WonderfulWildlifeUK

Evelyn Toal’s article on finding Cholseys first Hornet Moth 22nd June 2020. A couple of days ago, me and my friends (Lily, Daisy and Ellie) decided to meet in the Cholsey park for lunch and have a proper catch up instead of chatting online. We were climbing trees, when Daisy spotted a very peculiar insect. At first, I thought it was a toy stuck to the tree trunk, but then it crawled across the tree. Daisy thought it was a wasp, then I soon corrected her and told her it couldn’t have been a wasp due to its size (about 3cm). We called over Ellie and Lily for them to see it. They had no clue to what it was either. I knew my Mum would know what it was because she’s an entomologist, so I ran up the mound where my Mum was sitting, and told her about our find. She came down and we showed her the insect. She examined the insect, then she said it was a Hornet. She looked at it a little closer and then she told us it was a sawfly. She took some photos then we went back home and looked it up in

Sunny, 26°, light SSE. Another quiet day out there today in the warm sunshine. 2 Common Redstart still on the hill (1m & 1 juv) along with 5-6 Common Whitethroat a Chiffchaff and a Blackcap . 2 Kestrel also present. 10 Red Kite and 2 Buzzard enjoying the thermals over the hill for a time before drifting off to the north. At least 5 Yellowhammer still in song on the walk out. Forgot to mention yesterday. 2 juv Common Tern seen flying upriver towards Wallingford. Per Paul Rainsden. Dragonflies: several Banded Demoiselle and 1 Emperor . Butterflies: Brimstone , Large White , Small White , Common Blue , Red Admiral , Small Tortoiseshell , Peacock , Comma , Speckled Wood , Gatekeeper and Meadow Brown . from Cholsey Wildlife https://cholseywildlife.blogspot.com/2020/07/a-warm-one.html

In a new series of articles, we’ll be taking a look at the best places to watch wildlife in  North East England. By no means comprehensive but hopefully informative, these posts are intended to provide inspiration on where to visit in the North East to observe and enjoy nature, as well as detailing some of […] from James Common https://commonbynature.co.uk/2020/07/30/where-to-watch-wildlife-in-the-north-east-silverlink-biodiversity-park/

Cloudy with some sunny spells, 20°, light WSW. A very quiet time out by the Lees today, just a few Reed Bunting , Chiffchaff and a single Blackcap . Got back home and found 9 House Sparrow dust bathing in the garden. This activities likely purpose is to remove parasites from their feathers. Dragonflies: Banded Demoiselle , Emperor and Common Darter . Butterflies: low numbers, 1 Small Skipper , Large White , Small White , 3 Common Blue , 2 Red Admiral , 1 Small Tortoiseshell , 5 Peacock , several Gatekeeper and Meadow Brown . from Cholsey Wildlife https://cholseywildlife.blogspot.com/2020/07/dust-bathing.html

Overcast with frequent showers, 19°, breezy SSW. The juv Stonechat still present on the hill along with the male Common Redstart , several Common Whitethroat and a Chiffchaff , also 2 Kestrel in the area. During a brief break in the rain the Stonechat came down onto the fence line for a time before flying back up the hill when the rain started again. 100+ Swift , c40 Swallow and several House Martin overhead in the space of 90 minutes and 3 Lesser Blackback Gull . The garden has been very busy today with both Blue and Great Tits, a Great-spotted Woodpecker, Robin, Dunnock, Woodpigeon, Stock Dove and several Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Chaffinch a 5+ Blackbird. Also some local Swallows feeding low over the garden and adjacent meadow. juv Stonechat Kestrel from Cholsey Wildlife https://cholseywildlife.blogspot.com/2020/07/wet-n-windy.html

Tony Rayner caught two notable moths last night. A Four-spotted Moth and a male Gypsy Moth . The first was only the second ever found here and the second was a first ever record. The Four-spotted is nationally scarce and the Gypsy appears not to have been recorded in Oxfordshire before.  Four-spotted Moth Gypsy Moth (m) from Cholsey Wildlife https://cholseywildlife.blogspot.com/2020/07/rare-moths.html

Mainly cloudy with the occasional sunny spell, 23°, light WSW. Just the male Common Redstart  seen on the hill today and a family of Common Whitethroat . A male Peregrine flew south west and a Kestrel hunting the area. Still plenty of Yellowhammer around and still in song and a couple of Reed Bunting . A Sparrowhawk hit the garden mid-afternoon and took a young Blackbird . Mammals: Brown Hare and Muntjac Deer . Butterflies: Brimstone , Large White , Small White, Common Blue , Holly Blue , Red Admiral , Small Tortoiseshell , Peacock , Comma , Speckled Wood , Gatekeeper , Meadow Brown , Ringlet and Small Heath . Sparrowhawk  Common Redstart  Kestrel Yellowhammer (courtesy Alan) from Cholsey Wildlife https://cholseywildlife.blogspot.com/2020/07/quietish.html

Mainly cloudy, 22°, light SW. An interesting young Common Redstart on the hill today attracted Tony W, Alan and myself up there to take a look. In the prevailing light conditions it was a rather grey looking bird reminding Tony of a Flycatcher initially. Never really got very close to us but seen in the middle distance was undoubtedly a Redstart. That makes it 3 on the hill at the moment and 5 in total this autumn passage. A single Lesser Blackback Gull and a Herring Gull flew overhead late afternoon. Photos courtesy Alan. from Cholsey Wildlife https://cholseywildlife.blogspot.com/2020/07/another-redstart.html

Sunny, 20°, light N. An unexpected find of a Grasshopper Warbler reeling in a field of sweet corn this morning just south of the Lees. The bird then moved into a cereal crop reeled a few more times before becoming quite distant. A couple of Sedge Warbler , a Reed Warbler and a Chiffchaff along the “Long ditch”, and several Reed Bunting . Between the Lees and Manor Farm there were several Yellow Wagtail , a Corn Bunting still in song and 2 Blackcap . Also picked up the 3 Kestrel from yesterday so still in the general area. Dragonflies: Banded Demoiselle , Emperor , Brown Hawker and Common Darter . Butterflies: Small Skipper , Large White , Small White , Common Blue , Small Tortoiseshell , Speckled Wood , Gatekeeper , Meadow Brown and Ringlet . Reed Bunting ↕ Chiffchaff Sedge Warbler (courtesy Alan) from Cholsey Wildlife https://cholseywildlife.blogspot.com/2020/07/unexpected.html

Sunshine and cloud, 20°, light N. A good butterfly find by Alan today of a White-letter Hairstreak at the west end of the village. The only other records in Cholsey have been in Tony Rayner’s east end garden to date, so an interesting find. Another fairly quiet day out at Lollingdon. The 2 Common Redstart still present on the hill and a 3rd individual found by one of the horse paddocks, though quite elusive. A  Green Woodpecker  also present on the hill and 1-2  Bullfinch  on the wooded side.  The first Willow Warbler of the autumn in the same area as the 3rd Redstart. 3 quite vocal Kestrel between Little Lollingdon and the hill, 1 adult and 2 youngsters. Mammals: Brown Hare . Dragonflies: a single Brown Hawker . Butterflies: Small Skipper , Brimstone , Large White , Small White , Common Blue , Holly Blue , Red Admiral , Small Tortoiseshell , Peacock , Comma, Speckled Wood , Marbled White , Gatekeeper , Meadow Brown and Ringlet .  Kestrel White-letter Hairst

A few photos from the weekend taken by Alan.  Six-spot Burnet Moth  Male Common Redstart Gatekeeper from Cholsey Wildlife https://cholseywildlife.blogspot.com/2020/07/a-few-from-weekend.html

A lot of talk and sightings of Eagles recently in and around Cholsey and further afield in Oxfordshire. With a recent posting on Facebook: “Spotted this fella yesterday at the top of Westfield lane while heading for the A417. A bit strange that a Sea Eagle is in the middle of the countryside! He seems to have taken up residence” and refers to the photo below. We have queried the post with relevant questions but there is no reply from the author as yet! Hoax or basic cockup? I also heard a woman on Friday pointing to a Red Kite and telling her grandson that it was an Eagle and that was not the first time I have heard this especially regarding Buzzards. The photo accompanying the Facebook post was of an adult White-tailed Eagle taken from a Raptor persecution web page dated Sep 2014 and the photo attributed to Mike Watson and taken in Scotland. Anyway back to the Eagles: The only Eagle species that have occurred in Oxfordshire is White-tailed Eagle and Golden Eagle. A Go

Mainly sunny with some cloud, 25°, breezy WSW. Fairly quiet out there today with lots of butterflies around and this afternoon Alan found a Silver-washed Fritillary at Bow Bridge. The 2 Common Redstart still present on the hill and a family group of Common Whitethroat and a couple of Chiffchaff . The Little Owl seen briefly and a couple of Kestrel around. Apart from the usual species not much else to note. Mammals: Brown Hare . Dragonflies: Banded Demoiselle , Emperor and a small unidentified Hawker that may have been a Migrant Hawker. Butterflies: Small Skipper, Brimstone, Large White, Small White, Common Blue, Holly Blue, Red Admiral, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Comma, Speckled Wood, Marbled White, Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown, Ringlet and Small Heath. Silver-washed Fritillary  (courtesy Alan) Yellow Shell Moth from Cholsey Wildlife https://cholseywildlife.blogspot.com/2020/07/silver-washed-frit.html

Another cloudy day with a few sunny spells, 21°, light NW. A walk out to the Lees and beyond today and a lot of butterflies active during the sunny periods. Up to 6 Yellow Wagtail seen along with a single Corn Bunting , 6-8 Reed Bunting , 5 Yellowhammer , 3 Sedge Warbler and a Reed Warbler . Also Common Whitethroat , Blackcap , Chiffchaff and Jay . Dragonflies: Banded Demoiselle , Emperor and Common Darter . Butterflies: Small Skipper , Essex Skipper , Large White , Small White , Brown Argus , Common Blue , Red Admiral , Small Tortoiseshell , Peacock , Comma , Speckled Wood , Marbled White , Gatekeeper , Meadow Brown and Ringlet . First 3 are Yellow Wagtail, 4th a Common Darter. from Cholsey Wildlife https://cholseywildlife.blogspot.com/2020/07/yellow-wagtails.html

Some insects and the Redstarts from Alan today. All photos courtesy Alan Dawson.  Black & Yellow Longhorn Beetle  Brassy Longhorn Beetle  Common Darter Thick-headed Fly Small Copper  Common Redstart ↕ from Cholsey Wildlife https://cholseywildlife.blogspot.com/2020/07/insects-redstarts.html

Cloudy with a few sunny spells, 18°, light WNW. A pleasant walk out to Lollingdon today and plenty of Swift on the move with several hundred passing over the hill during a 2 hour period and the occasional family groups of Swallow . A young Peregrine Falcon also overhead and flew south east. 2 Common Redstart still present and 2 Blackcap , 3 Common Whitethroat , 3 House Sparrow and several Chiffchaff in the same hedgerow. Redstart: “the word start is a morph of the middle English stert or the old English steort meaning tail.” 3 Lesser Blackback Gull over the pig fields. A Little Egret reported from last week between the village and Lollingdon. Butterflies: Large White , Small White , Common Blue , Holly Blue , Red Admiral , Small Tortoiseshell , Peacock , Comma , Speckled Wood , Marbled White , Gatekeeper , Meadow Brown and Ringlet . Common Whitethroat Common Redstart ↕ from Cholsey Wildlife https://cholseywildlife.blogspot.com/2020/07/a-few-hours-on-hill