May ends on a quiet note

Cloudy day, 14°, breezy N.

A fairly quiet day and a little cooler.

Good news with 2 well grown young Lapwing noted. Second year running that Lapwing has bred locally and hopefully a few more young to be noted.

The River, Bunk and Lollingdon all pretty static at the moment and very few insects on the wing today.

2 Little Egret noted by Alan and c30 House Martin feeding over CSW.

Mammals: Brown Hare.

Brown Hare

Teneral Black-tailed Skimmer courtesy Alan. earlier in week

Large Skipper (yesterday) courtesy Alan

White-legged Damselfly (yesterday) courtesy Alan

A bit samey

A sunshiny day, 20°, light NNE.

A bit samey out there at the moment with most birds settling into their breeding cycles.

A good number of Swift around the top end of Papist way and Cholsey Meadows plus some House Martin. Also 4 Swift regularly over the Station Road area.

Negative for any Swift and House Martin along Church Road and one of the Swift nest boxes has been usurped by a pair of Blue Tit who appear to be feeding young.

Also negative for Cuckoo and Bullfinch in the parish so far this year!

A Hobby seen over Honey Lane flying east. Per MFJ.

Little Owl seen out at Lollingdon, first time in a while.

Mammals: Brown Hare.

Dragonflies: Beautiful Demoiselle (up until 2020 this Demoiselle was very rare in the parish and so far this year they are as common as Banded Demoiselle), White-legged Damselfly, Clubtail etc.

Butterflies: Brimstone, Small White, Green-veined White, Orange Tip, Common Blue, Red Admiral, Peacock & Speckled Wood.

Insects: Dotted Bee-fly.

Prospecting House Martins courtesy Alan ↕

White-legged Damselfly courtesy Alan

Quiet times locally

Mainly cloudy, 14°, light N.

Have not got out much this week but Alan has been out most days.

Little change birdwise as most if not all our summer visitors are in now.

A few Gulls still hanging around with 2 Herring Gull, up to 10 Black-headed Gull and the odd Lesser Blackback Gull.

Alan added a few new insects for the year, Common Blue Damselfly, White-legged Damselfly, Broad-bodied Chaser and Blue Emperor.

All Dragons courtesy Alan Dawson  

A little of everything

Sunshine, 24°, light SW.

Bunk line: First young Swallow seen on the wing today, the Lesser Whitethroat still singing Green lane and 2 Herring Gull and 2 Black-headed Gull feeding in the same field, a couple of Yellow Wagtail etc.

River: Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Lesser Whitethroat, Kingfisher etc.

Dragonflies: Banded Demoiselle, White-legged Damselfly, Blue-tailed Damselfly, Red-eyed Damselfly, Large Red Damselfly, Azure Damselfly & Emperor Dragonfly (nfy).

Butterflies: Dingy Skipper (yesterday), Brimstone, Large White, Small White, Orange Tip, Common Blue, Small Blue, Red Admiral, Peacock & Small Heath.

One of the young Swallows

Dingy Skipper

Kestrel with prey courtesy Alan

White-legged Damselfly courtesy Alan

Small Blue courtesy Alan

Adult Jackdaw in the garden

Young Jackdaw in the garden

Some insects from the week end.

Some insects from the week end. Stag Beetle & Southern Hawker courtesy Andrew McBirnie and the White-legged Damsel, Blue-tailed Damsel, Comma and Ringlet courtesy Alan Dawson.

Quiet times

Mainly cloudy with a few sunny spells, 21°, light S.

A rather uneventful walk out to Lollingdon and back today. A Goldcrest singing along Cholsey brook and a flyover Yellow Wagtail at Little Lollingdon.

Nothing much changed.

Common Tern along the Thames today. Per Alan.

Mammals: Brown Hare and Roe Deer.

Dragonflies: Banded Demoiselle, White-legged Damselfly (Alan).

Butterflies: Large Skipper, Small Skipper (Alan), Brimstone, Large White, Small White, Small Tortoiseshell, Speckled Wood and Meadow Brown.

Moths: Cinnabar, Scarlet Tiger (Alan), both these moths being noted frequently.

Insects: Stag Beetle (Alan), a lot of records in Cholsey this year. Good news, and a Hornet Mimic Hoverfly out at Lollingdon.

Common Tern (courtesy Alan Dawson)

 Stag Beetle (courtesy Alan Dawson)

 Brown Hare (again, running away)

 Hornet Mimic Hoverfly

 Large Skipper (courtesy Andrew McBirnie)

Scarlet Tiger (courtesy Alan Dawson)

Lollingdon and the Thames

Mainly sunny, 15°, light NW.

A walk out to Lollingdon on a pleasant, sunny, May morning and not a lot going on out there.

Birdsong beginning to subside now, however, a few Common Whitethroat, a single Lesser Whitethroat and several Blackcap and Chiffchaff still singing well and a few Yellowhammer and Corn Bunting along with them.

A few Swift moving north over the hill.

Mammals: Brown Hare.

Butterflies: Small White, Orange Tip, Brown Argus, Common Blue and Speckled Wood.

Alan along the river:

Dragonflies: Banded Demoiselle, White-legged Damselfly, Common Blue Damselfly, Azure Damselfly and Broad-bodied Chaser.

Butterflies: Brimstone, Orange Tip, Small Blue, Brown Argus, Common Blue, Peacock, Marsh Fritillary and Small Heath.

Yellowhammer

Corn Bunting

White-legged Damselfly

White-legged Damselfly (male & female) courtesy Alan Dawson.