WonderfulWildlifeUK

Overcast with light rain, 15°, light SSW. An early walk out to Lollingdon and back. The Black-headed Gull cruising the Millennium field and nearby areas this morning and a Grey Wagtail near the Bullshole. There has been 2 BHG’s noted in the area and 3 more joined them one evening last week. Per AM & JW. The 3 may have been passing thru? The one or two have been present for the last couple of months and maybe are non-breeders. They usually breed in wetlands. i.e. coastal, reservoirs, lakes, marshes etc. and are a colonial breeder. They have not bred in Cholsey to my knowledge but a few are seen along the Thames in summer. However there is an outside chance they may? 2 Little Owl seen out at Lollingdon and 18 Lesser Black-back Gull flew north east over the hill. A Kestrel hunting over the hill, several Swift feeding overhead and 2 Mistle Thrush briefly and all the usuals present. Alan walked the Bunk line this morning with good numbers of Swallow , House Martin a

Another sunny day, 28°, light SSW. June is generally a quiet month out at Lollingdon. Our resident birds and summer visitors are busy rearing young and any mammals are difficult to locate in the high crops. Insects appear in numbers this time of year but as it is farmland and not managed environmentally the diversity is not there unfortunately. Anyhow, 2 Kestrel were hunting the hill today and 2 Raven flew south east over the hill and a few Swift Feeding over the area and a Hobby seen flying towards Aston. The adult Black-headed Gull still around and foraging in the Millennium field area most mornings. Dragonflies: Banded Demoiselle , Azure Damselfly and Emperor Dragonfly . Butterflies: Small Skipper , Large Skipper , Brimstone , Large White , Small White , Red Admiral , Small Tortoiseshell , Comma , Speckled Wood , Marbled White , Meadow Brown , Ringlet and Small Heath . Moths: Silver-Y and Cinnabar . And a Five-spot Burnet in a Cholsey garden. Per Alan Baker

The Essex Wildlife Trust’s Pound Wood, like so many ancient woods, is a special place and for different reasons.  It is special for being somewhere for the people of this busy and built-up part of Essex to establish, or indeed re-establish those close and valuable connections with the natural world, something so important, not only […] from James Common https://commonbynature.co.uk/2020/06/26/the-pound-wood-fritillary-site-a-place-for-butterflies-and-a-great-deal-more-by-ross-gardner/

Owing to a diverse mosaic of habitats, including plentiful dead wood, Gosforth Nature Reserve is a fantastic place at which to indulge a fascination for the North East’s smaller wildlife. This Rhinocerous Beetle (Sinodendron cylindricum) was, without doubt, the star of the show last week. A first for me, this glossy, cylindrical beetle (a male) […] from James Common https://commonbynature.co.uk/2020/06/26/eye-catching-invertebrates-at-gosforth-nature-reserve/

Sunny and humid, 30°, light ESE. A walk along the Bunk line/Green Lane before it got too hot. Plenty of butterflies around with Meadow Brown being the most frequently seen. A few family groups of Swallow moving thru and a couple of House Martin and at least two Sand Martin . Some of the young Swallow were resting up whilst the adult birds were hunting and bringing food back for them. Song Thrush , Chiffchaff , Blackcap , Common Whitethroat and Yellowhammer still churning out some song. The meadow by the gravel pit was being cut today and had 30+ large BOP’s overhead, 3-4 Buzzard and the rest Red Kite . Swooping down every now and again to pick up something. The cutting of the meadow would probably expose or kill, insects, small mammals and any nesting birds which are then easy pickings. Dragonflies: 1 Beautiful Demoiselle , 3 Banded Demoiselle , 1 Southern Hawker . Butterflies: Small Skipper , Large Skipper , Brimstone , Large White , Small White , Common Blue ,

Sunny, 31°, light ESE. A warm day out there and in some parts the hottest day of the year so far. The Lees: Both Reed Warbler and Sedge Warbler still giving a brief song every now and again. Also Several Reed Bunting , a couple of Yellowhammer , a single Corn Bunting , 2-3 Yellow Wagtail and a Chiffchaff and Blackcap . Most of the birds were keeping to shaded areas today and even a lot of insects were keeping out of the full sun. Interesting to watch 2 species of dragonfly in the same territory with little or no interaction. A length of ditch had 4 Emperors and 4+ Chasers hunting/holding territory and they seemed to tolerate each other’s presence. Maybe they have different feeding strategies? Dragonflies: Banded Demoiselle , Azure Damselfly , Common Blue Damselfly , Blue-tailed Damselfly , Emperor Dragonfly , Four-spot Chaser and freshly emerged Common Darter . Butterflies: Small Skipper , Large Skipper , Brimstone , Large White , Small White , Holly Blue , Red Adm

Sunshine, 26°, light to breezy SSE. A communication from Tony Rayner today regarding his garden: “Now seeing lots of butterflies - Meadow Brown , Marbled White , Ringlet , Comma , Small Tortoiseshell , Red Admiral , Small Heath , Large White , Small Copper , Large Skipper , Small Skipper , Brimstone to name but a few. Still hearing Corn Bunting and Yellowhammer in the distance.”  Tony has also been catching a few good moths lately including the following. Eyed Hawk Moth   Large Emerald Moth 200+ Pyramid Orchids growing in Tony's garden. Alan found an Essex Skipper yesterday. Difficult to tell apart from Small Skipper. Small Skipper is similar but lacks the black tips to the antennae.  And a Hedgehog is a regular visitor to Alan’s garden. from Cholsey Wildlife https://cholseywildlife.blogspot.com/2020/06/tony-alans-stuff.html

Sunny, 21°, light SSW. The adult Black-headed Gull still foraging over the Millennium field and adjacent areas and the Little Owl seen briefly out at Lollingdon. All the usual suspects present and a Kestrel hunting over the hill, a few Swift feeding overhead and several Swallow family groups flying south. Mammals: Brown Hare . Dragonflies: Banded Demoiselle . Butterflies: Large Skipper , Brimstone , Large White , Small White , Red Admiral , Small Tortoiseshell , Comma , Speckled Wood , Marbled White and Meadow Brown . Common Buzzard  Large Skipper ↕  Comma (underwing showing the comma)  Small Tortoiseshell  Kestrel (5 photos)  Marbled White  Song Thrush  Meadow Brown ↕ (upper and underwing) Yellowhammer from Cholsey Wildlife https://cholseywildlife.blogspot.com/2020/06/untitled.html

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. from Cholsey Wildlife https://cholseywildlife.blogspot.com/2020/06/some-insects-from-week-end.html