WonderfulWildlifeUK

Sunny, 6°, breezy WNW. A colder day than of late with a brief snow flurry early morning but fortunately did not settle. 4 Stonechat (3m & 1f) along the Bunk line, a few Meadow Pipit around in the fields and 2 Bullfinch and a Grey Heron along Green lane. 2 Stonechat (1m & 1f) still present Cholsey Meadows. Per Alan. Gulls were few and far between today with only a few Lesser Blackback and Black-headed Gull overhead, although Alan saw 2 Herring Gull and several Black-headed Gull on one of the floods. A few small flocks of Fieldfare , Redwing and Starling , and a few Buzzard and Red Kite enjoying the windy conditions. 2 Song Thrush singing near the garden at dusk. Stonechat (f)  Stonechat (m) 3 Stonechat Goldcrest (courtesy Alan) Long-tailed Tit   Fieldfare, Redwing & Starling  Herring Gull (courtesy Alan) Bullfinch (f) (courtesy Alan) The Moon & Venus at dusk from Cholsey Wildlife https://cholseywildlife.b...

Our garden (if we can call it that) was a barren old thing. Little more than a few square meters of concrete fenced off and overlooked on all sides by housing. Not exactly what you would call wildlife haven; though things did improve somewhat when we set about making a few small changes last year. […] from James Common https://commonbynature.co.uk/2020/02/27/laying-the-foundations-of-a-wildlife-garden/

It must be said, I miss living in the countryside. I miss the sight of natural greenery, fields, woodlands, bustling wetlands and bountiful hedgerows. Likewise, the omnipresent wildlife: the constant possibility of an encounter with a Roe Deer or Badger, the sound of migrating geese, the bubbling calls of curlew and the wealth of birdlife […] from James Common https://commonbynature.co.uk/2020/02/27/tales-from-the-urban-jungle-starting-out/

Unfortunately a Polecat was hit by a car near Cholsey Hill. It was picked up by a car following but died soon after. This is only the 2nd record of Polecat in Cholsey with 2 seen in 2010. The Polecat is a native British Mammal and has expanded its range eastwards recently from its stronghold in Wales. This one was a male approx. 40cm from snout to rump. A DNA sample was given to the Natural History Museum, London and we await results. Information and photos courtesy Vicki Gilson. Sweet Violet to lighten the mood. from Cholsey Wildlife https://cholseywildlife.blogspot.com/2020/02/polecat.html

Sunshine & Showers, 8°, light SW. 2 Peregrines found by Tony Williams today and photographed by Alan Dawson. from Cholsey Wildlife https://cholseywildlife.blogspot.com/2020/02/peregrines.html

Constant light to moderate rain, 11°. Fresh SW. A wet ‘n windy day with more rain to add to the already waterlogged ground. 6 (4m, 2f) Stonechat feeding very actively along the Bunk line this morning, (also seen by Alan in the afternoon) another 2, (m & f) at Cholsey Meadows this morning, per Alan. A good few Gulls around taking advantage of the flooded areas. c150 Black-headed Gull , 3 Herring Gull , 9 Lesser Blackback Gull and 2 Great Blackback Gull . A small flock of Fieldfare and Redwing, 3 Canada Geese , 5 Common Snipe , a small flock of 8 Meadow Pipit and a Sparrowhawk . A Mistle Thrush singing from the top of a tree in the adverse weather. No wonder they used to call them Stormcock. And surprisingly 2 Skylark also in song. Stonechat  Stonechat (courtesy Alan) ↕ Stonechats The Sparrowhawk taking shelter from the rain in the garden this afternoon, stayed there for a good hour. And a Jay turned up late afternoon. video of Stonechat (courtesy Al...

I am absolutely loving working with the Birdsy team, as they further develop this exciting technology, ready for launch. For those followers who have not seen my previous tweets or blog about Birdsy, this video I produced sums up what it is all about. Due to launch this Spring, if you are interested, please sign up at the Birdsy website to receive information as soon as we announce the launch date! Although it is primarily designed to monitor bird feeding stations, recording clips of and identifying the bird species visiting, it is some of the other captures it has recorded that have got me most excited! I have now set up a number of feeding stations at several different and exciting locations and I log onto these cameras every day to check on how the camera is performing and to look at the footage. What has been most exciting for me, has been the recordings at night. These special clips have given us an insight into the less seen wildlife that visits our homes and we have captured...