River

Mainly cloudy, 19°, breezy SW.

River area: Per Alan. Swallow, Swift, Yellow Wagtail family, Common Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Blackcap, Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Chiffchaff, Sparrowhawk and Reed Bunting.

Dragonflies: Emperor, Four-spotted Chaser, Black-tailed Skimmer, Broad-bodied Chaser, Common Blue Damselfly, Azure Damselfly, Blue-tailed Damselfly, Red-eyed Damselfly and Small Red-eyed Damselfly.

Butterflies: Marbled White, Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Small Heath, Common Blue, Small Skipper and Green-veined White.

Other Insects: Scarlet Tiger Moth and Roesel’s Bush-cricket.

Roesel's Bush Cricket

Four-spot Chaser

Marbled White

Scarlet Tiger

Yellow Wagtail

A breezy day

Sunny but windy, 14°, fresh NW.

A cool and breezy day and insects keeping to sheltered areas.

Subsequently quite a few Swift, Swallow and House Martin seen feeding very low over the fields and in the lee of trees and hedgerows.

Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler and Reed Bunting seen/heard from the ditches out by the Lees and several Skylarks battling the wind to perform their song flight. Also several Yellow Wagtail and a Corn Bunting.

A Chiffchaff foraging in the garden this afternoon.

Mammals: A Muntjac Deer in Whitehead Meadow.

Dragonflies: Hairy Dragonfly found by Alan.

Butterflies: 1 Large White, several Small Tortoiseshell and a Speckled Wood. Tony R has recorded Small Skipper and Marbled White in his garden today.

Moths: Waved Black.

Pyramid and Bee Orchids now in flower near Bow. Per TR. And a Hybrid Common Spotted/Early Marsh Orchid? out near the Lees.

 Hairy Dragonfly (courtesy Alan Dawson)

 Swallow

 Small Tortoiseshell

Waved Black (courtesy Tony Rayner)

More rain!

Overcast then rain, 17°, light SW.

Pretty quiet out today. A quick check on the Spotted Flycatchers before making my way out to Lollingdon.

A few Swift feeding around the hill and 3 Mistle Thrush present.

Chiffchaff, Yellowhammer and Corn Bunting still singing well, other species not so frequent.

Little Owl and Grey Heron nearby and another Grey Heron in the meadow this afternoon.

Mammals: Stoat carrying small prey.

Butterflies: a few each of Speckled Wood and Meadow Brown. Yesterday Marbled White, Large Skipper and Small Skipper (per Alan Dawson and Tony Rayner).

Moths: Cinnabar Moth, and a Garden Tiger recently (per Ed Munday).

Marbled White (Alan Dawson)

Scarlet Tiger (Ed Munday)

Grey Heron

Back on the Hill

Sunny, 22°, light SSW.

Back to the hill today and all is fairly quiet in the warm and sunny weather.

The usual Corn Bunting and Yellowhammer present.

4 Blackcap in song vying with each other on the north side of the hill and a couple of Whitethroat and Chiffchaff still singing.

A Jay also seen nearby, 2 Great-spotted Woodpecker and a Lesser Whitethroat heard again.

Nuthatch in the garden again this morning.

Dragonflies: 3 Emperor Dragonfly, several Azure Damselflies.

Butterflies: Small Skipper, Brimstone, Large White, Small White, Small Tortoiseshell, Speckled Wood, Red Admiral, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown.