Bunk again

Hazy sunshine, 29°, light to breezy NNW.

Very quiet birdwise along the Bunk area this afternoon. The odd Yellowhammer and Common Whitethroat, 2 Herring Gull at CSW and a few Black-headed Gull that appeared to be feeding on flying ants, was about it.

Mammals: Brown Hare.

Dragonflies: Beautiful Demoiselle and Common Blue Damsel.

Butterflies: a drop in numbers: Small Skipper, Large White, Small White, Small Copper, Small Blue, Brown Argus, Common Blue, Holly Blue, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Peacock, Comma, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper and Meadow Brown.

Moths: Jersey Tiger.

Bunk

Sunny, 24°, light WSW.

A quietish walk along the Bunk area today. only a few Yellowhammer frequently in song with the occasional Chiffchaff, Common Whitethroat and Blackcap.

The usual around the gravel pit with a couple of Sand Martin and Swallow plus 20+ Swift and a similar number of House Martin.

2 Raven along Green Lane and that was about it as far as the birds go.

Dragonflies: several Banded and Beautiful Demoiselle, Lots of Common Blue Damsel, and singles of Brown Hawker and Black-tailed Skimmer.

Butterflies: Large Skipper, Small Skipper, Brimstone, Large White, Small White, Small Copper, Small Blue, Common Blue, Holly Blue, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Peacock, Speckled Wood, Marbled White, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown and Ringlet.

Moths: Hummingbird Hawkmoth.

Other: Stag Beetle (f).

Pied Hoverfly courtesy Loren

Uninspiring

Sunny intervals, 20°, light ENE.

A Bunk Line walk today that proved somewhat un.

Good numbers of Swift, Swallow and House Martin feeding overhead and the usual Warblers and Yellowhammer in song but fairly quiet overall.

Alan managed to find plenty of the larger insects with a couple of newbies for the year.

Mammals: Roe Deer.

Dragonflies: Beautiful Demoiselle, Emperor, Four-spot Chaser.

Butterflies: Dingy Skipper, Large Skipper, Small White, Small Copper, Small Blue, Common Blue, Brown Argus, Painted Lady, Small Tortoiseshell & Peacock.

Moths: Mother Shipton & Garden Tiger.

Paul & Alan.

Common Whitethroat

Kestrel

Goldfinch courtesy Bill Nicholls

Large Skipper courtesy Alan

Brown Argus courtesy Alan

Bumblebee Hoverfly courtesy Alan.

Still rather quiet

Sunny intervals and a light breeze, 20°, light WSW.

Fairly quiet over the past few days. Alan and I have been out and covered Lollingdon, The River, Bunk Line, and The Lees etc.

The weekend had a good passage of Swallow, House Martin and Swift but this seems to have petered out over the last few days to just a trickle.

Good numbers of Chiffchaff, Common Whitethroat and Blackcap still around in most locations but Sedge and Reed Warbler appear to have mostly gone.

Little Owl heard and seen out at Lollingdon and a Collared Dove (pretty scarce for some reason out there).

Mammals: Brown Hare & Roe Deer.

Dragonflies: Brown Hawker, Southern Hawker, Migrant Hawker (found by Alan), Emperor & Common Darter.

Butterflies: fewer in number. Brimstone, Large White, Small White, Small Copper, Brown Argus, Common Blue, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Comma, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper & Meadow Brown.

Painted Lady & Meadow Brown

Southern Hawker

Brown Hare courtesy Alan

Getting Warmer

Cloudy, 16°, light SSW.

A milder day today with some sunny spells pm.

A lot more insects in the air (mainly St Mark’s Fly) now hence a good number of Swallow noted (20-30). So hopefully we will see our local House Martin and Swift over the village soon.

The Bunk line was relatively quiet, 2 Egyptian Geese in a field near CSW and a Sedge Warbler still singing along Green Lane.

2 Herring Gull and 5+ Black-headed Gull still in the vicinity of CSW.

A single Wheatear on Lollingdon Hill today. Per Michael Pocock.

Alan found another Lesser Whitethroat near Bow Bridge today and Tony Rayner had one singing in his meadow this morning.

Also the following on the Marsh: Several Swift and Swallow, Common Whitethroat, Reed Bunting, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Cetti’s Warbler, Blackcap, Garden Warbler etc.

Butterflies: Brimstone, Orange Tip, Holly Blue, Speckled Wood and Tony Rayner has seen a Small Copper today and recently has seen Large White and Small White locally.

And a Brimstone Moth.

Lesser Whitethroat courtesy Alan

Wheatear (from Friday) ↕

Yellow Wagtail

Chiffchaff & Stonechat

Sunshine again then clouding over, 22°, light SSW.

Is this going to be the last day of summer with autumn forecast to start?

Alan found a Stonechat along the Bunk line this morning which I soon caught up with. Seen close to the junction of Green Lane.

A small flock of c10 Yellowhammer present, several Chiffchaff and a single Blackcap.

Overhead a few small flocks of Swallow and House Martin and several each of Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail and Skylark.

A couple of Jay heard and a couple of vocal Buzzard.

Dragonflies: Southern Hawker and Common Darter.

Butterflies: Again several Large and Small White, a Small Copper, 2 Red Admiral and a Speckled Wood.

Chiffchaff ↕

Stonechat ↕

Todays Insects

 A few Insects from today

Small Copper

Brindled Green (courtesy Tony Rayner)

Southern Hawker (courtesy Alan)

Large Ranunculus (courtesy Tony Rayner)

Insects & Redstarts

Some insects and the Redstarts from Alan today.

All photos courtesy Alan Dawson.

 Black & Yellow Longhorn Beetle

 Brassy Longhorn Beetle

 Common Darter

Thick-headed Fly

Small Copper

 Common Redstart ↕

Small Copper & Large Red Damsel

Another sunny day, 20°, light ENE.

A couple of firsts for the year. 

First Small Copper of the year in Cholsey (apparently the first record this year in Berks, Bucks & Oxon. per TR) and a Sedge Warbler and Tawny Owl in TR’s garden yesterday, 21st.

A Sedge Warbler heard singing along the brook in Whitehead meadow early this morning but not since.

First Dragonfly seen by Alan today in Cholsey. A Large Red Damselfly.

Small Copper (TR)

Large Red Damselfly (AD)

Swallow (AD)

Speckled Wood (AD)

Wheatear & Stonechats

Sunny, 20°, light NNE.

The first Stonechat of the autumn on the hill today but disappeared down the NW side of the hill, a Wheatear also present for a brief time. A Blackcap and several Chiffchaff, 2 Reed Bunting and 3 Yellowhammer also on the hill and a few Meadow Pipit overhead.

A single Swallow flew south over the hill and a single House Martin over Church road.

Another Stonechat found by Alan this afternoon along the Lollingdon track.

2 Herring Gull with a flock of Lesser Blackback Gull in a nearby field and still 100’s of Gulls around the pig fields along with many Corvids and a few small flocks of Starling.

Dragonflies: Common Darter.

Butterflies: Large White, Small White, Red Admiral, Comma & Speckled Wood and a Small Copper found by Alan.

Wheatear

Stonechat (courtesy Alan)

Wheatear

Small Copper (courtesy Alan)

Butterflies

Green Hairstreak and Small Copper butterflies today. Courtesy Alan Dawson.