Dull weather but a few birds

Overcast, 12°, very light WSW.

A dull day and approx. 4 hours spent along the Bunk line/Green lane area today and Tony W present for a time.

A lot of Gulls initially this morning fanning out on the farm land, mainly Black-headed Gull with several Lesser Blackback Gull.

A surprise of the day was a Ringed Plover that flew from the vicinity of the sewage works and headed north east.

A lot of Thrushes along Green lane with approx. 100 Redwing and 40-50 Fieldfare plus quite a few Blackbird and several Song Thrush.

The usual flock of c100 Meadow Pipit and several Yellowhammer and Reed Bunting present and several small Starling flock feeding in nearby fields.

2 Green Woodpecker also seen along with a couple of Chiffchaff (1 in song).

On the walk back, found another Stonechat!

A small flock of Siskin with Goldfinch feeding on Alder trees along the river. Per TW.

A single butterfly seen today and that was a Small White on the allotments.

Stonechat

Starlings

Green Woodpecker

Meadow Pipit

Shaggy Inkcap ↕ the one below I believe is a mature version of the one above.

Goldcrest at Cholsey Marsh courtesy Alan Dawson

Moths

 A few Moths from Tony Rayner's moth trap overnight.

Feathered Thorn

Large Ranunculus

Mallow

Ravens

Overcast, 12°, light N.

Bunk line very quiet today, a single Chiffchaff, the usual flock of Meadow Pipit and a scattering of Yellowhammer and Reed Bunting.

Approx. 50 Redwing and 10 Fieldfare Green lane.

2 Raven flew north and shortly after a singleton flew south. 2 Sparrowhawk on the hunt and a Kestrel.

Little Grebe still present on gravel workings. Paer Alan. What is it feeding on? Must be insects? Are fish present yet?

A distant shot of the 2 Raven. The upper bird showing the classic profile.

Quiet days

Sunny at first then clouding over, 12°, light NE.

A somewhat quiet day today. A Stonechat still present on Lollingdon hill and over a 2 hour period 60+ Fieldfare, 5 Redwing and 6 Song Thrush and 80+ Starling moving thru.

Nearby, 4 Chiffchaff, several Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting and 22 Corn Bunting (incl a flock of 17), 50+ Meadow Pipit.

Notable today was the number of Skylark moving around with well over 100 seen.

6 Mistle Thrush and 2 Pied Wagtail around the church area.

Mammals: Brown Hare.

Dragonflies: several Common Darter.

Butterflies: 1 Large White, 4 Small White and 1 Brimstone. 

Some of the Mistle Thrush around the church.

Bunk line and the Lees

Sunny spells, 12°, breezy NNE.

Out along the Bunk line/Green lane today and Alan out beyond the Lees.

2 Stonechat out by the Long ditch near the Lees. And a ringed Dunnock. From what I can make out from the series of shots Alan took the ring bears the writing: TL322986, London Museum SW7. Wonder if this bird is local or from further afield?

10 Egyptian Geese flew south east over the Bunk line and approx. 50 Fieldfare and 60+ Redwing along Green lane feeding on the Hawthorns.

3 Chiffchaff and a Blackcap also seen there.

Dragonflies: 2 Common Darter.

Butterflies: 2 Small White.

Redwing

Chiffchaff

Dunnock

A little less busy

Light cloud, 13°, moderate NE.

Both Tony W and myself out at Lollingdon today and Alan out along the Bunk line.

A Stonechat present on Lollingdon hill along one of the farm tracks and a small flock of c40 Fieldfare on the hill and a single Mistle Thrush.

At 11:40 a flock of approx. 200 Fieldfare passed overhead and flew towards Aston.

Only a handful of Redwing seen, 4 Chiffchaff, c50 Meadow Pipit, several Yellowhammer and a couple of Reed Bunting present and a slight increase in Song Thrush numbers.

A couple of Jay seen frequently over the last week flying off with acorns from the Oak trees out at Lollingdon.

Up to 40 Yellowhammer, several Reed Bunting and 2 Corn Bunting scattered around the Little Lollingdon area.

The Little Grebe still present on the new gravel workings and 25 Fieldfare and 30 ‘ish Redwing along the Bunk line and a Nuthatch Caps Lane area.

1 possibly 2 Common Snipe near Silly bridge. Per Michael Pocock.

Mammals: Red Fox.

Dragonflies: a single Common Darter.

Butterflies: a few Whites on the wing and a single Speckled Wood and Alan saw a single Common Blue.

All pics today courtesy Alan.

Chiffchaff

Red Fox

Common Blue

A Fieldfare day

Sunny intervals, 11°, light to breezy NNW.

Another day of Thrush vizmig today, not so many as yesterday but still good numbers of Fieldfare and Redwing.

Both Alan and I out along the Bunk line/Green lane today covering from 08:30 to 13:00.

Rough totals between us were 300 Fieldfare and 120 Redwing all moving west.

Alan skirted along a maize field where there were a number of Finches and Buntings present (c100) Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Linnet and Reed Bunting and some of the Thrushes were seen feeding along a distant hedgerow.

Quite a few Meadow Pipit (c100) around, 20+ Yellowhammer and 20+ Skylark noted.

3-4 Chiffchaff, including one in song, 2 Green Woodpecker and a female Sparrowhawk on the hunt.

Mammals: Red Fox and Brown Hare.

Dragonflies: a single Common Darter.

Tony R: “An unseasonal flower photographed in our meadow today, a Cowslip.

The birds included a group of Redwing flying past plus the single call of a Fieldfare.

Also I am hearing Finches in the Birch treetops which may well be Siskin.”

Fieldfare (photo from a previous year)

Cowslip in flower in October courtesy Tony Rayner

Redwings arrive

Overcast with the odd light rain shower, 12°, light SSW.

Redwing certainly arrived today in force with hundreds seen.

Alan had several hundred out along the Bunk line area and I had 100+ out at Lollingdon and a flock of 200+ over the Bullshole.

Appears to be a good arrival of Song Thrush with them, with increased sightings in both areas and a few more Blackbird noted.

Lollingdon hill hosted a single Stonechat, a couple of Chiffchaff, a single Corn Bunting and 12 Mistle Thrush. 2 Raven overhead flying south west.

It appeared a lot of small birds were on the move today with 5 Siskin, lots of Meadow Pipit, Skylark, Goldfinch, Chaffinch , Linnet and Yellowhammer. Presumably some of this was local movements but some was distinctly southerly.

A Little Egret seen by Alan along the Bunk line heading towards the village area.

3 Sparrowhawk, both Green and Great-spotted Woodpecker, a Kestrel, 3 Jay and 2 more Mistle Thrush by the church.

Lots going on out there today but still have not found the big one!  

Mammals: Brown Hare.

From Tony Rayner: “My moth trap last night produced a few interesting moths.

The star was a Dotted Chestnut - a species rated as notable and only then in the south.

Another seasonal moth was notable for the large numbers – 8 Green Brindled Crescents”.

Redwing courtesy Alan

Rather tired looking Song Thrush

Stonechat

Long-tailed Tit

Dotted Chestnut courtesy Tony Rayner

Today part 2

Photos of the Little Grebe on the new gravel workings and the 2 Stonechat nearby. courtesy Alan Dawson.

 

Still fairly quiet

Sunny with variable cloud, 13°, light NNW.

An early afternoon walk along the Bunk line/Green lane area. TW had just come back from a walk there and stated it rather was quiet.

4-5 Chiffchaff, 2 Green Woodpecker and a female Sparrowhawk of note.

A handful of Meadow Pipit, Skylark and Yellowhammer and little else.

Alan was out a little later and walked up as far as the gravel workings where there were 2 Stonechat and a Little Grebe.  

Dragonflies: a single Common Darter.

Butterflies: a single Red Admiral. Tony Rayner recorded a Small Copper and a Common Blue in his garden along with a Common Lizard.

Chiffchaff

Green Woodpecker

Common Lizard doing its best to hide.

Where have all the birds gone?

Sunny spells, 13°, breezy W.

Very quiet along the Bunk line this morning with most migrants appearing to have moved on.

A handful of Meadow Pipit and a single Stonechat up near the gravel workings and 2 Chiffchaff along Green lane.

A single Herring Gull at CSW and not a lot else seen.

Butterflies: surprisingly 2 Red Admiral.

Meadow Pipit

More of the same

Bright at first then clouding over with some light rain showers, 13°, breezy WSW.

Looks as though we have had a small influx of Redpoll with a small flock of 14 on the north side of Lollingdon hill today. After 4 yesterday and 3 the day before in other locations.

And it has certainly been a Stonechat week with another Stonechat on the hill today at the western side and a couple of Chiffchaff present.

Meadow Pipit numbers quite low now as most appear to have moved on and still a few Pied Wagtail and Skylark on the move.

c20 House Martin over and a single Swallow, a couple of Jay and a single Mistle Thrush.

Dragonflies: a couple of Common Darter.

Butterflies: 2 Small White.

Robin

Stonechat

Sunshine & Showers

Sunshine and showers, 15°, breezy NW.

Both Alan and I out along the Bunk line this morning/afternoon.

Earlier in the morning Alan had several hundred Geese flying south east towards the Thames. Flocks comprising of Canada Geese, Greylag Geese and Egyptian Geese.

The Stonechat still present by the junction of Green lane and 4 Redpoll briefly.

A light passage of Swallow and House Martin moving south.

137 Lesser Blackback Gull, 2 Herring Gull and 5 Black-headed Gull in one of the partially flooded fields along with many Meadow Pipit and 20+ Pied Wagtail and a flock of 80+ Starling.

At one point a Peregrine Falcon flew over putting everything in the air, including a flock of around 200 Rook and Jackdaw in an adjacent field.

A Kestrel, a Green Woodpecker several Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting and Skylark, 3 Chiffchaff noted and good numbers of finches, including Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Linnet and a few Chaffinch.

Butterflies: 2 Small White. I can add a Brimstone to this, seen later by Mitchell Fraser-Jones.

A Stonechat day

Sunny intervals, 14°, breezy W.

7 Stonechat found today with 3 on Lollingdon Hill, 2 near the cattle field out at Lollingdon and 2 found by Alan, 1 by the gravel workings and another near Green lane.

A light movements of mainly House Martin and a couple of Swallow over the hill and 2 Kestrel in the area.

A lot of Meadow Pipit out at Lollingdon (100+) and 20+ Yellowhammer and 5 Reed Bunting and 30+ Skylark scattered around the fields.

6 Chiffchaff between the village and Lollingdon.

Yesterday from Tony Rayner: 3 Grass Snake, 45 Slow-Worm, several Wood Mice and Bank Vole. Plus a Brimstone, Small Copper and Common Blue butterflies.

Dragonflies: Several Common Darter.

Butterflies: a few Large and Small White.

Stonechat courtesy Alan

Stonechat

Brimstone courtesy Tony Rayner

Grass Snake & Slow-Worm courtesy Tony Rayner

Brown Hare courtesy Alan

A quieter day

Sunny spells and a few showers, 13°, breezy WSW.

A Wheatear found by Michael Pocock this morning in the Silly bridge area and may have been a “Greenland” Wheatear judging by the description. Also around 250 House Martin passed thru in a space of around 40 minutes. Thanks

Both Alan and I were along the Bunk line today with our visits overlapping but very little noted.

Lots of Meadow Pipit present approx. 250 in total and good numbers of Skylark, Pied Wagtail, Yellowhammer and several Reed Bunting.

Only 1 Chiffchaff noted and a reasonable number of Swallow and House Martin moving thru.

Dragonflies: a single Southern Hawker seen by Alan and no butterflies noted.

A Grey Heron from yesterday courtesy Alan.