poss Grasshopper Warbler.  

Mammals: Roe Deer.

Butterflies: Brimstone, Orange Tip, Holly Blue, Red Admiral, Peacock and Speckled Wood.

Oystercatcher

Dunnock

Red Admiral

What's that coming over the Hill

A cloudy day, 18°, light WSW.

Arrived on Lollingdon hill around 11:30 and started to scan around. Looked pretty quiet apart from a couple of Corn Bunting in song, plus a Common Whitethroat and a couple of Yellowhammer and Chiffchaff calling.

Just before midday I noted several Swift passing over and drifting south west, shortly followed by another 50.

Over the next hour I counted just over 400 Swift over the hill area and they were still passing over when I left.

When I got off the hill I looked back and Swift were still passing through. I estimate in the region of 450-500 Swift passed in that hour and 30 minutes.

Other species noted: Blackcap, Lesser Whitethroat, Sedge Warbler, Yellow Wagtail, Swallow, House Martin etc.

Mammals: Brown Hare.

Dragonflies: Banded and Beautiful Demoiselle and an unidentified Hawker.

Butterflies: Large White, Small White, Marbled White, Speckled Wood, Ringlet and Meadow Brown.

Wren's Nest courtesy Bill Nicholls

Speckled Wood

Lolligdon

Wall to wall sunshine, 29°, light SW.

Lollingdon: 2 Lesser Whitethroat in song, that makes a minimum of 4 so far in the parish this June. 5-6 Common Whitethroat, 7 Blackcap, 6 Chiffchaff, a Sedge Warbler, Corn Bunting, 2 Reed Bunting, 6 Yellowhammer and again, several Swallow, House Martin and Swift hawking overhead. A few family parties of Swallow.

Mammals: Brown Hare and a possible Water Vole.

Dragonflies: both Banded and Beautiful Demoiselle.

Butterflies: low numbers generally but good numbers of Meadow Brown and Marbled White, a couple of Large White, a Red Admiral, 2 Common Blue and a Brown Argus.

Bunk & River

Sunny spells, 18°, light SSE.

Bunk line relatively quiet today apart from SSEN contractors chopping tops from trees and bushes under some power cables: Poor timing!

Lesser Whitethroat, Common Whitethroat, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Reed Bunting, Yellowhammer, Swift, Swallow, House Martin and Sparrowhawk.

No change at the river re birds: Raven over, Garden Warbler, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Common Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Cetti’s Warbler, Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Goldcrest, Swift, Swallow, House Martin, Black-headed Gull, Sparrowhawk, Grey Wagtail and Kingfisher.

Dragonflies: Beautiful Demoiselle, Banded Demoiselle, Azure Damselfly, Blue-tailed Damselfly, Large Red Damselfly, Hairy Dragonfly, Broad-bodied Chaser and Four-spot Chaser. A possible Downy Emerald seen but not re-located to confirm ID.

Butterflies: Brimstone, Large White, Green-veined White, Orange Tip, Holly Blue, Common Blue, Painted Lady, Peacock and Small Heath.

AD & PC.

Hairy Dragonfly courtesy Alan

Great-spotted Woodpecker

A couple of Swallow resting up

Painted Lady courtesy Alan

Common Blue courtesy Alan