Reed Bunting over Pembroke Road.

Thursday 17th October 2024.

The walk to the Mausoleum. More often than not, there is always something to look at around this vegetation.

A much better day today with plenty of sunshine after a night of rain showers. Temperatures got up to 16 degrees this morning, quite balmy for this time of year and a light south-westerly blowing in off the Solent. Up to 16 bird species were seen or heard at Pembroke Road this morning, though only 15 species were seen in Highland Road Cemetery.

A bright start to the day in Pembroke Road.

Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth:

A bright, sunny start to the day here on Pembroke Road and it looked perfect for a bit of visible migration too. My day started off with a Goldfinch flying over; a species I have not seen here for a few weeks. The best sighting of all here this morning was a Reed Bunting flying high over heading west. I picked it up and identified it by its distinctive call; the first time I have encountered this species here. A Song Thrush was heard and a Blackbird was seen and heard over by the Bowling Green. Two large distant thrushes flew south-west, but I could not hear them calling as the cars passing by drowned out any calls. I suppose they were more than likely Mistle Thrushes, but I could not rule out Fieldfare. Meadow Pipits trickled over, but no Wagtails were seen this morning.

In the afternoon shift, a Pied Wagtail finally showed up, running around on the Bowling Green and a Wren was heard to sing somewhere along the footpath leading to the Curtain Moat. A total of 17 species for the day here. I rescued a Large White Caterpillar from a certain death by picking it up and placing it carefully into the nearby vegetation. A Red Admiral was the only butterfly seen here today.

Honey Fungus growing by the footpath in the Cemetery.

Highland Road Cemetery, Southsea:

Above, a Scaly Earthball toadstool and below, more Toadstools growing near a grave.

It was a pleasant walk around the Cemetery this morning with not only birds and various insects on show, but there were a few species of Toadstool present around the Cemetery. A lot of the leaves on the trees have fallen, with trees now showing their branches and a carpet of leaves along the footpaths.

Various Toadstools were found within the Cemy.

Though some of the birds seen today showed very well, there wasn't all that much variety this morning, with just 15 species seen this morning.  A Crest species was seen among a small flock of Blue Tits, but only showed very briefly and didn't call either. In fact, it was very quiet within the Holm Oaks, which are normally reliable for Crest’s and so I was checking the ground a lot for Fungi.

Above, I flushed a Blair's Mocha moth from the grass and below, a Robin showing well near the Mausoleum.

The birds seen or heard this morning included the following:

• Herring Gull
• Wood Pigeon
• Feral Pigeon
• Blue Tit
• Great Tit
• Meadow Pipit
• Carrion Crow
• Magpie
• Jay
• Starling
• Blackbird
• Robin

Above, a Blue Tit was with a few Great Tits near the Mausoleum and below, this Robin showed very well close by.

Above, a male Blackbird skulking in the bushes and below, a Painted Lady butterfly along with Batman Hoverflies and a Drone Fly share the same Ivy plants.

The insect life was more agreeable with five species of butterfly seen that included many Red Admiral’s and singles of Large White, Speckled Wood, Comma and best of all, a Painted Lady. Drone Flies, Batman Hoverflies, Common Wasps and Ivy Bees were all numerous on the flowering Ivy as per usual in the sunshine.

There were a good number of butterflies present today in the Cemetery that included (above) Red Admiral and (below) Comma. 

Above, numerous Drone Flies and below, Batman Hoverfly, were within the Cemy.

Above, a Red Admiral butterfly and a male Drone Fly.

Yesterday, a Pallas’s Warbler was found by Andy Johnson at the same location on the bottom of Seafarers Walk on Hayling Island. Sadly,  Andy was the only birder who connected with the bird; but he did get a photo of the Warbler. Three Ring Ouzels were seen over Portsdown Hill early this morning.

Rare moth in my Moth Box.

Monday 14th October 2024.

Only my second ever Radford's Flame Shoulder moth.

And yet another wet start to the working week with drizzly and sometimes heavy rain coming down throughout the night. The wind was coming from the south and therefore the temperatures were abnormally high for this time of year and that most likely prompted more immigrant moths to reach our shores. Well it did in my garden as I notched up my first ever Radford’s Flame Shoulder moth for my garden. I have seen this species only once before, when Becky and I stayed down East Prawle, Devon, around five years ago. I have been looking on the Migrant Lepidoptera Moths Facebook page and have been quite envious on some of the numbers of Radford’s Flame Shoulder moths on some of the coastal hotspots. Though it was a wet morning at Pembroke Road, it was much drier and sunnier in the afternoon,

The Moth Box:

Two Jasmine Moths were present today.

Though the number of moths were small, 16 moths of 8 species; there were some quality moths present and virtually nearly all were migrant moths. October does bring some real quality at times and with the Radford’s Flame Shoulder being present on the bottom egg tray within the Box; it really did put a big smile on my face. Two Jasmine Moths added a splash of beauty (they really are surreal looking moths) with one inside the Moth Box and the other on the wall opposite. Because of the weather, I had to wait till when I got back later in the day; but it was worth the wait.

Silver Y moth.

The Moths present this morning included the following:

MACRO MOTHS:

• Radford’s Flame Shoulder (New for Year)
• Lesser Yellow Underwing
• Feathered Ranunculus x3
• Angle Shades
• Silver Y

MICRO MOTHS:

• Light Brown Apple Moth x3
• Rusty-dot Pearl x4
• Jasmine Moth x2

One of three Feathered Ranunculus moths.

While checking the moths, a Chiffchaff was heard in the neighbouring gardens again.

Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth:

The weather was drizzly first thing this morning on my first shift and I only managed to notch up 11 species this morning here in Old Portsmouth, that included the pair of Jays showing on and off and most of the usual birds. A further four more species were added in the afternoon, which included my first Common Buzzard for this site since I have been working here. The bird was seen circling quite high overhead until I watched it close its wings and zoom off to the west. A small flock of House Sparrows flew over and headed north and to round it off, a pair of Great Black-backed Gulls were seen flying east behind the Royal Garrison Church. The Large White Caterpillars were still present nearby, but it looks as though they have totally demolished the Nasturtiam plants!

I had to put another photo of this rare moth.

Firecrest seen again in the Cemy.

Sunday 13th October 2024.

This male Firecrest showed well briefly in a bush close to the main footpath.

It was back over Highland Road Cemetery this afternoon with a 45 minute stroll with the dogs which turned up a few nice birds. It was rather cloudy and cool this afternoon (around 11 degrees), but there was hardly any wind, which made it a comfortable walk today. There were not too many dog-walkers either, which made viewing any bird easy. Squirrels were literally everywhere which my dogs kept a sharp eye on, though I always have my dogs on a lead.

Above, this Jay showed well high up in a tree then flew off into neighbouring trees, to join a couple of Wood Pigeons.

There was a nice variety of birds this afternoon of which the first notable bird seen was a male Firecrest. I first heard the bird calling deep within a bush and eventually, it showed briefly but long enough to grab a half decent photo. The bird soon flew off to another bush, but I was sure there were more than one in the area and probably the same pair I saw last week. Shortly afterwards, a Jay flew in and landed in the top of a tree and although I grabbed a few photos, the bird soon flew off towards the trees close to the Mausoleum. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard in the distance and despite being quite a vocal bird, I never actually got a sighting of it.

Above, the various shades of green on all these trees are really eye-catching. Autumn brings with it the variety of colours and never fails to excite me. Below, there were not many flowers still in bloom, but this clump of Ox-eye Daisies caught my eye.

Above, the usual insects were nectaring on the flowering Ivy including this Ivy Bee.

In all, 17 species were seen or heard during my walk round my local patch, which included the following birds:

• Herring Gull
• Feral Pigeon
• Wood Pigeon
• Collared Dove
• Blue Tit
• Great Tit
• Starling
• Great Spotted Woodpecker
• Jay
• Carrion Crow
• Magpie
• Firecrest
• Blackbird
• Wren
• Robin
• Goldfinch
• Meadow Pipit

In Hampshire today, a Yellow-browed Warbler was seen briefly near Hammonds Bridge along the Canal Path, Titchfield. Nearby, up to 3 Glossy Ibis were on the Bridge Street Floods early morning. 

Kittiwake added to Hampshire year list.

Saturday 12th October 2024.

Sea-watching from Gilkicker.

Early this morning, I checked the weather forecast and rain was forecast for Butser Hill, a destination I planned for today to see if any Ring Ouzels had turned up overnight. I had already been told that there were very few berries in the bushes up there and with this in mind, I took a different approach and went ‘sea-watching’ instead! It looked much drier at Gilkicker this morning and so I arranged with Emma & Matt Parkes to meet there this morning instead. I picked up both Geoff and Andy as per usual and made our way to Gilkicker to join Emma & Matt for a four hour stint here. Our second destination today was to be Portsdown Hill, where there was a good chance of a Ring Ouzel there.

The Moth Boxes:

My third Scarce Bordered Straw of the year.

Again, it was too dark this morning to check the inside of the Moth Box and so checking the trays I put outside the Box, there was already a Lesser Yellow Underwing and a Shuttle-shaped Dart present. When I got home from ‘Birding’ today late this afternoon, I was pleased to see another Scarce Bordered Straw on one of the trays and up to 3 Lunar Underwings present.

The moths present this morning in my Moth Box included the following:

MACRO MOTHS:

• Scarce Bordered Straw
• Lunar Underwing x3
• Lesser Yellow Underwing
• Shuttle-shaped Dart
• Large Yellow Underwing

MICRO MOTHS:

• Light Brown Apple Moth x8
• Rusty-dot Pearl

Sadly, there were fewer moths in Andy’s trap where there just 5 moths present that included the following:

• 4 L-album Wainscot
• 1 Blair’s Mocha

A Harvestman was on the wall in Andy's garden.

On arrival at Andy’s house, a pair of Song Thrushes flew high overhead and headed off west, identified on their call. Just a little footnote here: for all those reading this and starting off into Birdwatching, young or old, it does take years of experience in learning bird calls and it pays to spend time learning them; whether online or in the field. On exiting Andy’s house to get into the car, my first Redwing of the year flew over with a tidy flock of 7 birds flying north-east over the houses. Their familiar call alerted me to their presence, but they were too quick for both Andy and Geoff to connect with them.

The four L-album Wainscot moths in Andy's garden.

Gilkicker Point, Gosport:

A pair of Sandwich Terns were fishing up and down the foreshore.

We all spent the next four hours at Gilkicker, within the shelter overlooking the Solent and the Isle of Wight clearly in the distance. It mostly remained dry throughout the morning and through the many ships, boats and an obscene amount of small Yachts and Windsurfers, we actually managed to find some birds to look at. The pick of the bunch easily went to Andy Fisher's sighting(s) when he noticed something flying high east, although distant. It transpired to be a Diver species and probably a Great Northern Diver too, but I just couldn't pick it up in the scope. Better still, Andy shouted out he had something else passing the bird heading south-east towards the Isle of Wight. This, however, I did get through the scope and this transpired to be a Spoonbill! The bird was distant, but I got enough on it to confirm its ID as it flew off into the distance.

A small flock of 4 and a singleton Brent Goose went through.

Another good sighting this morning was my first Hampshire sighting of an adult Kittiwake half way out across the Solent. I followed it through the scope and picked out all the relevant ID pointers as the bird followed a large Tanker heading east and being a Hampshire first for the year, I am now just three away for 200 species in Hampshire for the year. Up to 5 Brent Geese flew east that included a single bird and then a small flock of 4 birds and a pair of Sandwich Terns were searching for fish up and down the shoreline throughout the morning. A lone adult Mediterranean Gull, with a dodgy leg, flew across the shoreline and two individual Oystercatchers flew east were the only waders seen this morning.

Above, the lone Brent Goose flying east across the Solent and below, the adult Med Gull with the dodgy leg just offshore.

There was a bit of passerine movement going through with a small number of Meadow Pipits heading south and a small passage of Swallows flying low over the Solent too. There were periods of quiet too, though a lot of Gulls, especially Great Black-backed Gulls moving through the Solent. Apparently, over at St. Catherines Point on the Isle of Wight, a Pomarine Skua was harassing Kittiwakes offshore. Just a shame it was over the other side of the Island.

Portsdown Hill:

Emma checks the countryside with a stormy background. It was actually pouring down on the Hills in the distance, but thankfully, it missed us.

Emma & Matt joined us as we parked up on Portchester Lane, on top of Portsdown Hill where we had a quick view of a distant Red Kite and numerous Red-legged Partridges out in the fields running or flying away from us as soon as we stepped out of the cars. Walking along Crooked Walk Lane, a large flock of Skylarks (30+) took flight from the ploughed field to the south along with more Red-legged Partridges in the same field. A Hare was seen running away from us and then eventually settled next to a Red-legged Partridge and posed nicely for our cameras.  

Above, a Hare was a surprise sighting looking south from Crooked Walk Lane and then sitting next to one of the Red-legged Partridges while more RL Partridges were seen in the neighbouring field (below).

Above, the fields were full of Red-legged Partridges and below, several Common Buzzards were seen during our time here.

Above, a large congregation of Stock Doves, mixed in with Feral Pigeons were also in the fields. Below, Andy, Geoff and Emma climb a steep path to the summit overlooking a large scrubby area.

Above, a male Stonechat keeping an eye on us as we passed by and below, a female Stonechat just ahead from us on the path.

Emma took this superb photo of a Long-tailed Tit in the scrub on the Hill.

From here, we took the footpath north into a large area of scrub where the likelihood of a Ring Ouzel looked very promising. Sadly, though we spent a good couple of hours here, there were no positive signs of the species; but there were some nice birds here to look at, nonetheless. We had a large gathering of at least 7 Stonechats here as well as a pair of Song Thrushes that didn't hang around long. A couple of Chiffchaffs were present and showed well, but we only had the briefest of views of a Firecrest that was calling deep within the brambles. Out in the fields, another Red Kite was seen as well as several Buzzards and a male Sparrowhawk. A good sized flock of a hundred plus Stock Doves were out in the fields, mixed in with Feral Pigeons among them too, while a few flocks of Swallows zoomed past us overhead. Shame about the ‘Rouzels’, but this is a superb area for Ring Ouzels and possibly we could be back here next week? 

The scrubby area that looked so promising for Ring Ouzels today. Geoff has had them here in the past and in good numbers too. Maybe next week?