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Leonard Winchcombe: 2 Redshank & 2 newly fledged Great Crested Grebe chicks.
Dina Burford: Little Egret & Grey Wagtail.
Dina Burford: Swifts flying into the Swift Tower again this evening.
After a day spent mostly flapping his wings on the ledge, the eldest juvenile Kestrel fledged today around 18:35. He’s yet to return to the box & is hopefully roosting nearby. 5 prey deliveries today.
(c) Dina Burford - Great Crested Grebe
(c) Dina Burford - Marbled White
(c) Colin Varndell - House Sparrow
(c) Colin Varndell - Moorhen
(c) Colin Varndell - Red Kite
Tuesday 23rd June
The 2 remaining juvenile Kestrels stayed at home today. Plenty of flapping and jumping on the ledge. 4 prey deliveries.
(c) Dina Burford - Nesting Great Crested Grebe
(c) Dina Burford - Nesting Common Terns
(c) Les Andrews - Bullfinch
Wednesday 24th June
A very hot day saw little action in the Kestrel box, with the remaining 2 juveniles showing no signs of wanting to fledge today.
6 prey deliveries.
(c) Dina Burford - Nesting Black-headed Gulls
Thursday 25th June
Dina Burford: Grey Wagtail.
The remaining 2 juvenile kestrels fledged at 18:42 & 20:38 this evening. Their elder sibling returned to the box this morning to raid the cache. Just 2 prey deliveries today.
(c) Dina Burford - Cygnets
(c) Toby Coulson - Marbled White
(c) Colin Varndell - Crow Mobbing Buzzard
(c) Colin Varndell - Scarce Chaser
(c) Jason Davies - Black-headed Gull
(c) Jason Davies - Cygnet
(c) Jason Davies - Marbled White
(c) Dina Burford - Swifts Around the Swift Tower
Friday 26th June
Kevin Duncan: Ruddy Shelduck (Cat E).
S Abbot: 3 Reed Warbler (adult with juvs) & Grey Wagtail.
Dina Burford: Common Mullein (Verbascum thapsus) - new for site.
The last Kestrel to fledge returned & roosted in the box overnight, leaving again at 05:45 this morning. The Male looked a bit confused this evening when he brought a meal to an empty box!
(c) Dina Burford - Nesting Black-headed Gulls
(c) Colin Varndell - Great Crested Grebe
Saturday 27th June
Richard Seargent: Common Sandpiper & 2 Redshank.
Colin Varndell: Little Egret.
Dina Burford: Nuthatch.
Dina Burford: White Water Lily (Nympaea alba) - new for site.
9 Kestrel visits to the nest box today, including 4 food passes from the female to the juveniles.
(c) Colin Varndell - Eastern Silt Pond
(c) Colin Varndell - Workings & Flooded Hide
(c) Colin Varndell - View from Horton's Mound
Sunday 28th June
John Hunt: 20 Lapwing, 2 Little Egret, 2 juvenile Kestrels & at least 6 Common Tern chicks on the Sand Martin Bank roof.
Jort Brought: Common Sandpiper & 2 Redshank.
5 visits to the Kestrel box today, including at least 2 food passes to the juveniles.
(c) Dina Burford - New Black-headed Gull Chick on Hide Roof
(c) Kelly Wright - Comma
(c) Kelly Wright - Marbled White
Monday 29th June
Dina Burford: Juvemile Stonechat (ringed, so not likely born on site).
Just one visit to the Kestrel box today - an early morning food pass from the female to a juvenile.
Tuesday 30th June
Jort Brough: Redshank, Oystercatcher (over) & Common Tern chick on new raft.
2 visits to the Kestrel box today. 1 by the male, and 1 a female to juvenile food pass.
Wednesday 1st July
Jort Brough: 3 Redshank.
Dina Burford: Wild Raspberry (Rubus idaeus) & Himalayan Honeysuckle (Leycesteria formosa) - new for site.
For the first time in 99 days, there was no action in the Kestrel box today. However, the female Barn Owl did return to roost in her box during the day.
(c) Dina Burford - Large Skippers
Thursday 2nd July
Richard Horton: 16 Black-tailed Godwit (over).
Dina Burford: Little Egret.
No action in the Kestrel box again today. The female Barn Owl popped into the owl box briefly overnight, but roosted elsewhere during the day.
Friday 3rd July
Jort Brough: Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper & Redshank.
On June 18th the male Kestrel cached a vole in the wrong nest box. Today he remembered! Neither he, nor the juvenile who followed later, fancied eating it.
(c) Dina Burford - Comma
(c) Melanie Nicholls - Female Blue-tailed Damselfly - violacea form
(c) Mal Hennessey - Grey Wagtail
Saturday 4th July
Just the 1 visit to the Kestrel box today - the female popped in briefly.
(c) Simon Monk - Nesting Common Terns
Sunday 5th July
John Hunt: 20 Lapwing.
Mark Elsoffer: 2 Common Sandpiper, 7 Little Egret, 6 Little Grebe (inc 3 juv) & 3 juvenile Kestrels.
Mark Elsoffer: Colour-ringed Common Tern "E15", which is nesting on the Sand Martin Bank roof, was ringed at Lea Farm GP (Berks) on 06/07/13.
(c) Mark Elsoffer - Colour-ringed Common Tern
(c) Mark Elsoffer - Nesting Common Terns
(c) John Hunt - Little Egret
(c) John Hunt - Common Darter
(c) John Hunt - Hornet Mimic Hoverfly
(c) Dina Burford - Emperor Dragonfly
(c) Colin Varndell - The Main Entrance
Monday 6th July
Leonard Winchcombe: 2 Green Sandpiper, Redshank & juvenile Little Ringed Plover.
(c) Alan Brown - Common Scorpionfly
(c) Dina Burford - Black-headed Gull & Chick
(c) Dina Burford - Small Tortoiseshell
Tuesday 7th July
Kevin Duncan: Black-tailed Godwit & 2 Cattle Egret (s/p).
John Hunt: Common Sandpiper, 3 Little Egret & Hobby.
4th site record of Cattle Egret (and 11th Surrey record), last recorded 09/09/19. 119th bird species recorded in 2020.
(c) Shaun Ferguson - Cattle Egrets
(c) Colin Varndell - Cattle Egrets
(c) John Hunt - Cattle Egret
(c) Kyle Russell - Drone View of Site
Wednesday 8th July
Leonard Winchcombe: 2 Common Sandpiper & 12 Black-tailed Godwit.
Kit Britten: Green Sandpiper.
(c) Colin Varndell - Cinnabar Moth Caterpillars
Thursday 9th July
Jort Brough: Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper & Redshank.
Friday 10th July
Richard Seargent: 4 Redshank & Curlew.
Mark Elsoffer: 2 Common Sandpiper & all 5 Kestrels from the Kiln.
Leonard Winchcombe: Ring-necked Parakeet.
12th site record of Ring-necked Parakeet, last reported 28/03/20.
Mark Elsoffer: Green-veined White.
Colin Varndell - Grey Dagger (Acronicta psi) - new for site.
(c) Colin Varndell - Comma
(c) Colin Varndell - Grey Dagger Moth Caterpillar
(c) Colin Varndell - Small Tortoiseshell
(c) Dina Burford - Painted Lady
Saturday 11th July
Leonard Winchcombe: Great White Egret.
9th site record of Great White Egret, last recorded 17/08/19. 120th bird species recorded in 2020.
Sean Foote & Abi Jacobs found the following new species for site:
A number of Swifts were seen investigating the Swift Tower again this evening.
Alan Brown: Hook-banded Wasp Hoverfly (Chrysotoxum festivum) - new for site.
(c) Dina Burford - Common Tern Chick
(c) Alan Brown - Hook-banded Wasp Hoverfly
Wednesday 15th July
Mark Elsoffer: Yellow Wagtail.
Dina Burford: Marsh Woundwort (Stachys palustris) & Grass Vetchling (Lathyrus nissolia) - new for site.
(c) Colin Varndell - Roe Deer
(c) Colin Varndell - Bird Ringing
(c) Dina Burford - Bird Ringing
(c) Dina Burford - Bird Ringing - Sedge Warbler
(c) Dina Burford - Bird Ringing - Reed Bunting
(c) Dina Burford - Bird Ringing - Greenfinch
(c) Mark Elsoffer - Bird Ringing
Thursday 16th July
Mark Elsoffer: Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, 2 Redshank, 2 Little Ringed Plover (juvs), Yellow Wagtail & 2 Peregrine. Anon: Kingfisher & Hobby.
Mark Elsoffer: Colour ringed Black-headed Gull "29L9" - ringed 08/06/14 as a nestling at Hosehill Lakes, Berkshire. 22nd site record of Wood Sandpiper, last recorded 30/04/19. 121st bird species recorded in 2020.
Kingfisher is the 122nd bird species recorded in 2020.
We're so grateful to Roger Dickey and Mark Cutts for ringing all day in the reed beds over the past 2 days.
They caught 53 new birds, and 12 re-traps, including a controlled Reed Warbler that was ringed at Frimley Station Lakes on 13/06/20. The way they patiently answer questions from the public, and get the kids involved is admirable. Thanks gents.
(c) Mark Elsoffer - Bird Ringing - Reed Warbler
(c) Mark Elsoffer - Great Crested Grebe Family
(c) Colin Varndell - Cygnet
(c) Richard Bavin - Rabbit
(c) Daniel Cook - Swan Family
Friday 17th July
Dina Burford: Male Brown Hairstreak - first for site. 29th butterfly species recorded on site. Not mentioned in the "Butterflies of the Blackwater Valley" booklet.
Brown Hairstreak carries a number of high level conservation designations:
Section 41 species of principal importance under the NERC Act in England
UK BAP status: Priority Species
Butterfly Conservation priority: High
(c) Dina Burford - Brown Hairstreak
(c) Dina Burford - Brown Hairstreak
(c) Patrick Haveron - Young Nature Explorers
(c) Daniel Cook - Cygnets
(c) Colin Varndell - Common Tern
Saturday 18th July
Jort Brough: Arctic Tern.
22nd site record of Arctic Tern, last recorded 26/09/19. 123rd bird species recorded in 2020.
(c) Dina Burford - Arctic Tern
Sunday 19th July
Kevin Duncan: 4 Green Sandpiper, Turnstone, 3 Dunlin, 3 Redshank, 3 Oystercatcher, Black-tailed Godwit & Tufted Duck with 4 young.
Mark Elsoffer: Common Sandpiper, 2 Little Egret, 2 juvenile Little Grebe & Hobby.
Richard Seargent: Juvenile Great Black-backed Gull.
Gavin Everson: Osprey.
Mark Elsoffer: first Wasp Spider of 2020, 3 days later than 2019.
Mark Elsoffer: Colour ringed Black-headed Gull "29L9" - ringed 08/06/14 as a nestling at Hosehill Lakes, Berkshire.
15th site record of Turnstone, last recorded 27/07/19. 124th bird species recorded in 2020.
10th site record of Osprey, last recorded 02/04/20.
Dunlin is the 125th bird species recorded in 2020.
(c) Dina Burford - Cinnabar Moth Caterpillars
(c) Rustam Khan - Great Crested Grebe
(c) Mark Elsoffer - Wasp Spider
(c) Mark Elsoffer - Oystercatchers
Monday 20th July
Murray Nurse: Little Grebe.
Sean Foote: Lunar Hornet Moth (Sesia bembeciformis) & Alder-buckthorn (Frangula alnus) - new for site.
(c) Colin Varndell - Grey Herons
(c) Colin Varndell - Red Kite
(c) Colin Varndell - Whitethroat
(c) Sean Foote - Lunar Hornet Moth
Tuesday 21st July
Peter Brown: Great White Egret.
Anon: Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper & Dunlin.
Dina Burford: Tufted Duck with 4 young.
10th site record of Great White Egret, last recorded 11/07/20.
(c) Dina Burford - Great White Egret
(c) Dina Burford - Tufted Duck Family
(c) Colin Varndell - Great Crested Grebe
(c) Colin Varndell - House Sparrows
Wednesday 22nd July
Jort Brough: 2 Green Sandpiper, 2 Great White Egret & Great Black-backed Gull (juv).
Carey Lodge identified the following new bee species for site:
