Christine's walking & birds blog

The Combe Round

We walked the longer round once again, on a bright but windy day and with me in pain from my lower back. Goodness knows what I've done; I can now hardly move. Two ravens were on the track near the gibbet.

Taplow

Driving down Berry Hill this morning we saw this very conspicuous badger at the side of the road. Greger recalled passing it on his walk yesterday, although then it was in Mill Lane. Perhaps it was dragged here by a fox, although it looks too fresh and clean for that; and it might be too heavy for a fox.

Dorney

The Roundmoor Ditch was almost brimful late afternoon, and the flood in the Eton Wick field was huge.

However, with muddy margins mostly gone it's probably more attractive to ducks than waders. There was no sign of the pectoral sandpiper, but my first wigeon of the autumn were seen here.

High and wild in West Berks and Hampshire

For the third Saturday in a row we walked from Walbury Hill. "Chat Junction" was very quiet but this stonechat was a nice new arrival. 

Instead of turning off to the left to Combe village, we continued along the Test Way into this valley which was new ground for us. This is looking back towards Combe Wood.

Walking up the track skirting Hogs Hole we saw a family of marsh tits in the narrow strip of predominantly ash woodland. Once in the open we sat on the bank to enjoy the sun. We had great views across open country, but in all that immense sweep we could see no other people. It was wonderfully peaceful.

This terraced hillside isn't marked on the OS map as such, but it's probably an ancient field system as there are several in the area. 

   

Back at Walbury Hill loads of swallows and smaller numbers of house martins were hunting over the ridge and appearing to be moving generally southwards. A second stonechat was seen briefly at the side of the track where I was looking into the sun. A small tortoiseshell butterfly was on weedy ground near the car park.

On the slopes below the gibbet a whinchat was my last bird of the day.

Dorney

A pectoral sandpiper was found at the Eton Wick flood earlier this week by the County Recorder for Berkshire. I've stayed away all week but this afternoon I walked the length of the wetlands (as some sort of penance for capitulating, I suppose). It was a nice bird, though you wouldn't know it from my picture. A record shot. A pecrec.

Combe, West Berkshire

Greger suggested going back to Combe and we had almost as good a day as we had last weekend. Once again a willow tit was heard and then seen briefly on Inkpen Hill.

Three wheatears were in the stubble with unknown numbers of meadow pipits, ground feeding today rather than flycatching in the air.

Two redstarts were still present, and still fighting; so possibly the same ones. This week there was no "hoo-eet"ing; the birds were silent, foraging close by as we had lunch. 

Two ravens took off from a tree-top ahead of us; we'd been hearing them grumbling for some time as we were walking, and as they flew out over the valley they continued to mutter to one another. Combe Wood was full of young pheasants let loose for the shoot. A goldcrest was singing on the flinty path down the hill to the road. 

Two whinchats were seen along the track on Walbury Hill.

The wind was a bit irritating, but the day was mostly sunny and warm and the odd butterfly made it feel like summer.

Dorney

My first yellow wagtails of the autumn were on the common this evening. At least eight, maybe a dozen or more, were in with the penned cattle near the buildings. When I crept closer, the cattle crowded up to the gate and started to moo loudly, which made me feel a bit of a fool. One or two of the wagtails were bright and buttery, the rest the usual autumn biscuit colour.

Combe, West Berkshire

We parked on the chalky ridge, crossed the road and walked up to the gibbet. A willow tit was calling from bushes on Inkpen Hill, but we had only the briefest of glimpses. Long-tailed and blue tits, naturally, showed off in full view for some time!

Turning south, we encountered a bunch of chats close together; so we had lunch nearby. This is one of at least four wheatears which were were mostly flying up from stalks and bushes to catch insects in the air. 

Descending into Combe from the woods I looked back thinking I'd heard a bicycle freewheeling down the hill, but there was nothing there. We walked on - and a little while later a bike did come whizzing down. This is the second time this has happened to me on this road, which dips tunnel-like between high banks and soaring beech trees. Greger thinks I hear the bike when it's further up the hill, before it appears (my hearing is better than his); but I maintain the hill isn't long enough for this. And at the top, beyond the sharp bend, the road is uphill so the cyclist can't be freewheeling at that point. However, there has to be a rational explanation so I suppose that's it.

On the flank of Walbury Hill we caught a flash of orange as another redstart flew between hawthorns; and it seemed from the calls that a second one was present. A willow tit was calling from the woodland.  This made it at least five willow tits today, assuming of course that they were all different birds. Greger left me here to bird a bit longer while he had a coffee and a read of the paper in the car, turning round to snap me on his mobile just as I was taking a photo of him.

A handful of meadow pipits and a yellowhammer were seen from the car park, and two ravens flew over calling. Between birds we walked quite fast and got some good hill training in, and of course the weather was brilliant; so altogether an enjoyable day.

Freedom in the sun

We hope to get some work in the next few weeks that will see us through the autumn; meanwhile I was free from mid-afternoon so I went out to see what I could find. A wheatear was foraging in mown grass on the wetlands.

On Dorney Common, a whinchat was among thistles by the stream. The south bank of the wetlands is in the background.

This dragonfly was in the garden this morning. I think it's a female Common Darter.

Dorney

The redstart was on the edge of one of the plantations on the wetlands. My flight shot is rather peculiar but gives an idea of that lovely flash of orange as the bird flies back to its perch.

A quick visit to Dorney produced a sparrowhawk circling over the mud on the common. A dunlin was on the far side of the Eton Wick flood.