Still a bit Chilly

Overcast, 2°, light S.

Still a bit chilly but most of the iced areas have melted.  

Bunk: 21 Yellowhammer, Bullfinch, Grey Wagtail, Goldcrest, 15 Fieldfare, 8 Redwing, 3 Song Thrush, 2 Mistle Thrush, usual large flock of Starling, Kestrel, a Grey Heron, 200+ Black-headed Gull, c50 Lesser Blackback Gull, 2 Herring Gull, etc.

Some of the 21 Yellowhammer

Long-tailed Tit

Robin

Fieldfare

Mistle Thrush

Alan was off to Henley road gravel pit today to see a male and redhead Smew. A rare visitor to Cholsey, the last was December 2010.

Little Egrets

A cloudy day, 15°, breezy ESE.

Alan took the long hike out by the lees and skirting Aston and back through Lollingdon. I just trekked out to Lollingdon and back.

When I walked out there was one Little Egret at Lollingdon but by the time Alan got there it had been joined by another two.

Between the Lees and Lollingdon, another? Little Egret, Kingfisher, Peregrine, Common Snipe, Reed Bunting, Redwing, Meadow Pipit and Skylark.

Lollingdon, 34 Yellowhammer noted with just over 20 leaving the hill and flying south, plus a Reed Bunting with them.

25+ Meadow Pipit, 60+ Skylark, 6 Pied Wagtail, 5 Fieldfare, 4 Song Thrush, 14 Blackbird, 2 Jay, a flyover Raven and a single Little Owl.

Bunk line later, 40+ Pied Wagtail, several Redwing and Fieldfare. Per Alan.

Dragonflies: Common Darter.

Little Egret courtesy Alan

Little Egret

Hard going

Cloudy with a few sunny spells and showers, 7°, fresh WSW.

It’s been hard work birding this week, wind, rain and very muddy underfoot with some of the areas very waterlogged.

Fortunately the garden has been very active with regular Nuthatch, Coal Tit, Treecreeper and Sparrowhawk amongst others.

Today I managed to come across a 2 Yellowhammer on Lollingdon hill, the first ones for a couple of months.

Apart from loads of Fieldfare and a few Redwing there was very little else around.

Mammals: Roe Deer.

Sunshiny day

Sunny, 24°, light WNW.

Somewhat quiet out there today, however a surprise of a Garden Warbler singing in the Bullshole area also nice to compare with a Blackcap singing nearby.

2 Little Owl out at Lollingdon getting a little agitated when a Buzzard settled in a tree nearby.

The Swallow family still in the area and actively feeding, just wonder if they will raise another brood?

Several Swift flocks moving around the area and again a few House Martin with them.

2 Green Woodpecker on the hill and roaming all over and up to 12 Yellowhammer in song on the walk out..

Still no Yellow Wagtail noted in the parish!

There are a new pair of Carrion Crow back in the vicinity, plus a youngster. They have not come into the garden yet (only the tree tops) but am sure they will consolidate a territory as the year progresses. They have already had an influence on the local Rook and Jackdaw population. They stay clear!

Mammals: Brown Hare and Short-tailed Vole.

Dragonflies: Azure Damselfly, Southern Hawker and Emperor.

Butterflies: Large Skipper, Brimstone, Large White, Small White, Red Admiral, Painted Lady (3), Speckled Wood, Marbled White, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown and Ringlet.

Moths: Cinnabar Moth and Scarlet Tiger.

 Blackbird taking our Gooseberries

 2 Little Owl (at distance)

Carrion Crow

Buntings are back

Foggy, slowly clearing, 10°, light SSE.

The fog cleared and the sun came out after I got back today. Typical!

The Buntings are back: after an absence of several weeks there were 2 Corn Bunting in song on the hill, a couple of Reed Bunting in song nearby and around 20 Yellowhammer back on territory with several in song.

Just the 1 Stonechat on the hill today, I am assuming the male has left to arrive on its breeding territory early to claim a prime spot?

Good numbers of Pied Wagtail and Meadow Pipit still out with the sheep and 12+ Red Kite on and around the hill.

Several good size flocks of Fieldfare and Redwing scattered around various fields.

Yellowhammers

Stonechat

Goldcrest (courtesy Alan Dawson)

Toad in the Hole

Sunny, 18º, light WNW

A very pleasant day and a late afternoon walk around Lollingdon hill.

At one point we were taking some photos of a Grey Heron when I could hear some squeaky calls coming from somewhere nearby but could not initially figure out where they were coming from. It then dawned on me that they were coming from a drain on the side of the track that we were standing by and the calls were being made by 2 or more Common Toads. I assume that they had wintered in the drainage system. Peering in to the drain you could make out at least 2 Toads but we could not get a photo, assuming also that they were quite at home in the dark hole we left them to it.

The hole with the Toads in!

Birdwise it was rather quiet but a few breeders were arriving back on the hill in the form of 4 singing Corn Bunting and 3 singing Yellowhammer, a Goldcrest on the north side, 10 Redwing flew from the trees nearby and at least 10 Fieldfare overhead.

There was a Buzzard soaring over the garden today and the 2 resident Red Kites were being hassled by the Rooks from the Rookery if they got too close, a ♀ Sparrowhawk flew over and a singing Coal Tit in the garden.

A lot of Small Tortoiseshell and Brimstone butterflies seen today.

A couple seen walking on the top of the hill were challenged today. The woman told us she had a camera and that she worked for Aston Tirrold council, implying that they were on council business. She said that she assumed that there was open access to the hill. I would think working for the council one would be familiar with access rights and the fact they probably scaled a barbed wire fence or locked closed gate to gain access would suggest they knew that it was not open access! We have passed on details to the farmer.

 Yellowhammer

 Grey Heron

Full Moon 16th March 2014

Cholsey Marsh at dusk. 7th Dec

Sunny spells. 7º, fresh to strong WSW.

Approximately 50 Corn Buntings coming in to roost, also 12 Reed Buntings and 2 Yellowhammer.

Good numbers of Corvids and Winter Thrushes flying over heading to their own roost sites elsewhere.

A Kingfisher seen flying upstream and 50+ Canada Geese grazing on a nearby field.

Have heard some disturbing evidence of illegal hunting going on at or near the marsh, if anyone sees anything like this going on or any disturbance please contact the police!

On Sunday a Raven was seen flying from the area of Goldfinch Lane where it caused the resident Crows some grief before it flew off directly over Cholsey Church where a service was taking place. (per Tony Rayner)

How to report animal crime

• Call 999 in an emergency. It is an emergency when: a crime is being committed, there is a risk of injury, or there is a risk of serious damage to property.
• If a crime has already happened or you want to give information to the police, call 101. This is the 24-hour Thames Valley Police non-emergency number.
• If you do not want to speak to police or give your name, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

·       Important points to remember

·       The vast majority of animal crime offenders are not local. They often travel some distance to commit their crimes in rural areas.

·       Pay attention to people who you are unfamiliar with or suspicious of. Make a note of their appearance and the details of any vehicles that they are using. If you can, note registration numbers, any damage to the vehicle or other distinctive features.

·       Travelling criminals sometimes use hire cars. If possible, make a note of any hire company details. All of this information can be a great help to police if there is an incident in your area.

Lollingdon Hill.

Overcast, 12º, Fresh WNW.

A flock of Buntings on the west side of the hill, feeding in a field of stubble comprised 22 Corn Bunting and 17 Yellowhammer, a handful of Greenfinch, Chaffinch and Goldfinch with them.

A steady stream of Gulls and Corvids flying over, heading towards the downland to the south, Rooks, Jackdaws and Lesser Blackback Gulls and in addition, a Raven flew over heading north, heard calling initially. Another large corvid flew over in the same direction about a minute after and may have been a second one but did not get a good view of it.

Around 20 Skylarks also seen in the vicinity, as well as 4 Stock Doves, 2 Buzzards and 2 Kestrels.

A Red Admiral in the meadow this afternoon.

                                    Corn Buntings

                                  Apologies for the photo quality

Rain stops play!

Light to heavy rain, the odd sunny spell, 14º, light to fresh W.

After around 16 hours of rain and the odd thunderstorm, I managed to get out this evening for a few hours before the next lot of rain arrived.

Just a trip to Lollingdon Hill, did not produce much except for 9 Linnets and 12+ Yellowhammers.

Again a lot of corvids around, Rooks (100+), Jackdaws (30+) and the odd Carrion Crow and 100+ Gulls seen distantly on Cholsey Downs.

A couple of Chiffchaffs around the garden and a single Willow Warbler.

First 4 pics are Yellowhammers, last pic is of the sun glinting off a carpet of cobwebs on manure heaps.