Stonechats

Mainly cloudy with sunny spells and rain showers, 10°, light SW.

2 Stonechat and a Peregrine Falcon out by the Lees today and Alan had another 2 Stonechat along the Bunk line.

We may have up to 10 Stonechat wintering in Cholsey at the moment with 2 in the Westfield road area, 2 on Lollingdon hill and 1 possibly 2 at Cholsey Meadows/Marsh area.

A flock of c100 Lesser Blackback Gull and a Herring Gull out on a partial flood out beyond the Lees.

Mammals: Roe Deer.

Always a little too distant!

Great Bustard

Cloudy with frequent light rain, 7°, light SE.

A trip out to Letcombe Regis this morning to see a Great Bustard.

The bird has been frequenting an area in Letcombe Regis since the weekend and may have been present in South Oxfordshire for a couple of months. Now confirmed as a 1st winter male.

The bird is from the “Great Bustard re-introduction Project” in Wiltshire.

Alan visited the site earlier in the week and today and I have included a couple of his photos here.

Whatever its provenance, still a good bird to see.

More information on the Great Bustard Project can be found here. Great Bustard Project

The following 3 pics courtesy Alan

A quiet one

Cloudy, 5°, light SSE.

7 Golden Plover seen flying over Silly Bridge this morning and heading towards the downs. Per Michael Pocock.

I had an afternoon visit along the Bunk line and not much noted other than 2 Shoveler flew east and a Chiffchaff at CSW. Also the usual Thrushes around.

Photo of Shoveler taken in 2008

Lollingdon & Thames

Mainly sunny, 3°, light SW.

At last a sunny day albeit a little chilly.

The pair of Stonechat still around Lollingdon Hill plus 100+ Meadow Pipit, small flocks of Starling, Fieldfare and Redwing, several Yellowhammer, Skylark, Linnet and 2 Corn Bunting.

A Grey Heron nearby, a Chiffchaff and several more Yellowhammer (c30 in total).

And a Sparrowhawk sunning itself!

Alan along the river today: Nuthatch, Goldcrest, Reed Bunting, Common Snipe, Little Grebe, Cormorant, Kingfisher, Stonechat, Barn Owl and Fieldfare and Redwing.

A Little Owl calling somewhere near Church road last night around 24:00.

Mammals: Roe Deer.

Several pics today with the Roe Deer and Kingfisher from Alan.

Fog!

Foggy, 2°, light NNW.

Not a lot along the Bunk line today, 2 Raven flew south “cronking” as they went and could just about see them as they flew over and the usual ubiquitous Fieldfare and Redwing evident.

Small flocks of Meadow Pipit and Pied Wagtail feeding in the fields and a few Yellowhammer present.

Sparrowhawk

Foggy at first then clearing, 4°, light NNW.

A busy garden today with a max of 14 Goldfinch present, several Greenfinch and Chaffinch.

The male Sparrowhawk paid a few unsuccessful visits and I think the garden birds are aware of his approach vectors now and are more alert.

A flock of 8 Long-tailed Tit, a Coal Tit and 2 Treecreeper late afternoon.

A Song Thrush bathing and a Mistle Thrush and Great-spotted Woodpecker in the treetops.

A couple of Tawny Owl quite vocal around Church road area later and a Grey Heron heard calling after dark.

A Cold one

Sunny spells, 7°, breezy ENE.

Alan was out today and found 2 Little Egret, a Little Owl, a flock of 30+ Linnet, several Yellowhammer, Reed Bunting, Corn Bunting and Skylark.

All pics courtesy Alan Dawson.

Marsh Tit

Almost constant rain, 6°, light S.

A quick visit to Wallingford this morning and stopped off at Bow Bridge on the way back. Shortly after arriving I heard a commotion in the trees with Long-tailed Tit alarm calls as well as others so I guessed there may have been a Sparrowhawk around.

I decided to scan thru the flock that was estimated about 40 strong in total and came across a Marsh Tit flitting about in the trees. There may have been a second one but cannot be sure.

Also with the flock were Blue Tit, Great Tit, Nuthatch, Treecreeper and a single Chiffchaff.

After a time they moved deeper into the wood and I lost sight of them.

Marsh Tit is a very scarce visitor in Cholsey these days from across the river. They used to breed in the 80’s at Bow Bridge but not any more unfortunately.

As far as I am aware this is the first record since one in 2016.

A look along the river afterwards found several Cormorant, a Little Grebe and a Kingfisher.

Alan noted a Barn Owl late afternoon north east of the village.

Didn’t get a photo of the Marsh Tit today but have included one taken last year at the Warburg reserve.

A Grey day

Overcast, 7°, light SW.

Not a lot to report on today and a bit of a grey day with a Grey Heron, a Grey Wagtail and 2 Grey Partridge along the Bunk line.

Several Yellowhammer to brighten up the day and a couple of Herring Gull present along with 50+ Black-headed Gull at CSW.

Apart from the usual Starling flocks and many Fieldfare and Redwing not a lot else noted.

Tony Williams has had at least 3 Blackcap (2 m & 1f) feeding in his garden recently.

A Robin and a Black-headed Gull just 2 of the posers today.

Cholsey

A sunny day for a change, 8°, light NNW.

Didn’t get out today but Alan was on a mission and covered quite an area.

Bunk line: The usual Fieldfare and Redwing, plus a pair of Bullfinch and a Chiffchaff.

Cholsey Marsh: 15’ish Siskin, more Fieldfare and Redwing, 2 Water Rail, Little Grebe, Grey Wagtail, Kingfisher etc.

Lollingdon: Again Fieldfare and Redwing and a single Little Egret.

A Common Snipe at Cholsey Marsh and 2-3 Water Rail. Per Mitchell Fraser-Jones.

Photos courtesy Alan

Siskin

Bullfinch

10 Years Gone

Overcast with light rain, 8°, light SW.

The blog is 10 years old today! 

Lollingdon was fairly active today with 2 Stonechat, c80 Meadow Pipit, and 10+ Pied Wagtail and fair numbers of Starling, Fieldfare and Redwing present.

A Little Egret still nearby and a Eurasian Wigeon present (a rare duck in Cholsey) until flushed by a low flying helicopter a Little Owl heard calling and 2 Raven flew west.

Alan found 2 more Stonechat along Westfield road and a Peregrine Falcon along the Bunk line.

Eurasian Wigeon

Little Egret

Mandarin Duck (Blewbury) courtesy Alan

Meadow Pipit

Stonechat courtesy Alan

Still Misty

Very foggy, 4°, very light NE.

Both out in a similar area today with the Bunk line/Green lane/Gravel pit and Caps lane area covered.

Not a lot to shout about and the usual stuff noted.

The fog/mist started to lift later in the day but very foggy initially.

Fieldfare & Redwing

Black-headed Gull

Green Woodpecker courtesy Alan

Stonechat courtesy Alan

Play Misty for me.

A misty day, 5°, very light N.

Is this a mist or a fog? Showing characteristics of both phenomena with visibility down to 100m in some places today and made birding a bit more challenging. I’m going for mist due to the temperature change!

1 Little Egret seen out at Lollingdon, maybe the other 2 are still nearby somewhere.

The pair of Stonechat still present around Lollingdon hill area and fairly mobile.

At least a couple of Corn Bunting and several Yellowhammer heard overhead and a Chiffchaff calling nearby and good numbers of Fieldfare and Redwing around, 3 Song Thrush and a Kingfisher.

As well as a Mistle Thrush singing regularly in Whitehead meadow recently a Song Thrush has been in song at dawn and dusk for the last few days.

Redwing ↕

Egrets still present

 Overcast with early light rain, 10°, light NW. 

Alan had the best of it today with 3 Little Egret, 2 Stonechat and a Little Owl out at Lollingdon and another Stonechat at Cholsey meadows.

I made it out a little late along the Bunk line and it was pretty quiet. A lot of Redwing (100+) and c50 Fieldfare and 3 Herring Gull frequenting the area near CSW but little else.

A late Red Admiral butterfly noted by Tony Rayner yesterday.

All pics courtesy Alan.

Coal Tit at Bow

Egrets

Light cloud with a few sunny spells, 9°, light SSW.

3 Little Egret still out in the Lollingdon area and a Little Owl heard calling.

Several flocks of Fieldfare, Redwing and Starling roaming the hedgerows and fields, several Song Thrush and a single Mistle Thrush.

A Mistle Thrush and a couple of Goldcrest at the church.

50+ Finches feeding amongst a cover crop but only Goldfinch, Greenfinch and Chaffinch noted.

Alan along the river today with Bullfinch and Coal Tit at Bow Bridge.

Mammals: Roe Deer.