Some garden activity and another trip over the Cemy.

Friday 14^th August 2026.

This Jay remained stationary on the gravestone in the Cemetery this evening.

I decided not to put the moth box out overnight, partly because I had been trapping some of the same moths repeatedly and wanted to give them a better chance. It also meant I could take a welcome break from getting up at dawn — there is nothing quite like a lie-in!

Yesterday was expected to be the hottest day of the year so far, but this afternoon felt even more intense here in Southsea. My mobile phone showed 32°C during the afternoon, and the heat was extremely uncomfortable.

Garden Wildlife in the Afternoon Shade

I found this Blair's Mocha moth perched on the Garden Box this afternoon.

Once part of the garden was shaded enough to sit in comfortably, I took a seat with my camera and spent some time watching the wildlife in the back garden. The insect activity quickly became the main focus.

Above, one of many Small White butterflies and below, a Holly Blue appearing briefly from one of the plants.

A  A Golden Twin-spot was fluttering through the vegetation before eventually settling on one of the plants, giving me just enough time to take a few photos.

A Red Admiral butterfly perched on our swing seat.

·     Another notable moth, a Blair’s Mocha, was found perched on the garden box that supports my moth box.

Butterflies and a Surprise Beewolf

Butterflies were abundant in the garden, with several species active during the afternoon.

·        At least four Holly Blues were seen around the garden.

·        Red Admiral, Large White, and Small White butterflies were also present.

·    Later in the afternoon, a European Beewolf was found buzzing around the lavender plants — an exceptional record for the garden.

The European Beewolf on the Lavender. A garden first!

At first glance, I thought it might be a Clearwing moth, mainly because of the way it was flying. On closer inspection, however, it looked more like a very thin wasp. It turned out to be a European Beewolf, our largest solitary wasp. As this species usually hunts around sandy soil, it was intriguing to find one investigating the lavender plants.

Highland Road Cemetery, Southsea:

A Carrion Crow searching the brown grass near the Chapel.

The dogs needed their evening walk and though it was still quite warm, I started to regret taking them for it seemed they were struggling a bit to cope with the very warm evening. On a good note, they persevered and made it home OK and I encouraged them to drink a lot of water.

Above, several Meadow Brown butterflies were seen and below, a pair of Collared Doves showed well.

A couple of Pied Flycatchers were seen today here on the south coast where one was found for its second day at Crofton Cemetery, Fareham and another was found at the Triangle field by Sparkes Marina, Hayling Island (see photo). Therefore, there was a good chance that one might be in the Cemetery this evening. However, it was not to be but I did see a female Sparrowhawk flying eastbound over the Cemetery with a couple of Carrion Crows in pursuit. A Jay was perched for some time on one of the gravestones and around ten minutes later, it was still there, though it did fly down to the ground eventually.

The micro moth Straw-barred Pearl. My first of the year. This Cemetery is rife with them around this time of year.

Butterflies were also abundant within the Cemetery that included Small White’s, Meadow Browns and at least 6 Red Admirals in one place within the Cemy! As I made my way back past the Holm Oaks, a small micro moth took flight by my feet and it turned out to be my first Straw-barred Pearl (Pyrausta despicata) moth this year to round off a short, but interesting walk around my local patch.  

The Pied Flycatcher on Hayling Island today. Photo by Andy Friend.

 

 

Another bumper Moth haul today.

 Thursday 13^th August 2026.

Two of the three Large Thorns this morning.

Apparently, we have reached our peak today of this current heatwave, though temperatures will reach at least 35 degrees here in the south. It was quite warm when I took the dogs for their early morning walk and now at 8.30am, it is certainly going to get a lot warmer as the day progresses.

The news is full of yesterday’s solar eclipse, which I must admit was a little anticlimactic compared with the total eclipse I saw 27 years ago. Even so, it must have been exciting for anyone who was not around then. Sadly, firefighters are still in the New Forest monitoring the recent fire near the A31, and the road is expected to remain closed until at least the weekend, mainly for repairs. This morning, another fire broke out near the A34. Unbelievably, two young people were also caught red-handed on Hayling Island trying to start a fire in a field. Let’s hope the authorities deal with them appropriately.

 

My Moth Box:

This Common Daisy Moth was only my second ever.

Another strong moth total this morning, with 130 moths of 44 species recorded. This is the highest species count I have had this year, and it may rise further if the heatwave continues. Despite the large numbers, only one species was new for the year: the micro-moth Common Daisy Moth (Dichrorampha acuminatana), only the second I have ever seen.

Above, one of two Turnip Moths today and below, the tiny Horse-chestnut Leafminer.

Up to THREE Large Thorns were present this morning and this was joined by a Canary-shouldered Thorn that was perched on the lid of the Box. Possibly the same 6 Garden Tigers were still present in and around the Moth Box this morning, though only 3 Golden Twin-spots. Four Portland Ribbon Waves were recorded which was a garden record count of this species.

Canary-shouldered Thorn.

Migrant moths this morning included two Small Mottled Willows, White-point, Turnip Moth, Rusty-dot Pearl (Udea ferrugalis) and Olive-tree Pearl (Palpita vitrealis). The Moths recorded this morning were as follows:

 

MACRO MOTHS	MICRO MOTHS
Garden Tiger x6	Rusty-dot Pearl x7
Golden Twin-spot x3	Common Plume x6
Setaceous Hebrew Character x1	Blushed Knot-horn x1
L-album Wainscot x4	Apple Leaf Miner x13
Common Wainscot x1	Box Tree Moth x2
Willow Beauty x1	Tree-mallow Tortrix x1
Large Thorn x3	Chestnut Tortrix x1
Canary-shouldered Thorn x1	Mother of Pearl x1
Blair’s Mocha x2	Olive-tree Pearl x2
Bright-line Brown-eye x4	Light Brown Apple Moth x9
Lime-speck Pug x5	Hawthorn Moth x1
Portland Ribbon Wave x4	Codling Moth x2
Double-striped Pug x6	Garden Pebble x2
Lime-speck Pug x5	Long-horned Flat-body x1
Clay x1	Common Mompha x1
Brimstone Moth x1	Horse-chestnut Leafminer x1
Heart & Dart x1	Dark-bordered Pearl x1
Garden Carpet x1	Common Daisy Moth * x1
Shuttle-shaped Dart x9
Small Mottled Willow x2
Pale Mottled Willow x10
Small Dusty Wave x1
Cabbage Moth x2
Turnip Moth x2
White-point x1
Common Rustic x3

 

While checking the Moth Box, a high-flying Swallow was heard and then seen flying south over the houses. This afternoon, I was giving the back garden a serious watering after today's hot weather and I flushed a lot of this mornings Moths from some of the pot plants. However, while watering the back of the garden, something caught my eye and it turned out to be a Yellow Shell moth; my first one in my garden this year.

The Yellow Shell moth that I disturbed while I was watering the garden.

I gave the dogs their evening walk around the block and by Highland Road Cemetery and I noticed a large gathering of Gulls hawking for Flying Ants over the trees. The vast majority were in fact Mediterranean Gulls, with at least a dozen among the few Black-headed Gulls present. Some possible rain is on the way, according to the Met Office, though not till next week although the temperatures are expected to come down over the weekend. Phew!

This female Kingfisher was photographed at Arundel WWT last Sunday by Emma Parkes.

A Large Thorn moth added to my year list.

 Wednesday 12^th August 2026.

Only my second ever Large Thorn moth was found near the Moth Box.

I made sure I had my fleece on this morning as the temperature in the garden was in single figures. However, over the next few days, the heatwave will peak and get up to 35 degrees with very light easterly wind. Another large haul of Moths again this morning including another moth that was new for the year.

The UK is oncourse for the hottest year on record and something that we will all have to get used to in the future. On top of this, today, the UK will experience a 96% near full eclipse of the sun around 7.30pm tonight and this is followed by a big meteor shower late tonight. Could be interesting!

My Moth Box:

One of three Portland Ribbon Waves today.

My first Large Thorn of the year was found near the moth box at 5.45am this morning. It is a stunning species and only the second one I have ever recorded in my garden.

There was a slight increase in numbers, with 121 moths of 35 species recorded. The catch also included a noticeable rise in some of the scarcer species.

Migrant species recorded

Olive-tree Pearl.

·        Up to three Portland Ribbon Waves — the highest number I have recorded in my garden in a single day.

·        Two Small Mottled Willows.

·        Two White-points.

·        Seven Golden Twin-spots — the highest total so far this year.

·        Eight Rusty-dot Pearls and one Olive-tree Pearl among the micro-moths.

This morning also produced the highest counts of the year for both Garden Tiger and Blair’s Mocha, with six and three recorded respectively.

The most abundant species were Apple Leaf Miners, followed closely by Light Brown Apple Moths.

 

MACRO MOTHS	MICRO MOTHS
Large Thorn * x1	Common Plume x4
Garden Tiger x6	Gold Triangle x1
Portland Ribbon Wave x3	Box Tree Moth x6
Double-striped Pug x4	Light Brown Apple Moth x10
Lime-speck Pug x3	Tree-mallow Tortrix x1
Marbled Beauty x2	Hawthorn Moth x1
Bright-line Brown-eye x5	Rusty-dot Pearl x8
Small Mottled Willow x2	Blushed Knot-horn x2
Blair’s Mocha x3	Apple Leaf Miner x15
Shuttle-shaped Dart x7	Meal Moth x1
Heart & Dart x1	Garden Mompha x1
White-point x2	Coleophora sp. X1
Small Ranunculus x1	Olive-tree Pearl x1
Golden Twin-spot x7	Common Grass-moth x1
Common Rustic x4	Codling Moth x1
Small Dusty Wave x1
L-album Wainscot x2
Common Wainscot x1
Pale Mottled Willow x8
Cabbage Moth x1

 

This Batman Hoverfly (Myathropa florea) was inside the Moth Box.

While checking the Moth Box, the only notable insect (apart from the Moths!) was a Batman Hoverfly perched on the inside of the Box.

The lovely view of Highland Terrace where I walk my dogs through every day. A gorgeous Eucalyptus Tree is growing in one of the gardens. The tree does provide a good Wood Pigeon roost and so you have to be careful where you tread when walking!

Highland Road Cemetery, Southsea.

It had got a little darker when the eclipse was at its peak here in the Cemetery.

With all the excitement around this evening’s partial solar eclipse, I took the dogs for a walk through the cemetery. I still remember the total eclipse in 1999, when I was on the Isle of Wight; that was much darker and eerier than tonight’s event. While I was on the east side of the cemetery, a kind passer-by lent me a pair of eclipse glasses so I could view it safely. It was impressive, and I was very glad I had not risked looking directly at the sun and damaging my eyes.

Above, there was a large mixed flock of Gulls over the Cemetery this evening including this adult Black-headed Gull.

Above and below, one of two adult Mediterranean Gulls over the Cemy.

Apart from the Gulls, there were hardly any birds present, but I did find this male Blackbird in one of the Bushes in the southern half of the Cemetery.

I was hoping to see what the wildlife would make of the eclipse, for in 1999, a lot of birds, especially Starlings, all gathered up around midday as it became a lot darker and the birds were looking to go to roost. Not so this evening and in fact, yes, it did get a shade darker, but apart from a mixed flock of Black-headed, Herring and a couple of Mediterranean Gulls, very little was seen regarding the birdlife. A returning Pied Flycatcher was found in the New Forest this morning, which prompted me to check the trees within the Cemetery thoroughly. I saw one around this time of year several years ago, so what are the odds of one present this evening?

Above, a Painted Lady butterfly was near the main entrance.

Above, a Red Admiral and below, a Small White butterfly.

Above and below, two separate Red Admirals basking in the late evening sunshine.

There were actually more butterflies on the wing than birds, mostly Red Admirals, with at least four seen in one area chasing each other or basking in the evening sun. A Painted Lady was also basking near the main entrance, while a possible Hairstreak was seen high in the lone oak tree in the north-east corner of the site. Two Migrant Hawker dragonflies were nearby but showed no interest in the butterflies. I also saw what may have been two Common Darters hunting over the grass, although they were moving too quickly for a firm identification.