Summer arrivals

Mainly cloudy, 10°, light S.

Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Willow Warbler and Common Whitethroat, Cholsey Marsh. Per Brian Wyatt.

Bunk area: on the walk out there were 10+ House Martin feeding high over CSW. On the way back the numbers had grown to 20+ House Martin, 5+ Swallow and several Sand Martin, this time feeding a lot lower over the beds.

The Gravel pit hosted a Mute Swan, 2 Shelduck, 4 Gadwall, 3 Oystercatcher and 30+ Lapwing, c12 House Martin, 5 Swallow and several Sand Martin.

2 Peregrine over. I think I’ve mentioned these before and I believe these 2 males to be the ones raised in South Stoke last year. I’ve seen them together on several occasions this year and they appear to hunt together. Maybe a successful survival strategy.

Elsewhere on the walk: 2 Common Whitethroat, several Blackcap and Chiffchaff and a couple of Jay etc.

Butterflies: just a couple of Brimstone and Peacock.

Mallard & Muntjac both in garden today

Cholsey

Mainly cloudy, 10°, Light N.

River: Garden Warbler, Blackcap, Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Common Whitethroat, Cetti’s Warbler, Kingfisher and Reed Bunting.

Lollingdon: Willow Warbler, Wheatear, Blackcap, Swallow, Lapwing and Yellow Wagtail.

Bunk: Little Egret, Common Sandpiper, Blackcap, Swallow, House Martin, Lesser Whitethroat, Common Whitethroat and Yellow Wagtail over.

Per Alan.

Yellow Wagtail

River & Lollingdon

Sunny, 13°, light to breezy NE.

River: Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Blackcap, Common Whitethroat, Kingfisher and Swallow.

Lollingdon: Greenshank, 4 Wheatear, 5 second viewing of a Whinchat before disappearing, unable to relocate. Blackcap, Chiffchaff and Swallow over. Per Alan.

Greenshank

Wheatear

Redstart

Mainly sunny, 21°, light WNW.

Unfortunately the field I mentioned earlier in the week that hosted loads of butterflies has been cut. There appears to be no plants higher than 10cm left and subsequently no butterflies other than a few Whites traversing the area. Why cut it?

3 Lapwing dropped in on the field at the far side briefly.

Lollingdon Hill was pretty busy today with the first autumn Redstart, 30+ Mistle Thrush, a Tit flock comprising 20+ Long-tailed Tit, 11 Blue Tit and 3 Chiffchaff. 2 Raven, 5 Common Whitethroat, 2 Blackcap and 7 House Sparrow.

A couple of Lapwing nearby.

A Reed Warbler singing (sub-song) in the small woodland next to the school early afternoon.

Mammals: Brown Hare.

Dragonflies: Beautiful Demoiselle, Brown Hawker, Southern Hawker and Common Darter.

Butterflies: Large Skipper, Small Skipper, Brimstone, Large White, Small White, Common Blue, Brown Argus, Holly Blue, Red Admiral, Peacock, Comma, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown and Small Heath. Far fewer than earlier in the week.

Some rather blurred and heavily cropped Redstart pics 

Cattle Egret & Whinchat

Mainly cloudy with light rain later, 9°, light NNE.

Belated news of a Cattle Egret on floods along Hithercroft on 20th April. A first for Cholsey. Per RW. Only stayed briefly.

A long awaited visitor to Cholsey since establishing themselves in Oxfordshire in 2021.  

Back to today: a Whinchat, a Redstart and 8+ Wheatear out at Lollingdon. The Redstart appeared to be a brief stayer and moved from west to east along the hill, flying from bush to bush and eventually disappeared. The rest stuck around at least until late afternoon.

A Reed Warbler out by the “Long ditch”.

Elsewhere, Sparrowhawk, Lapwing, Mandarin Duck, 3-4 Yellow Wagtail, several Whitethroat and Blackcap, several Swallow and a Willow Warbler.

Mammals: Roe Deer & Brown Hare.

Whinchat

Whinchat courtesy Alan

Whinchat

Wheatear (f)

Wheatears (m) ↕

Yellow Wagtail courtesy Alan

Thames/Marsh/Bunk Line

Mainly sunny again, 16°, light W.

Alan out along the River/Marsh this morning and the first Reed Warbler of the year. Other warblers were Cetti’s Warbler, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Common Whitethroat and Sedge Warbler.

Plus, Water Rail.

I took a walk along the Bunk line to the Gravel pit: 2 Little Ringed Plover, a Common Sandpiper, 4 Yellow Wagtail, 2 Pied Wagtail, a Grey Wagtail, 2 Lesser Blackback Gull, a single Black-headed Gull, 10 Tufted Duck, 4 Canada Geese and 2 Mallard and 3 House Martin over.

Green Lane had several Blackcap and Common Whitethroat and heard and saw an Oystercatcher flying over the gravel pit heading south east and whilst watching that caught sight of a bird in a hedgerow that turned out to be a Common Redstart.

Elsewhere a Little Owl, a Kestrel, several Yellowhammer, Chiffchaff and 2 Swallow over CSW.

Alan did the Bunk line later in the day and added 3 Swallow and 4-5 more Yellow Wagtail to todays tally.

Mammals: Brown Hare & Roe Deer.

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

Grasshopper Warbler courtesy Alan (Benson)

Reed & Sedge

A Sunny day, 18°, light SSW.

A trek out to the Lees and beyond today and Alan covering Bow Bridge to the 4-Arches.

6+ Sedge Warbler and at least 3 Reed Warbler along the “Reedy ditch”. A small colony of “Acro” Warblers doing well in the area.

A good number of Reed Bunting between the Church and the outskirts of Aston and a few Yellowhammer, 4-5 pair of Yellow Wagtail and a single Corn Bunting also noted. And a Hobby soaring over Church road on return.

All the regular suspects along the river.

Mammals: Roe Deer & Muntjac Deer.

Dragonflies: Banded Demoiselle, Large Red Damselfly (both sites) & Azure Damselfly.

Butterflies: Brimstone, Green-veined White, Orange Tip, Common Blue, Holly Blue, Painted Lady (both sites), Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Marsh Fritillary, Speckled Wood & Small Heath.

Sedge Warbler

Reed Warbler (not a good pic)

Yellow Wagtail

Sedge Warbler courtesy Alan

Yellowhammer courtesy Alan

A day between the rains

Overcast, 11°, light NNE.

Alan out today along the Marsh to Bow Bridge: a Raven overhead, several Swift and House Martin feeding along the river. A Tawny Owl calling from the opposite side of the river and a pair of Bullfinch noted and a Lesser Whitethroat at Bow plus all the regulars.

A quiet time along the Bunk line/Green lane today. Having said that a Sedge Warbler still singing along Green lane and another close to CSW. A Reed Warbler heard singing from CSW and a Yellow Wagtail overhead.

Nearby a Lesser Whitethroat singing briefly and several Common Whitethroat and Blackcap.

Local Swallow now regularly seen in the area and 4 Swift feeding high over Church road after midday.

Common Whitethroat

Grey Heron courtesy Alan

A Birdy day

Bright at first then clouding over, 12°, light SSW.

A hike out to the Lees then loop around to Lollingdon and back.

Lollingdon threw up some good birds today and some more good sightings along the river for Alan.

The Lees were fairly quiet but for Chiffchaff and Blackcap singing, a Grey Heron feeding in the “Long Ditch” and several Reed Bunting present. 1 Reed Warbler and at least 2 Sedge Warbler along the “Reedy Ditch”

The walk then to Lollingdon was uneventful with just Chiffchaff and Blackcap in song along with a couple of Common Whitethroat.

Lollingdon Hill was fairly active with a male Ring Ouzel, a male Whinchat, 2 Wheatear, a Kestrel, c6 Yellow Wagtail, 2 Pied Wagtail, 3 Corn Bunting, 2 Common Whitethroat and 2 Blackcap and a Raven overhead.

A quick call to both Alan and Tony who both arrived and saw the birds.

A Little Owl and another Ring Ouzel (female) nearby but she was not as obliging as the male and flew off along the hedgerow and was not seen again.

A steady walk back found good numbers of Yellowhammer and Reed Bunting and several more Common Whitethroat.

Alan took an early visit to the Marsh with Common Tern, Common Sandpiper and a pair of Tufted Duck. Along with the usual suspects on the Marsh.

Later in the day along the Bunk Line but somewhat quiet except for a handful of Yellow Wagtail at CSW.

Also some action in the garden with a male Blackbird feeding 3 young only for a male Sparrowhawk to take one of the youngsters 5 minutes later. A Mistle Thrush bathing in the garden and a small flock of adult and juvenile Starling feeding in the meadow early evening.

A Swift and a House Martin seen over Station road allotments this afternoon. Per Frederick Hurd.  

Mammals: Brown Hare, Stoat and Roe Deer.

Butterflies: Brimstone, Orange Tip, Peacock and Speckled Wood.

Lots of photos today 😲

Wheatear

Whinchat courtesy Alan

Ring Ouzel ↕

Ring Ouzel courtesy Alan

Yellow Wagtail

Yellow Wagtail courtesy Alan

Wheatear

Kestrel

Whinchat

Male Blackbird feeding young

Sparrowhawk on prey

Mistle Thrush taking a bath ↕

Weather improving

Sunshine, 16°, light SE.

A good start to the day with a Willow Warbler singing near the garden.

7 Wheatear on Lollingdon hill this morning but all appeared to have gone by midday. Another Willow Warbler on the hill and 3 Raven overhead.

Seems to be plenty of Blackcap around now and a Little Owl nearby.

Alan found at least 1 Reed Warbler on the Marsh this morning. Presumably arrived overnight as this was the first for the year.

All the usual suspects noted and around 50 species noted between us.

Mammals: Brown Hare & Roe Deer and unfortunately an Otter found dead along the Wallingford road.

Butterflies: Brimstone, Orange Tip, Holly Blue, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock & Speckled Wood.

Insects: Black Oil Beetle (first ones noted on the hill) & Dark-edged Bee-fly (Per Alan).

Black Oil Beetle

Coal Tit bathing

Raven

Dark-edged Bee-fly courtesy Alan

Mistle Thrush

Common Whitethroat courtesy Alan

Mistle Thrush

One of those days 👍

Cloudy, 21°, light WSW.

A walk out to the Lees area today and turned out to be one of those good days!

Firstly a subdued song coming from the corner of a maize field turned out to be a Reed Warbler. I began to suspect a Reed Warbler but it was not until about 30 minutes later the bird appeared on the edge of the field briefly before disappearing again.

Secondly, happened to notice a butterfly on Dandelions near some farm buildings that turned out to be a Painted Lady. My first for the year!

Thirdly, walking back towards Manor farm I heard an alarm call of a falcon. Then next a small falcon shot by being pursued by a corvid. I managed to get onto the falcon and it was a juvenile Merlin. The birds had come from the direction of Cholsey hill, they shot by me and disappeared over the main railway line towards Lollingdon.

It was only then as the corvid broke off the pursuit I realised it was a Raven that had been chasing the Merlin. The Raven then flew back overhead and moved off towards Cholsey hill and was joined by another.

Then walking thru by the Church I saw a Sparrowhawk take a Greenfinch out of the sky. No matter what the finch did the hawk tracked it with precision and caught it.

Other birds seen were Chiffchaff (5), a Blackcap, Reed Bunting (3), Yellow Wagtail (4), 2 Raven, and a Kestrel.

A light movement of Swallow and House Martin (c100), fizzled out by midday.

Alan was out on Lollingdon Hill today: 1 Lesser Whitethroat, several Meadow Pipit (first of the autumn) and an amazing number of up to 15 Kestrel around the hill!

Dragonflies: several Southern Hawker, a Four-spot Chaser (egg laying) and several Common Darter.

Butterflies: several Large White and Small White, 2 Red Admiral, 1 Painted Lady and 1 Speckled Wood.

Painted Lady

A pale Buzzard that frequents the Lollingdon area. (courtesy Alan). ↕