Visit to St. Nicholas Church and surrounding areas – 27th October 2025

Date: 27th October 2025

Time: from 8:30 a.m.

Weather: dry, sunny, moderate/strong wind, 11°C to 12°C

I wasn’t expecting too much from my visit this morning due to the moderate to strong winds. However, it turned out to be an excellent visit for wildlife.

I was able to add another species to my 2025 site list taking the total to 50 species: Stonechat.

This sighting was totally unexpected. I first spotted a male Stonechat perched largely obscured in some scrub in the paddock in the northern section of the site ….

Photo: Stonechat

It then did the decent thing and perched up conspicuously, as Stonechats do, at several points around the northern section of the site. This enabled me to get several photos ….

Photo: Stonechat

Photo: Stonechat

Photo: Stonechat

Photo: Stonechat

Photo: Stonechat

Finally, I managed to get my best photo of the series ….

Photo: Stonechat

With this Stonechat sighting, my 2025 site list has now reached 50 species, an all-time record. Not only that but my all-time site list has now reached 70 species. I doubt that the bird realised the importance of his presence!

The other highlights with regard to birds during my visit were as follows:

Redwing: at least 2 birds heard calling overhead but none seen

Common Buzzard: 1 seen briefly in the northern section of the site

Grey Heron: 1 flushed from the pond in the northern section of the site

Goldcrest: 1 heard calling in the wooded area in the southern section of the site

Chaffinch: 4 seen flying over the northern section of the site

Starling: at least 150 seen in flight over and around the northern section of the site

Green Woodpecker: 1 seen in the central section of the cemetery

Great Spotted Woodpecker: 1 seen flying high over the northern section of the site

With regard to mammals, I saw 2 Reeves' Muntjacs in the woodland in the southern section of the site as I returned home.

Species recorded during this visit were as follows (heard only records in italics):

Stonechat

Goldcrest

Blue Tit 

Robin

Redwing

Chaffinch

Goldfinch

House Sparrow

Starling

Common Buzzard

Green Woodpecker

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Jay

Magpie

Carrion Crow

Woodpigeon

Grey Heron 

Herring Gull

Reeves’ Muntjac

Here are some other photos from my visit ….  

Photo: Grey Heron

Photo: Reeves' Muntjac

Site totals for 2025 to date (2024 totals in brackets): 

Birds = 50 (49)

Mammals = 4 (3)

Butterflies = 23 (17)

Dragonflies and damselflies = 11 (11)

Reptiles = 0 (0)

Amphibians = 0 (0)

Total species list for the site 

Birds = 70

Mammals = 8

Butterflies = 26

Dragonflies and damselflies = 14

Reptiles = 1

Amphibians = 0

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"Wage war on nature to build new homes: that’s Labour’s offer, but it’s a con trick"

The Government’s new Planning and Infrastructure Bill proposes to tear down environmental protections to benefit developers. It is a full-scale assault on our nature and wildlife which is already significantly struggling due to habitat destruction, pollution and climate change!

I voted for a Labour Party that was going to implement nature-friendly and wildlife-friendly policies as they promised prior to the General Election.

I thought there is no way that any Government can be as bad as the last one which totally ignored protecting and restoring the natural environment.

I was wrong.

Today's column is about the government's huge, unprecedented assault on nature ... and about the eerie, astonishing silence of the big nature groups. The RSPB, National Trust, Wildlife Trusts have 7.5m members between them. A vast force, completely unmobilised. 🧵 www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

[image or embed]

— George Monbiot (@georgemonbiot.bsky.social) October 16, 2025 at 6:52 AM

The Guardian - Wage war on nature to build new homes: that’s Labour’s offer, but it’s a con trick

The Guardian - UK Government putting pressure on nature groups to drop opposition to Planning and Infrastructure Bill 

The Guardian - Revealed: 5,000 English nature sites at risk under Labour’s planning proposals

Love nature .... act now

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Visit to St. Nicholas Church and surrounding areas – 20th October 2025

Date: 20th October 2025

Time: from 9 a.m.

Weather: dry/drizzly, cloudy, light wind, 13°C to 14°C

I had a short visit this morning to the northern section of the site, primarily to assess possible suitable locations for bird feeders. However, it turned out to be an excellent visit for wildlife.

I was able to add another species to my 2025 site list taking the total to 49 species: Skylark (I initially heard a single calling bird and then saw it distantly flying over the paddocks in an easterly direction)

My 2025 site list has now reached the same number as my 2024 site list, which, at 49 species, was an all-time record …. just one more species to record in the remaining weeks of the year to set a new record!

The other highlights with regard to birds during my visit were as follows:

Redwing: the first sightings of the autumn with probably at least 5 flighty birds present in the northern section of the site

Common Buzzard: 1 seen being hotly pursued by 3 very persistent and vocal Carrion Crows in the northern section of the site

Goldcrest: 1 seen foraging in the wooded area the end of the access track from Larkins Tyres and another heard calling in the same area

Chaffinch: male seen in the northern section of the site

Species recorded during this visit were as follows (heard only records in italics):

Blue Tit 

Great Tit

Robin

Wren

Dunnock

Redwing

Blackbird 

Song Thrush

Skylark

Goldcrest

Chaffinch

House Sparrow

Common Buzzard

Jay

Magpie

Carrion Crow

Woodpigeon 

Site totals for 2025 to date (2024 totals in brackets): 

Birds = 49 (49)

Mammals = 4 (3)

Butterflies = 23 (17)

Dragonflies and damselflies = 11 (11)

Reptiles = 0 (0)

Amphibians = 0 (0)

Total species list for the site 

Birds = 69

Mammals = 8

Butterflies = 26

Dragonflies and damselflies = 14

Reptiles = 1

Amphibians = 0

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Record from my flat - Grey Wagtail

This morning at 9:45 a.m. as I was leaving home, I heard the distinctive flight call of a Grey Wagtail.

Unfortunately, I failed to spot it. Maybe it was heading towards the lake at nearby Gloucester Park where I have previously seen this species?

This is the first time that I have recorded Grey Wagtail from my flat and I am yet to record it this year on my St. Nicholas Church local patch.

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Record from my flat - Common Buzzard

Yet more sightings of Common Buzzard!

Today I had a brief sighting at 2:55 p.m. of a single Common Buzzard flying distantly over the houses opposite my block of flats.

Sightings of Common Buzzard have been much lower in the last few years after a peak of activity during 2022 but there has been a significant and welcome increase in sightings recently following a scarcity during the first half of 2025.

Whilst I have no firm evidence, it seems quite likely that a pair of Common Buzzards bred locally this year with some of these birds that I am now seeing being juveniles.

Summary of Common Buzzard records during the last 5 years:

2021: 11 dates involving 13 birds

2022: 26 dates involving 38 birds

2023: 8 dates involving 8 birds

2024: 3 dates involving 3 birds

2025: 16 dates involving 25 birds

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Record from my flat - Common Buzzards

Yet more sightings of Common Buzzard!

Today I saw a single Common Buzzard soaring over the woodland beyond the houses opposite my flat at 12:05 p.m. and possibly the same bird with another bird again at 12:20 p.m. These birds came much closer and both flew over my block of flats, one of them "mewing" continuously.

Sightings of Common Buzzard have been much lower in the last few years after a peak of activity during 2022 but there has been a significant and welcome increase in sightings recently following a scarcity during the first half of 2025.

Whilst I have no firm evidence, it seems quite likely that a pair of Common Buzzards bred locally this year with some of these birds that I am now seeing being juveniles.

Summary of Common Buzzard records during the last 5 years:

2021: 11 dates involving 13 birds

2022: 26 dates involving 38 birds

2023: 8 dates involving 8 birds

2024: 3 dates involving 3 birds

2025: 15 dates involving 24 birds

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Visit to St. Nicholas Church and surrounding areas – 6th October 2025

Date: 6th October 2025

Time: from 9:15 a.m.

Weather: dry, sunny/cloudy, light wind, 11°C to 14°C

For my visit this morning, I focused on the southern section of the site and the church and cemetery. I hoped to relocate the Firecrest that I had seen on my last visit on 2nd October 2025 but unfortunately I was unsuccessful.

However, I was able to add another species to my 2025 site list taking the total to 48 species: Meadow Pipit (an unseen single bird calling and flying over the southern section of the site)

The other highlights with regard to birds during my visit were as follows:

Swallow: a single bird seen flying high and in a southerly direction over the southern section of the site

Sparrowhawk: female seen flying through the area behind Larkins Tyres as I returned home

Pied Wagtail: 1 seen flying over Church Hill as I returned home

Chaffinch: a calling bird seen flying high over the cemetery

Jay: at least 10 seen during my visit, including a group of 6 seen together in the southern section of the site

Green Woodpecker: 1 heard calling in the wooded area in the southern section of the site

Great Spotted Woodpecker: 1 heard calling in the wooded area in the southern section of the site

Grey Squirrel is a mammal that I only see occasionally during the summer months but the crop of acorns during the autumn seems to see them re-appear (similar to Jays) and this morning I saw 5 individuals.

After seeing 3 on my last visit on 2nd October 2025, I had another sighting of a single Wall in the immediate vicinity of the church.

Species recorded during this visit were as follows (heard only records in italics):

Blue Tit

Great Tit

Robin

Dunnock

Blackbird

Chaffinch

Meadow Pipit

Pied Wagtail

Starling

Sparrowhawk

Green Woodpecker

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Jay

Magpie

Carrion Crow

Woodpigeon

Grey Squirrel

Wall

Here are some photos from my visit ….

Site totals for 2025 to date (2024 totals in brackets): 

Birds = 48 (49)

Mammals = 4 (3)

Butterflies = 23 (17)

Dragonflies and damselflies = 11 (11)

Reptiles = 0 (0)

Amphibians = 0 (0)

Total species list for the site 

Birds = 69

Mammals = 8

Butterflies = 26

Dragonflies and damselflies = 14

Reptiles = 1

Amphibians = 0

Love nature .... act now

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Record from my flat - Common Buzzard

The sightings of Common Buzzard keep on coming!

My sightings are usually from mid-morning onwards in sunny weather when the birds take advantage of thermals to enable soaring.

However, my sighting this morning at 7:25 a.m. was very untypical being so early in the morning and in grey and very windy weather. I had an extremely brief view this time of a bird that flew past undoubtedly wind-assisted!

Sightings of Common Buzzard have been much lower in the last few years after a peak of activity during 2022 but there has been a significant and welcome increase in sightings recently following a scarcity during the first half of 2025.

Whilst I have no firm evidence, it seems quite likely that a pair of Common Buzzards bred locally this year with some of these birds that I am now seeing being juveniles.

Summary of Common Buzzard records during the last 5 years:

2021: 11 dates involving 13 birds

2022: 26 dates involving 38 birds

2023: 8 dates involving 8 birds

2024: 3 dates involving 3 birds

2025: 14 dates involving 22 birds

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Visit to St. Nicholas Church and surrounding areas – 2nd October 2025

Date: 2nd October 2025

Time: from 10:30 a.m.

Weather: dry, sunny/cloudy, light wind, 14°C to 17°C

I had a long overdue visit to the site this morning when I was able to add another species to my 2025 site list taking the total to 47 species: Firecrest.

I initially heard a calling Firecrest in the wooded area immediately before the track back down to where I live and then had very good views, although the bird was very active and the light was poor preventing any photos.

This is only my second record of Firecrest for the site, the first being on 12th April 2023.

The other highlights with regard to birds during my visit were as follows:

Common Buzzard: 1 heard “mewing” in the northern section of the site and then seen briefly flying beyond the trees

Chiffchaff: 3 calling birds (northern section of the site, central section of the cemetery and around the church)

Goldcrest: 1 heard calling in the wooded area adjacent to the track down to the A127 (the location of my first Firecrest record)

Green Woodpecker: 1 heard calling at the end of the access track from Larkins Tyres

Great Spotted Woodpecker: 1 heard calling in the northern section of the site

Song Thrush and Blackbird: at least 5 of each species and possibly newly arrived autumn immigrants

Surprisingly, there was a reminder that summer isn’t quite over yet with sightings of a single Wall in the central section of the cemetery and 2 more in the immediate vicinity of the church.

Photo: Wall

Species recorded during this visit were as follows (heard only records in italics):

Firecrest

Goldcrest

Chiffchaff

Blue Tit

Great Tit

Long-tailed Tit

Robin

Dunnock

Blackbird

Song Thrush

Starling

Green Woodpecker

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Jay

Magpie

Carrion Crow

Woodpigeon

Herring Gull

Grey Squirrel

Wall

Site totals for 2025 to date (2024 totals in brackets):  

Birds = 47 (49)

Mammals = 4 (3)

Butterflies = 23 (17)

Dragonflies and damselflies = 11 (11)

Reptiles = 0 (0)

Amphibians = 0 (0) 

Total species list for the site 

Birds = 69

Mammals = 8

Butterflies = 26

Dragonflies and damselflies = 14

Reptiles = 1

Amphibians = 0

Love nature .... act now

Restore and rewild our natural world

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💚🦆 🦉🦋🐝🦊🦡🌼 🌳💚

Stay safe, stay well, stay strong, stay connected with nature