We continued with our regular visits to tetrad SU 37 on the 19th of August, this time around Chilton Foliat. Walking up from the village towards Leverton, there were quite a few Swallows over the houses, and in the old walled yard (now retail and workshops) in Leverton we counted around 8 visible House Martin nests under the eaves of the old buildings with regular visits by the birds. Swallows also had a nest in the porch of one of the 'pepper pot' cottages. Plenty of House Sparrows were in the bushes there too.
Moving north up the lane towards Old Hayward, there were at least 3 Chiffchaffs calling in the trees, we had 4 Nuthatches throughout the morning, several tit flocks, at least 3 Goldcrests, 2 Bullfinches dipping into the hedge ahead of us and a couple of Linnets too. Cutting back down to the village through the grounds of Chilton Lodge, a Raven passed over, we counted 5 Red Kites, 4 Buzzards and we saw 2 Collared Doves and 2 Green Woodpeckers. We emerged to have a look at the River Kennet from the B4192, where we found 2 Black Swans, Moorhen and Coot and eclipse Mallard. A short walk along the Littlecote Road brought us to a footpath which crossed the river where a Little Grebe dodged among the reeds, and back to the village. It was a really good morning with a total of at least 32 species.
Please refer to our What's On page for upcoming surveys.