Hirundines, Geese and a Whinchat

Cloudy with rain showers, 20°, breezy SSW.

A better day than expected, waited until the rain cleared and went out along the Bunk line.

Initially I could see rain a few kilometres to the east and west of me and Hirundines were passing overhead in some numbers. The birds appeared to be channelled through a gap in the rain. After around an hour the rain to the west cleared and the numbers dropped but overall, I estimate 600+ Hirundines passed through with both Swallow and House Martin in roughly equal numbers.

Walked out in the garden around 18:00 to be greeted by 30+ Swallow and a handful of House Martin passing overhead.

Approx. 250 Starling in and around CSW along with several Gull species.

I only made it to green lane and on the walk was a Whinchat, a Willow Warbler, 9 Chiffchaff, 3 Blackcap, 2 Yellow Wagtail, 6 Yellowhammer, a Grey Heron and a Kestrel and a Spotted Flycatcher by the church.

c120 Canada Geese flew from the gravel pit area towards Cholsey Hill. As Loren drove back home this evening she saw the Geese on Cholsey Hill and took some pics and a video. Probably around 200 Geese of 3 species.

Mammals: Roe Deer.

Butterflies: a couple of Whites and singles of Clouded Yellow, Common Blue, Red Admiral and Painted Lady.

Bunk

Sunny, 23°, breezy SW.

Bunk line: A Spotted Flycatcher in the small wood near the gravel pit and 5 Yellow Wagtail with the cattle near Church Road.

The gravel pit was quite busy with heavy machinery and around 200 Canada Geese and 20+ Greylag all congregating on one side of the pit and a lone Coot with them.

Approx. 200 Lesser Black-back Gull flushed from the pit and flew off towards Cholsey Hill.

100+ Black-headed Gull at CSW along with 2 Herring Gull.

A flock of c50 Goldfinch feeding on thistle heads along one of the field margins, 6 Yellowhammer, several Chiffchaff and a Blackcap.

Dragonflies: Migrant Hawker and Common Darter.

Butterflies: numbers down. Large White, Small White, Red Admiral, Meadow Brown and Small Heath.

A Moth and a couple of Shieldbug in garden.

Yellowhammer

Flounced Rustic

Hairy Shieldbug

Red-legged Shieldbug

A better day

Mainly cloudy, 14°, light SW.

The highlight of the day was a Turtle Dove that arrived off the sea and spent some time moving around the bill area before departing.

An intermittent sea-watch produced: 2 Pomarine Skua, 2 Arctic Skua, 3 Red-throated Diver, 6 Common Scoter, 10 Mediterranean Gull, 6 Common Gull and 3 Manx Shearwater etc.

The land was more varied in species if not numbers: 5 Chiffchaff, 3 Willow Warbler, a Garden Warbler, Blackcap, 8 Common Whitethroat, 2 Lesser Whitethroat, a Reed Warbler, Spotted Flycatcher, 2 Common Redstart, a Whinchat, Stonechat, 4 Wheatear, 3 Yellow Wagtail, a White Wagtail and c30 Swallow.

Dragonflies: Broad-bodied Chaser.

Butterflies: Large White, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Speckled Wood and Wall Brown.

A wet one

Variable cloud and heavy showers, 16°, light to moderate S.

A trip out to Lollingdon and birding in between the rain showers.

Managed to cover most of the hill area: a Spotted Flycatcher, a Lesser Whitethroat, Blackcap, 6 Chiffchaff, 3 Yellow Wagtail overhead, 2 Wheatear, 2 Stonechat, a Whinchat, Raven etc and c50 Swallow and 6 House Martin over.

A few Geese flying over the garden early evening, 20+ Canada, 20+ Greylag and at least 1 Egyptian Goose.

Moths: Hummingbird Hawkmoth in garden.

Home & Away

Cloudy with a thunder storm mid-morning, 21°, light ESE.

Our final day at the Obs for this autumn and left around midday. A sea-watch early morning and then packing up to come home with a bit of birding in between.

2 Arctic Skua, a Red-throated Diver, c30 Balearic Shearwater, 2 Manx Shearwater, 3 Common Scoter, 2 Oystercatcher and c15 “Commic” Tern.

VizMig: c50 Yellow Wagtail, 5 Grey Wagtail, 10+ Swallow, 6 Sand Martin, 4 House Martin, a Swift, 4 Meadow Pipit, a Tree Pipit, plus 2 Sparrowhawk, a Chiffchaff, 4 Willow Warbler, 2 Wheatear and a Blackcap.

Dragonflies: Common Darter.

Butterflies: Red Admiral and Wall Brown.

Moths: Striped Hawkmoth, Convolvulus Hawkmoth, Hummingbird Hawkmoth, a Scar Bank Gem and a Latticed Heath.

A catchup from Tony Williams whilst I’ve been away.

Lollingdon Hill: 250+ Swallow and House Martin over.

Bunk area: Spotted Flycatcher, Lesser Whitethroat, Common Whitethroat, several Blackcap, and 4+ Chiffchaff.

5 House Martin, 3 Swift and a skein of c50 Canada Geese over Church Road this evening.

Sunrise

Convolvulus Hawkmoth

Latticed Heath courtesy John Lucas

Scar Bank Gem courtesy John Lucas

Tonight's partial Lunar Eclipse 

Not a lot

Sunny spells, 19°, fresh SSW.

VisMig was non-existent today with virtually nothing smaller than a Starling moving due to the constant wind.

On land very few birds found: 4 Willow Warbler, 1 Chiffchaff, 3 Common Whitethroat, 1 Spotted Flycatcher and a single Swallow over late evening.

Sea-watch: 4 Arctic Skua, 15 Balearic Shearwater, 4 Manx Shearwater, 12+ Kittiwake, 4 Sandwich Tern, 3 Fulmar, 4 Cormorant and many Gannet.

Dragonflies: Common Darter.

Butterflies: Small White, Red Admiral, Speckled Wood and Meadow Brown.

Moths: several Hummingbird Hawkmoth around the Obs garden.

Slightly better

Sunny spells, 20°, fresh WNW.

A slightly better day but passerine migration at a minimum.

4 Willow Warbler, a Blackcap, a Spotted Flycatcher, a Pied Flycatcher, 2 Yellow Wagtail, 18 Swallow, 4 Sand Martin and a Sparrowhawk.

The sea was not much better, with singles of Arctic Skua, Common Scoter, 2 Common Tern, 6 Sandwich Tern, 8 Fulmar and 50+ Kittiwake etc.

Dragonflies: Southern Hawker and Common Darter.

Butterflies: Large White, Small White, Common Blue, Small Tortoiseshell, Red Admiral, Speckled Wood and Meadow Brown.

Moths: 3 Hawkmoths, same as yesterday.

Bunk

Overcast with light cloud, 23°, breezy NNW.

Bunk area:

Marsh Harrier seen over Cholsey Hill, Gull numbers on the increase with c50 Black-headed Gull, c30 Lesser Blackback Gull and a couple of Herring Gull.

5 Chiffchaff, 4 Blackcap, a Common Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, 1 pos 2 Spotted Flycatcher, a Yellow Wagtail, 4 Mistle Thrush, 15 Swallow, 8 House Martin, 3 Sand Martin, 20+ Swift and a Sparrowhawk.

Dragonflies: Common Blue Damsel and a Brown Hawker.

Butterflies: Large White, Small White, Common Blue, Red Admiral, Comma, Peacock, Speckled Wood, Gatekeeper and Meadow Brown.

Portland 7th May

Sunny spells, 14°, light NE veering SE.

Our last day on Portland this spring. Very slow going this year as the weather was not conducive for visible migration.

Having said that, a change of scenery and birds was welcome, plus we got to meet some friends from previous visits which made for a good social atmosphere.

A phenomena seen today was a halo around the sun that had everyone looking and thanks to Loren for taking a few photos.

Anyway back to the birds etc: the day was broken up between packing and watching so sporadic sightings were in order: a Red-throated Diver and 2 Arctic Skua on the sea. 2 Spotted Flycatcher, 2 Lesser Whitethroat, a Chiffchaff, a Willow Warbler, a Blackcap, c50 Swallow and a Hobby all noted either in or from the garden.

A sun halo over the observatory ↕

Spotted Flycatcher

Cooler & Windier, with a few birds turning up

Sunny periods, 14°, breezy NE.

Another slow day with few migrants noted, windier and colder than of late.

The pick of an intermittent sea watch produced 20+ Manx Shearwater, a Great Northern Diver, an Arctic Skua and 7 Whimbrel.

Elsewhere: a Chiffchaff, 3 Willow Warbler, a Garden Warbler, a Sedge Warbler, a Reed Warbler, 2 Common Whitethroat, 2 Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Spotted Flycatcher, a Pied Flycatcher, 2 Yellow Wagtail, a Wheatear, Stonechat, c50 Swallow, 1 House Martin and a Swift.

Butterflies: Orange Tip, Green-veined White, Painted Lady, Red Admiral and Wall Brown.

Moths: A Striped Hawk Moth and a Sycamore.

Spotted Flycatcher

Striped Hawk Moth

Sycamore

A poor day for some

Foggy at first then sunshine, 16°, light SW.

A sea watch was out of the question until after 09:00 as the fog had blown in overnight and made viewing conditions impossible. Even when it lifted there was very little noted other than a Red-throated Diver and 3-4 Whimbrel.

Elsewhere was just as poor although singles of Spotted Flycatcher and Pied Flycatcher was slightly uplifting and a supporting cast of 5 Swallow, 2 Lesser Whitethroat, 5 Common Whitethroat and 2 Wheatear made for a very poor day list.

On the other hand, insects were abundant in the warm sunshine.

Dragonflies: Broad-bodied Chaser.

Butterflies: Small White, Green-veined White, Orange Tip, Holly Blue, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Wall Brown and Speckled Wood.

Moths: a couple from the traps: Blairs Mocha and Beautiful Marbled.

Still, we enjoyed the sunny weather.

Portland: Day 10.

Sunny, 18°, light NE.

An on/off sea watch today and a little less walking.

5 Manx Shearwater, 2 Balearic Shearwater, 1 Arctic Skua, 100+ Kittiwake, 15 Knot, 3 Wigeon, 10+ Auk, many Gannet etc.

2 Buzzard, Marsh Harrier, 2 Sparrowhawk, a Short-eared Owl, a Little Owl, 300+ Swallow, 100+ House Martin, 30+ Sand Martin, 25 Yellow Wagtail, 12 Grey Wagtail, 19 “alba” Wagtail, c200 Meadow Pipit, 3 Tree Pipit, 20+ Chiffchaff, 1 Willow Warbler, 1 Sedge Warbler, 2 Blackcap, 1 Common Redstart, 1 Whinchat, 3 Stonechat, 1 Spotted Flycatcher and 1 Pied Flycatcher, etc.

Dragonflies: Migrant Hawker & Common Darter.

Butterflies: fewer numbers of both Whites, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Small Tortoiseshell, Speckled Wood and Small Heath.

Many Blue-fin Tuna still feeding offshore.

Sunrise

Portland: Day 9.

A cloudy start then clearing, 18°, light SW.

A cloudy and damp start to the day looked very promising but it soon fizzled out to be followed by glorious sunshine for the rest of the day which made for hard work in finding birds.

However, an improvement on the last few days.

The long staying Marsh Harrier, a Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Little Owl, 8 Yellow Wagtail, 6 Grey Wagtail, 60+ Meadow Pipit, 6 Tree Pipit, 2 Skylark, c35 Swallow, 5 House Martin, 4 Sand Martin, 2 Whinchat, 5 Stonechat, a Sedge Warbler, a Common Whitethroat, 6 Blackcap, 3 Willow Warbler, c25 Chiffchaff, a Pied Flycatcher and a Spotted Flycatcher.

A brief look at the sea when someone called: 3 Common Scoter but no prolonged sea watch.

Approx. 17:00 we noticed hundreds of Gull feeding high in the air just off the east cliffs. Flying Ants were the prey and swarming in 1000’s. Most of the Gulls noted were Mediterranean Gull (150+).

Dragonflies: Migrant Hawker and Common Darter.

Butterflies: Large and Small White, Common Blue, Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Small Tortoiseshell, Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown and Small Heath.

A couple of interesting Moths: Gold Spot and Beautiful Gothic.

Plus, a Sexton Beetle and a Black Slip Wasp.

All captive insects safely released.

some photos courtesy Loren.

Pied Flycatcher

Chiffchaff

Raven

Starlings on the lighthouse

Little Owl

Beautiful Gothic

Black Slip Wasp

A smattering of migrants

Sunny spells, 20°, breezy WSW.

Alan out at Lollingdon and Cholsey Downs today: 3 Spotted Flycatcher, Nuthatch, Bullfinch, Kingfisher, Stonechat and Whinchat etc.

I covered the Bunk area: 60+ Swallow, 20-30 House Martin, 5 Blackcap, 1 Common Redstart, 1 Common Whitethroat, 10+ Chiffchaff, a Raven, 8 Pied Wagtail, 3 Yellowhammer, 40+ Linnet, 4 Mistle Thrush, etc.

Tawny Owl in garden @ 21:40.  

Dragonflies: Common Blue Damsel and Southern Hawker.

Butterflies: Large White, Small White, Red Admiral, Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown and Small Heath.

Whinchat courtesy Alan.

Long-tailed Tit

A couple of Redstart

Overcast, 20°, breezy SW.

Lollingdon & Bunk: A female type Common Redstart on the hill this morning and Alan found a male on there this afternoon.

A good numbers of Swallow moving through with 50+ in one flock and several more in smaller groups.

Richard Broughton had 3 Spotted Flycatcher out at Lollingdon earlier but not relocated later plus 5 Swift over the Lees early evening..

Elsewhere, 30+ Swallow, a few House Martin, 3 Blackcap, 2 Common Whitethroat, several Chiffchaff, a single Yellow Wagtail and a Little Owl.

Dragonflies: a single Common Darter and Banded Demoiselle.

Butterflies: several Large and Small White, a Red Admiral, several Speckled Wood, Meadow Brown and Gatekeeper.

Redstart ↕. female type above and male below. Male courtesy Alan

Swallow ↕

Red Admiral