Lollingdon Floods

Sunshiny day, 9°, light NE.

Lollingdon: Green Sandpiper, Dunlin, 60+ Lapwing, 14 Shoveler, 2 Raven, Chiffchaff, Reed Bunting, 4 Yellowhammer, c20 Redwing and a large number of gulls in the distance.

Sparrowhawk (m), 2 Coal Tit, 2 Nuthatch in garden and 2 Tawny Owl nearby.

Mammals: Brown Hare.

Butterflies: Red Admiral.

AD & PC.

Dunlin with Lapwing courtesy Alan

Red Admiral

Shoveler

Reed Bunting

Lapwing

Sunshine & Showers

Sunshine and showers, 12°, fresh SW.

Lollingdon: 2 Shelduck back on the flooded field, along with the usual Shoveler, Lapwing, Lesser Blackback Gull, Teal and Common Gull.

Morton Floods: c60 Lesser Blackback Gull, c150 Lapwing, 2 Golden Plover, c100 Teal, 3 Chiffchaff, a Cormorant and 4 Wigeon.

Wallingford Rd Floods: c130 Teal, 7 Grey Heron, 1 Little Egret, c10 Wigeon and 4 Tufted Duck.

Bunk: 2 Chiffchaff incl 1 in song, Yellowhammer and Treecreeper in song, 14 Fieldfare, 10 Redwing, Coot, 6 Tufted Duck.

2 Barn Owl noted this evening. LC & AD.

5 Wigeon on the school pond. RB.  

A Smooth Newt found at the weekend hibernating, Per RD and a Red Admiral on Sunday in the garden.

AD, LC, PC. & RB.

Kestrel

Frog spawn in Alan's pond

Shelduck

Golden Plover with Lapwing courtesy Alan

Egrets

Overcast, 13°, light S.

The day started with a Great White Egret found by Geoff Wyatt on the Thames flood by Nosworthy Way, Winterbrook bridge. When Michael Pocock arrived a little later it had been joined by a second. 3rd & 4th records for Cholsey.

Possibly a 3rd GWE seen on the flood in the horse field  near Caps lane later in the day. Per MA.

Bunk pretty quiet. Very few Thrushes with c20 Fieldfare and a handful of Redwing. 4 Yellowhammer, several Chiffchaff, 2 Mute Swan still on the flood and c50 Shoveler flying over and 2 Peregrine.

River: Water Rail, Little Egret, singing Mistle Thrush, Siskin and good numbers Of Fieldfare and Redwing. Per Alan.

A Ring-necked Parakeet over CSW yesterday and a Blackcap in song. Per Alan.

Mammals: Otter.

Butterflies: Red Admiral.

Great White Egret courtesy Michael Pocock

Great White Egret courtesy Alan Dawson ↕

Little Egret courtesy Alan

Shoveler ↕

First Butterfly of the year

Sunny, 8°, light SW.

Both out along Bunk today with Alan on the early shift and me on the late shift.

1-2 Chiffchaff, a Goldcrest, 4 Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting, 4 Common Gull, 2 Herring Gull, several Black-headed and Lesser Blackback Gull, 4 Mute Swan, 2 Raven, a Grey Wagtail, several Pied Wagtail and c100 Fieldfare and Redwing.

Alan also saw 2 Little Owl in the Hithercroft area.

Butterflies: a single Red Admiral (first of the year) sunning itself on the track ballast on the railway.

AD & PC.

Robin

Fieldfare

Common Gull courtesy Alan ↕

A bit samey

Few sunny spells, 11°, light WNW.

Lollingdon Hill was very quiet, just a few Yellowhammer and Fieldfare present. Nearby was a lot busier with good numbers of Fieldfare, Redwing and Starling. A Blackcap and Goldcrest mixed in with a Tit flock, c 50 Linnet and a scattering of Meadow Pipit and Pied Wagtail etc.

Alan reported that the river area was very quiet and some Siskin over Church Road. Per RB.

Dragonflies: 2 Common Darter.

Butterflies: a single Red Admiral.

Goldcrest

Sunshine & Rain

Rain then sun then rain again, 14°, light SSW.

A rather uneventful walk out to Lollingdon and back. The hill was quiet other than 250+ Starling chattering away on some nearby telegraph wires and the calls of 12 Red Kite and 3 Buzzard soaring over the hill.

Have been hearing a lot of Siskin moving through lately and today was no exception with at least 3 small flocks passing overhead.

Just 5 Fieldfare noted plus, 52 Redwing, 10 Yellowhammer, 1 Chiffchaff, 12 Meadow Pipit, 6 Pied Wagtail, 2 Jay and a single Raven etc.

River, per Alan: Cetti’s Warbler, Blackcap, 2 Treecreeper, Goldcrest, Reed Bunting, Chiffchaff, Grey Wagtail and Water Rail.

Mammals: Brown Hare.

Dragonflies: several Common Darter.

Butterflies: 1 Small White and 7 Red Admiral.

Goldcrest courtesy Alan

Nuthatch

Blackbird

Bunk again

Sunny intervals, 13°, breezy E.

Alan along the Bunk today with Fieldfare, Redwing, Siskin, Meadow Pipit, Sparrowhawk and Chiffchaff.

Dragonflies: Common Darter.

Butterflies: Red Admiral.

Meadow Pipit courtesy Alan

Common Buzzard courtesy Alan

Lollingdon & Bunk

Overcast, 19°, light SW.

Both Alan and myself out at Lollingdon today with Alan on the earlier visit.

The hill was a little quiet but a lot of Skylark in the area with around 100+ scattered around and a flyover Ringed Plover.

Some movement going on with both Redwing and Fieldfare noted, plus 20+ Meadow Pipit, 6 Pied Wagtail, 2+ Siskin, 11 Yellowhammer and 8 Reed Bunting.

2 Tawny Owl heard, a Common Snipe, 9 Chiffchaff and 3 Jay noted.

Alan then out along Bunk Line: Redwing, Fieldfare, Chiffchaff, Raven etc.

Dragonflies: Common Darter.

Butterflies: Red Admirals still noted moving south but in fewer numbers. Large White, Small White and Speckled Wood also seen.

A Red Admiral resting up

Common Darter

Still waiting

Sunshine, 18°, light N.

Another quiet day and a walk out to Lollingdon, I know it is still a bit early but still waiting for some summer migrants to appear.

First time for a while, no "winter thrushes" seen today.  

A Raven flew south over the hill but very little else around!

Alan reported 2 Great Crested Grebe along the river (first of the year) this afternoon but appeared to be just passing thru.

Mammals: Brown Hare and Roe Deer.

Butterflies: Brimstone, Peacock and Red Admiral.

A little quieter

Sunny intervals, 13°, light S.

A little quiet out at Lollingdon today, a mixed flock of Fieldfare, Redwing and Starling on the hill but soon moved off south west.

A couple of Siskin flew overhead and a Chiffchaff calling, a Kestrel and a Mistle Thrush, several Meadow Pipit and Yellowhammer but little else of note.

Alan covered the usual, Redwing, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Cetti’s Warbler, Reed Bunting, Corn Bunting, 3 Green Woodpecker, Grey Wagtail and Meadow Pipit.

7 Buzzard in one field!

Mammals: Stoat.

Dragonflies: 3 pair of Common Darter still egg laying and a couple of individuals.

Butterflies: Red Admiral.

Pics courtesy Alan Dawson

Green Woodpeckers

Mistle Thrush

Buzzard ↕

A mixed day

Mainly cloudy with lengthy sunny spells, 14°, light SSW.

A frustrating day! Whilst watching some Common Darter along a flooded margin of a field out at Lollingdon I heard a Woodlark call and a few seconds later call again.

Scanning the area where the call came from but could not see the bird and I spent the next hour searching for it. However no sign of it but I did flush a Common Snipe from the field.

I let both Alan and Tony know in case they go out that way soon.

Continuing on to the hill but it was somewhat quiet, a couple of Mistle Thrush and a Sparrowhawk and a Kestrel present.

Back off the hill and another look for the lark. No luck but good numbers of Fieldfare and Redwing scattered about. Also 2 Chiffchaff, several Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Skylark and a Kingfisher and 20+ Yellowhammer nearby.

3 Raven near the Bullshole and several Siskin and a Goldcrest, Millennium Wood.

Alan and Tony out along the river: Little Grebe, Kingfisher, Grey Wagtail, Mistle Thrush, Chiffchaff, Goldcrest, Meadow Pipit and Fieldfare and Redwing.

30+ Golden Plover near Silly Bridge.

Mammals: Nathusius’s Pipistrelle recorded by Niall today near the Reading road proposed development site. He also has a few previous records from the site which may prove a case for conservation in the area rather than development!

Dragonflies: Common Darter, 5 pairs egg laying and a few individuals.

Butterflies: Brimstone (f), along the river and 2 Red Admiral and a Small Tortoiseshell, Lollingdon.

A few shots of the Common Darters.

Sparrowhawk

Chiffchaff courtesy Alan

Some of the hundred plus flock of Fieldfare.

Chiffchaff

Fieldfares arrive

Cloudy, 9°, light NNW.

Well, it looks like Fieldfare have finally arrived in some numbers today. This afternoon I had a flock of 52 fly towards the Church, then another flock of 100+ go over and for the next few hours several more flocks of between 50-100 birds. Totalling in excess of 500.

Alan also had similar numbers out at Lollingdon.

Green lane was alive with Redwing with something in the region of 300 birds and again more passing overhead. 700 plus is a conservative estimate.

Quite possibly a change in the wind direction had given them the impetus to move further south.

Both Song Thrush and Blackbird seen and heard moving with the flocks.

Also seen along the Bunk/Green lane area: Grey Heron, 2 Herring Gull, Grey Wagtail, Kestrel, 20+ Yellowhammer and all the usuals.

Lollingdon: Fieldfare, Redwing, Little Owl, Chiffchaff and Little Egret.

Mammals: Stoat.

Butterflies: surprisingly a single Red Admiral.

A Frosty start

Sunny intervals, 11°, light W. (a light frost first thing)

A pair of Stonechat present on Lollingdon hill today along with a small flock of Meadow Pipit several Yellowhammer and a flock of c50 Fieldfare flew over.

Nearby, a Little Egret, several Redwing, 2 Jay and a Chiffchaff.

2 Mistle Thrush near the Bullshole.

Alan along the river with c100 Lapwing over, a Little Grebe, Redwing, Fieldfare, Cetti’s Warbler, Chiffchaff, Reed Bunting, Bullfinch, Kingfisher, Jay, Raven and Nuthatch.

Tony Williams had a flock of c30 Golden Plover near the Four Arches and a female Goosander flew upriver this morning.

Another Nuthatch around the garden and the Brook meadow.

Mammals: Brown Hare.

Dragonflies: Common Darter.

Butterflies: Red Admiral.

Stonechat pair

Little Grebe courtesy Alan

Meadow Pipit

Egrets still present

 Overcast with early light rain, 10°, light NW. 

Alan had the best of it today with 3 Little Egret, 2 Stonechat and a Little Owl out at Lollingdon and another Stonechat at Cholsey meadows.

I made it out a little late along the Bunk line and it was pretty quiet. A lot of Redwing (100+) and c50 Fieldfare and 3 Herring Gull frequenting the area near CSW but little else.

A late Red Admiral butterfly noted by Tony Rayner yesterday.

All pics courtesy Alan.

Coal Tit at Bow

Lollingdon & the Thames

Sunshine, 10°, light NW.

Frosty start with wall to wall sunshine today but still soggy underfoot in a lot of places. A walk out to Lollingdon and Alan along the river.

2, possibly 3 Stonechat present around Lollingdon hill and good numbers of Fieldfare and Redwing in the area.

Meadow Pipit numbers still high but birds widely dispersed and still good numbers of Skylark present and 2 Corn Bunting flew overhead.

A Tawny Owl flushed by a loose dog running where it shouldn’t.

2 Bullfinch, a Chiffchaff and a Grey Heron in the cattle field and 1 or 2 Goldcrest Millennium wood.

2 Water Rail at Cholsey Marsh and a small flock of Siskin feeding on the Alders, plus Grey Wagtail, 1 Kingfisher, Meadow Pipit, 2 Goldcrest, 1 Chiffchaff, Fieldfare and Redwing.

Mammals: Brown Hare and Roe Deer and a possible Water Vole?????

Dragonflies: a Common Darter, Lollingdon and another along the river.

Butterflies: a Peacock near the Millennium Wood and a Red Admiral along the river.

Siskin pics by Alan.

Stonechat & Meadow Pipit

Siskin ↕

Stonechat

Grey Heron