Birds & the rest

Mainly cloudy with some sunny spells, 15°, light NW.

A walk out to Lollingdon hill today proved somewhat fruitless. Nothing much to shout about on the hill, the usual Corn Bunting and Common Whitethroat present but little else.

A hovering Buzzard was a distraction but albeit too briefly before disappearing over the top.

Nothing out of the ordinary on the way back, just the regulars.

However on walking back thru the Brook meadow to Church road when I saw one of the local Red Kite being vigorously pursued by 5 Rook. As they passed over I noticed the Kite had a young Rook gripped in its talons. Presumably it had just taken one from a nest in the Rookery. Last saw them flying off towards West End!

Alan on his usual patch along the river today: Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Cetti’s Warbler, Blackcap, Common Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat and Chiffchaff to name a few.

Mammals: Stoat & Muntjac Deer.

Dragonflies: Banded Demoiselle, Azure Damselfly & Large Red Damselfly.

Butterflies: Brimstone, Green-veined White, Orange Tip, Holly Blue, Brown Argus (yesterday per TR), Marsh Fritillary, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Comma & Small Heath.

Other Insects: Black Slip Wasp & Nettle Weevil.

Black Slip Wasp courtesy Alan (A parasite of Large White Butterfly)

Yellowhammer

Mistle Thrush (youngster)

Chiffchaff courtesy Alan

Lesser Whitethroat courtesy Alan

Nettle Weevil courtesy Alan

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

Marsh Frits

Cloudy with a few sunny spells and showers, 13°, light SSW.

The Marsh Fritillaries are out in Cholsey, approx 2 weeks later than last year.

Photos courtesy Alan Dawson.

Butterfly Wars

Who would have thought a butterfly could stir up such feelings?

There has been some suspicion that someone local has been illicitly releasing various species of butterfly locally over the years.

Several years back there was an apparent release of Map butterflies in an area in Cholsey and around 3 years ago some Silver-washed Fritillaries were seen at the same site. Both these butterflies species were not seen in subsequent years at the site and as far as I know have not been at this site for many years if at all.

Last year a Marsh Fritillary was seen at the same site. This butterfly had become extinct in the 3 counties of Berks, Bucks and Oxon around 1996.

I understand Natural England are planning to introduce them on Otmoor and are in the process of planting Devil’s bit Scabious in large quantities prior to the release as the Scabious is the caterpillars food plant and a lot would be required to support a new colony.

This year Marsh Fritillaries were seen at this same site in Cholsey with up to 12 noted. Courtship behaviour and egg laying was also observed. The food plant was also found at the site but not in large quantities.

I blogged about the sightings and others put information on other social media sites and subsequently a lot of butterfly enthusiasts turned up to see these butterflies.

Another butterfly seen at the same site was the Small Blue that has not been recorded there before and some believe these were also released.

There have been differing views on these butterflies being present.

Most have enjoyed watching them as they are a rare butterfly but have reservations about them being there as they appear to be a non-sanctioned release rather than a natural colonisation or a planned introduction, such as the Otmoor project.

Apparently the species has been found at 6 sites in the upper Thames area so I’ve heard. Again probable illicit releases and is this being co-ordinated?

It has been mooted that the ‘Butterfly Conservation organisation’ is not accepting records from the area anymore. Maybe they should then at least they can keep tabs on the releases if that is how they view them?

The scientific community are not keen on these alleged releases as, I quote.

“These releases are frowned upon by butterfly conservationists, as they can't monitor natural population changes, and the genetic integrity is threatened.”

And furthermore.

“It's a big problem for science & conservation, as butterflies are a great indicator of the effects of climate change & range shifts. There's also the genetic aspect, populations might be micro-adapted to their habitat, and bringing in genes from who-knows-where can dilute this & alter behaviour or phenology, or move diseases around.”

Over to you!

Tuftie

Sunny, 24°, light S.

A Tufted Duck on the river today and a scarce bird in Cholsey as they are usually present on lakes, reservoirs etc. Per Alan.

Otherwise all the usual suspects present birdwise.

Also Alan reports more butterflies on the wing today with: Brimstone, Orange Tip, Small Blue, Common Blue, Marsh Fritillary and Speckled Wood. 

Tufted Duck f (courtesy Alan)

We have a pair of Stock Dove breeding in the garden this year and it has been interesting in observing the dynamics between the Doves and the Wood Pigeons.

Up to about a month ago the Doves were quite subservient to the Pigeons and were often quite bullied.

Since they started nesting the Doves have become more aggressive and are now chasing off the Wood Pigeons even though they are a smaller bird.

 Stock Dove

Wood Pigeon

a few photos from yesterday by Alan.

 Common Blue Damselfly

 Swollen-thigh Beetle

 Blue Emperor

Red-eyed Damselfly

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.

Lollingdon and the Thames

Mainly sunny, 15°, light NW.

A walk out to Lollingdon on a pleasant, sunny, May morning and not a lot going on out there.

Birdsong beginning to subside now, however, a few Common Whitethroat, a single Lesser Whitethroat and several Blackcap and Chiffchaff still singing well and a few Yellowhammer and Corn Bunting along with them.

A few Swift moving north over the hill.

Mammals: Brown Hare.

Butterflies: Small White, Orange Tip, Brown Argus, Common Blue and Speckled Wood.

Alan along the river:

Dragonflies: Banded Demoiselle, White-legged Damselfly, Common Blue Damselfly, Azure Damselfly and Broad-bodied Chaser.

Butterflies: Brimstone, Orange Tip, Small Blue, Brown Argus, Common Blue, Peacock, Marsh Fritillary and Small Heath.

Yellowhammer

Corn Bunting

Lollingdon, Bow & The Marsh

Sunny with a few cloudy spells, 21°, light S.

A walk out to Lollingdon and back and rather quiet and similar to Mondays walk.

3 Corn Bunting and 2 Reed Bunting in song on Lollingdon Hill and a Kestrel hunting nearby and 2 Lesser Whitethroat in song.

Later in the day at Bow Bridge a Common Tern flew downstream and a Willow Warbler in full song also Cuckoo, Blackcap, Lesser Whitethroat etc. Per AD & PC.

Sparrowhawk paid a visit to the garden again today and missed out.

Richard was also active today with a Grey Wagtail family seen, plus 2 Common Tern, Cuckoo and Raven amongst other species.

Mammals: Brown Hare and Roe Deer.

Dragonflies: Banded Demoiselle & Four-spotted Chaser. Per AD & PC.

Butterflies: Dingy Skipper, Brimstone, Small White, Orange Tip, Small Blue, Brown Argus, Common Blue, Holly Blue, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Marsh Fritillary and Speckled Wood. Per AD & PC.

Chiffchaff in song, Church road

Four-spot Chaser (courtesy Alan Dawson)

 Reed Bunting & Corn Bunting. Both in song.

 Pied Wagtail collecting food.

 Marsh Fritillary

White Ermine Moth (courtesy Alan Dawson)

A short walk

Cloudy with some sunshine, 21°, light SSE.

A walk out with Loren to the Lees and back today. Not a lot to see except for a couple of pairs of Yellow Wagtail with possibly more past the Lees but did not go out there as a tractor was spraying the fields. With what we don’t know!

We usually get approx. 5-6 pairs of Yellow Wagtail breeding in Cholsey but last year we had just one possibly 2 pairs. So hoping this year they do better.

(Western) Yellow Wagtails are summer visitors to the UK and winter in Sub-Saharan Africa. They often feed alongside livestock and take insects kicked up by Sheep or Cattle etc. Maybe the ones we saw today were feeding alongside Zebra and Wildebeest a few months ago?

The ubiquitous Common Whitethroat seen in fair numbers plus Skylarks and the odd Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Yellowhammer.

Butterflies: Brimstone, Small White, Orange Tip, Small Tortoiseshell and Small Heath.

Alan also out today.

Butterflies: Alan found a Large Skipper butterfly today. The 20th species so far. Also Marsh Fritillary. Green Hairstreak and Small Blue.

Dragonflies: Common Clubtail and Broad-bodied Chaser.

Birds: Lesser Whitethroat, Willow Warbler and Yellow Wagtail.

A photo I took last year of this Yellow Wagtail picking flies off the Cows face.

 Yellow Wagtails from today ↕

Small Heath

 Small Blue (courtesy Alan Dawson) a rather tatty one!

Large Skipper (courtesy Alan Dawson)

4-Arches to Bow Bridge

A clear sky, light frost, 2° and no wind.

An 04:30 start this morning for a “Dawn Chorus” along Cholsey Marsh. At that time of day the huge Moon (an almost full supermoon and called the Flower Moon) was just about to set as the Sun was rising almost in opposition.

The air was full of birdsong with Sedge Warbler and Blackbird appearing to dominate for volume.

55 species noted in 4 hours walking from the 4-Arches to Bow Bridge.

Most of the Warblers seen/heard with Garden Warbler, Blackcap, Common Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Cetti’s Warbler, Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff.

The Cuckoo appeared several times and very close, very vocal but was very mobile and impossible to get a photo of!

A Mute Swan was being very aggressive towards both Canada Geese and Greylag Geese.

A few other species seen were An Oystercatcher (flew downriver then back upriver), Little Grebe, 2 Tufted Duck, Cormorant, Grey Heron, Sparrowhawk and Kestrel.

Swift, House Martin and Swallow also noted.

Too cold for any insects early this morning.

Approx. 11:00 a Spotted Flycatcher appeared in one of the garden Lime trees but was scared off by a gardener with a mower nearby and flew off into Whitehead Meadow. Second record of this species for the garden.

A Raven reported again near the Cholsey/Moulsford border. Per MA.

Dragonflies: Azure Damselfly,

Butterflies: Alan was out later in the day and has seen 6+ Marsh Fritillary with some egg laying happening and some Green Hairstreak butterflies, also Dingy Skipper and Small Blue. The latter 2 both new for the year.

The garden has produced several Brimstone, Orange Tip and Holly Blue.

Willow Warbler ↕

 Common Whitethroat in the early morning sun

Common Whitethroat

 Angry Swan

 Linnet

 Yellowhammer

 Marsh Fritillary (courtesy Alan Dawson)

Speckled Wood (courtesy Adrian Bennett)

Marsh Fritillary (courtesy Alan Dawson)