Nothing too exciting

An overcast day, dull, 6°, light NE.

A little milder and flood waters receding. Both out in the Bunk line area today.

3 Mute Swan still on the flood along with the usual Gulls plus c50 Pied Wagtail. 4 Shoveler, 10 Tufted Duck and c50 Canada Geese noted.

Several hundred Fieldfare, Redwing and Starling present in the area plus Chiffchaff, c7 Siskin, 5 Yellowhammer, a Reed Bunting, 3 Raven and a single Lapwing.

Forgot to mention, yesterday Alan found a Stonechat out at Lollingdon.

Pied Wagtail on ice

2 of the 3 Mute Swan, a pair with the male on the right

some of the many Fieldfare present

Reed Bunting

Bunk

Sunny spells, 12°, light S.

Bunk line covered twice today, Alan, a.m. and myself p.m. Alan also covered the River and Lollingdon but both somewhat quiet.

The Gravel pit hosted 2 Little Ring Plover, 6 Tufted Duck, 2 Teal, 3 Mallard, 2 Herring Gull and a Swallow dropped in for a drink and continued north.

Bunk Line, Little Owl, 14 Lesser Blackback Gull, 2 Black-headed Gull, 6 Fieldfare, 2 Redwing, several Yellowhammer, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Linnet etc.

Sparrowhawk almost took a Blackbird in the garden this morning but not quite quick enough.

Butterflies: Brimstone, Peacock and Small Tortoiseshell.

3 Little Ringed Plover from yesterday courtesy Alan

Herring Gull courtesy Alan

Tufted Duck (M&F)

Bunk & Lollingdon

Misty at first then clouding over, 16°, light ENE.

Alan up at Silly Bridge early with a few Corn Bunting and Skylark.

Later along the Bunk line and Gravel Pit. 2 Shoveler and 4 Tufted Duck present on the pit.

And 100+ Fieldfare along the Bunk, plus a Little Owl, 2 Herring Gull, 40’ish Golden Plover, a Grey Wagtail and several Chiffchaff.

I trekked out to Lollingdon. The flooded field, now almost dry had a flock of 40+ Meadow Pipit and a few Pied Wagtail feeding.

The Hill was fairly quiet other than 100+ Fieldfare that flew over in a couple of flocks.

Nearby, a handful of Redwing, more Fieldfare, 2 Little Owl, several Corn Bunting, Reed Bunting and Yellowhammer.

Sparrowhawk and Wren in the garden today. The Wren is regular and the Hawk an opportunistic visitor.

Mammals: Brown Hare and Roe Deer.

Butterflies: Brimstone and Peacock.

A Wren systematically searching the garden pots for prey

Pied Wagtail

Reed Bunting

Roe Deer courtesy Alan

LRP

Sunny periods, 12°, light WSW.

The Gravel pit hosted our first Little Ringed Plover of the year today, along with a Green Sandpiper, 5 Tufted Duck, a Mute Swan and Little Grebe.

Elsewhere along the Bunk Line, Little Owl, 2+ Chiffchaff, 2 Reed Bunting, 15+ Yellowhammer, several Meadow Pipit and Skylark and a handful of Fieldfare and Redwing. (PC & AD).

c100 Gulls loafing in a field, mainly Black-headed Gull, c30 Lesser Blackback Gull and a Herring Gull.

Little Ringed Plover courtesy Alan

Little Ringed Plover      

Lesser Blackback Gull

Black-headed Gull

Ducks and stuff

Cloudy, 7°, light NNW.

Both out at different times along the Bunk line area.

The Gravel pit had 3 Tufted Duck, 2 Shovelor Duck, 2 Little Grebe, 2 Mallard and a Green Sandpiper, 2 Herring Gull, a handful of Black-headed Gull and Lesser Blackback Gull.

Worth keeping an eye on this area over the next few months for migrating Waders and Terns etc.

Elsewhere along the Bunk, a Chiffchaff, Little Owl, a Kestrel, 2 more Herring Gull plus good numbers of Fieldfare and Redwing.

Distantly a field on Cholsey hill was being ploughed and had in excess of 500 birds present incl Lesser Blackback Gull, Black-headed Gull, Rook and Jackdaw and the odd Red Kite patrolling.

Mammals: Roe Deer.

Tufted Duck (photos from previous encounters)  

Buntings

Light cloud, 10°, light SE.

Another generally quiet day. Bunk line and Gravel pit area turned up c300 Lesser Blackback Gull, 2 Tufted Duck, Green Sandpiper and a Little Grebe.

The River/Marsh: Cetti’s Warbler, Stonechat, Reed Bunting, Fieldfare, Redwing and Yellowhammer.

Cholsey Hill: c45 Golden Plover, Skylark and Corn Bunting. Per Alan.

Lollingdon was somewhat quiet apart from large numbers of Fieldfare and Redwing in the treetops chattering away presumably preparing to move on.

2 Bullfinch on Lollingdon hill and the odd Skylark, Corn Bunting and Yellowhammer.

Nearby a flock of 24 Corn Bunting flew west and several more Yellowhammer and a couple of Reed Bunting.

All 3 Bunting species heard in song today.

Mammals: Brown Hare & Roe Deer.

Reed Bunting

Corn Bunting courtesy Alan

Corn Bunting

Yellowhammer

Thames & Bunk

Overcast, 11°, light S.

Cholsey Meadows/River and Bunk line covered today.

Initially Alan along the river area, Cetti’s Warbler, Kingfisher, Reed Bunting, Greenfinch, Stonechat and Meadow Pipit.

Then up to the gravel pit where a Little Grebe, 2 pair of Tufted Duck and a pair of Shovelor.

I covered the Bunk/Green Lane area. Large mixed flock of Fieldfare (c200), Redwing (c80) and c 100 Starling.

Another flock of Fieldfare and Redwing near Green Lane totalling a couple of hundred birds.

C120 Black-headed Gull at CSW and 80+ Lesser Blackback Gull towards the gravel pit and 2 Herring Gull between.

A small flock of 22 Skylark, 42 Lapwing, c 80 Linnet, 60+ Chaffinch and 2 Brambling, several Yellowhammer and 3 Reed Bunting.

Mammals: Roe Deer.

Shovelor courtesy Alan

Reed Bunting 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 ↕

Milder at last!

Sunny intervals, 12°, light NNE.

The male Common Redstart still present on Lollingdon Hill along with a single Wheatear, 2 Kestrel, at least 3 Corn Bunting singing, 2 Blackcap and a couple of Yellowhammer.

A Little Owl and 2 Redwing present nearby and a single Swallow overhead.

A Willow Warbler singing near the Bullshole.  

Alan reports the usual stuff on the Marsh and a few Swallow moving thru and our first Common Whitethroat of the year.

2 Tufted Duck on the gravel pit yesterday . Per Alan.

Butterflies: a few on the wing today, Brimstone, Orange Tip, Peacock and Comma.

Kestrel

Wheatear

Sedge Warbler courtesy Alan ↕

Common Redstart

Tuftie

Sunny, 24°, light S.

A Tufted Duck on the river today and a scarce bird in Cholsey as they are usually present on lakes, reservoirs etc. Per Alan.

Otherwise all the usual suspects present birdwise.

Also Alan reports more butterflies on the wing today with: Brimstone, Orange Tip, Small Blue, Common Blue, Marsh Fritillary and Speckled Wood. 

Tufted Duck f (courtesy Alan)

We have a pair of Stock Dove breeding in the garden this year and it has been interesting in observing the dynamics between the Doves and the Wood Pigeons.

Up to about a month ago the Doves were quite subservient to the Pigeons and were often quite bullied.

Since they started nesting the Doves have become more aggressive and are now chasing off the Wood Pigeons even though they are a smaller bird.

 Stock Dove

Wood Pigeon

a few photos from yesterday by Alan.

 Common Blue Damselfly

 Swollen-thigh Beetle

 Blue Emperor

Red-eyed Damselfly