Few Moths but plenty of 'Vis Mig' at Cowplain Marsh.

Saturday 31^st October 2026.

Due to a family emergency of which I will not go into, Becky and I made our way back home yesterday from the lovely village of Askerswell a day early. It was a good journey back with not too much traffic to cope with, though very heavy traffic going into Portsmouth as expected around midday.

My Moth Box:

A very late Golden Twin-spot was present in my Box this morning.

I put the Moth Box on last night after giving the Box a good brush up. My garden looked like it needed a good tidy up due to the poor weather earlier this week and I did so early this morning. It was a bright morning with a clear sky overhead and a little bit of cloud going over at 7.30am today. A tad cool first thing with temperatures around 9 degrees, but it did get up to 17 degrees later today! Thankfully, there were some Moths to record this morning, and the vast majority were Rusty-dot Pearls (Udea ferrugalis) with 14 individuals counted.

A Silver Y moth was the other macro moth.

The only macro moths present this morning was a Silver Y and a Golden Twin-spot to round off October’s moths for this year. A final total of 46 species of Moth were recorded this month.

 

MACRO MOTHS	MICRO MOTHS
Silver Y x1	Rusty-dot Pearl x14
Golden Twin-spot x1	Light Brown Apple Moth x2

 

While checking the Moth Box, a Wren was ‘churring’ in the back of the garden, and a Blackbird was heard also. Overhead, a Linnet, Greenfinch, Siskin and a Pied Wagtail was heard to fly over with only the latter actually seen heading southbound. Later in the afternoon, I watched a Common Buzzard flying east over towards Highland Road Cemetery from my garden, being harassed by a couple of Crows.

 

Geoff’s Moth Box and Cowplain Marsh (Andy’s garden):

This Feathered Thorn was my second for the week.

The plan today was that Geoff, Andy and myself were going to do some ‘Vis Migging’ from Cowplain Marsh this morning as well as checking the Moth Box. Both Geoff and Andy had other plans later on today and so over several cups of coffee, I spent around 3 hours at Cowplain Marsh enjoying the guy’s company and checking the birds flying over and other wildlife here.

The only other macro Moth at Cowplain Marsh this morning was this Large Yellow Underwing.

It was a bit misty on the way up to Andy’s house as I arrived around 9am with Andy’s Moth Box on tow. The Moth Box didn’t attract many Moths but it did contain a superb Feathered Thorn moth on one of the outside egg trays; my second one of the week after seeing one earlier this week at Askerswell. The only other macro moth was a Large Yellow Underwing.

Above, this Common Masoner was unexpected.

The other moths present were micro moths, a Rusty-dot Pearl (Udea ferrugalis) and a Light Brown Apple Moth (Epiphyas postvittana); but it was around 30 minutes later that another micro moth landed behind where Andy was sitting, which turned out to be a Common Masoner (Blastobasis adustella) and below this moth, a Common Plume (Emmelina monodactyla) was sat on the garage door. Yes, not many moths this morning, but as November is now just around the corner, Moth numbers will probably drop, but I will carry on throughout November nonetheless.

 

Macro Moths	Micro Moths
Feathered Thorn x1	Rusty-dot Pearl x1
Large Yellow Underwing x1	Light Brown Apple Moth 1
	Common Masoner x1
	Common Plume x1

 

Cowplain Marsh was now on 48 species for the month and Andy was desperate to get to 50 species and this morning, it was achieved. Geoff and I heard a Mistle Thrush flying over, but sadly not seen and a Raven flew high over our heads heading south. Both species were new for the month here and the magic 50 species was achieved. Andy’s Merlin App picked up a couple of Redwing going over, but we never heard them whatsoever, but I did hear at least two Song Thrushes going over.

The female Great Spotted Woodpecker at Cowplain Marsh.

Other species noted here this morning included good numbers of Goldfinch going over and even landing in the nearby trees within the garden. The female Great Spotted Woodpecker came down to the garden to feed on the Nutballs. A flock of 7 Linnets flew over heading east and several Greenfinches were seen and heard overhead. A Nuthatch showed well briefly in one of the Ash trees and then flew off east over the road to the nearby trees.

Above, one of several Goldfinches seen this morning.

A Coal Tit flew into the garden and landed on the fruit trees and then on one of the feeders and a Grey Wagtail was heard calling behind the house, but there was no sighting of the bird unfortunately, however, we were more successful with a Pied Wagtail. Regarding the Raven sighting; a pair of Rooks flew over heading south and then a third Corvid flew behind them seconds later. I, at first, dismissed it as another Rook, but the diamond-shaped tail had me thinking and then when Geoff and Andy said that they heard it ‘cronk’ (I didn’t!), we then all agreed it was a Raven.

The female Great Spotted Woodpecker on the Nutballs.

The sun eventually rose high enough to warm the garden up for my hands were ‘Bill Oddie’ freezing and the battery in my camera run out to make things worse! A Red Admiral butterfly landed on the apex of the Garage to warm itself up. It remained there for at least 15 minutes before flying off. That was my cue to make my way home and so bidding the guys farewell, it was back to Southsea and my wife.

 

This week’s highlights at Cowplain Marsh:

On Tuesday, after the weekends and Monday’s awful weather, it was a lot brighter here at Cowplain Marsh, the female Great Spotted Woodpecker was in the garden feeding on the Nutballs again, while overhead, a Skylark and Linnet were heard only flying over, but two Jays, up to 15 Goldfinches and 4 Pied Wagtails ere seen over. A Hummingbird Hawk-moth was seen in the garden, which was a nice surprise.

A close up of the female Great Spotted Woodpecker.

On Wednesday, there was a lot more activity in and over the garden and mostly witnessed by Geoff. Four species of Titmice were present that included Blue, Great. Coal and Long-tailed Tits and the female Great Spotted Woodpecker was back in the garden on the feeders. Another pair of Great Spotted woodpeckers flew over during the day. Three large flocks of Wood Pigeon went over, and Geoff numbered around 570 birds at least. More passerines were going over during the day included double figures of both Greenfinch and Chaffinch as well as Siskin, Linnet and up to 6 Skylarks. In the afternoon, a pair of Common Buzzards soared overhead, and a Grey Heron headed south. Other birds noted included a Nuthatch, Meadow Pipit, Grey Wagtail, Goldcrest, Jay and a flock of 40 Jackdaws were seen at dusk to round off a busy day.

A pair of Goldfinches in the fruit trees this morning.

On Thursday, a flock of 16 Redwing went over as did 2 Siskins, 20+ Goldfinches, a single Meadow Pipit and 2 Grey Wagtails. A Goldcrest was in the garden as was the female Great Spotted Woodpecker on the feeders and to round off Thursday, the Frogs were ‘croaking’ from the Pond!

A male House Sparrow on the Nutballs.

Yesterday, the female Great Spotted Woodpecker was back on the feeders and overhead, a Siskin, Grey Wagtail, Skylark, Redwing and Song Thrush all went over. A Red Admiral butterfly was in the garden in the afternoon.

 

In Hampshire today:

The Shorelark at Hurst Spit today. Photo by Emma Parkes.

The long-staying Shorelark was still at Hurst Spit, near Milford on Sea today as birding pals Matt and Emma Parkes successfully connected with the bird (see photo). This morning, an adult winter Bonaparte’s Gull was seen among a large flock of Black-headed Gulls flying over Fishlake Meadows, but no further sightings during the day. An intriguing report of a dead Long-tailed Skua was found in the tideline at Portchester!

Above, some film footage of the Shorelark at Hurst Spit today by James Cutting.

Another lovely day in Askerswell.

Thursday 29^th October 2026.

A nice bright start here in Askerswell.

Another dry and bright day here in Askerswell where I was up around 5am to put the dogs out into the garden where a Tawny Owl was ‘hooting’ some distance away. It was dawn when I went out to check the Moth Box but sadly, there was not one Moth to be had this morning. The new light bulb I bought yesterday simply wasn’t strong enough to attract Moths and for my efforts, all it attracted was several Common Wasps.

Hundreds of Wood Pigeons were passing over the countryside. 

However, I wasn’t totally Moth free as I caught a macro moth last night and quickly potted it to identify it this morning. It was in fact my second (I caught one in July) Coastal Buff moth (Agonopterix yeatiana) of the year once I established its ID, I quickly released it back into the garden.

This Coastal Buff micro moth was caught last night.

Before breakfast, I spent the next 30 to 40 minutes watching what might fly over or land in the trees by the garden. Kicking off with thrushes, up to 3 Song Thrushes were noted (a pair and a single bird flew high west); a Mistle Thrush was heard calling somewhere in the distance and a lone Redwing flew east.

A Pied Wagtail on a nearby rooftop.

Two Green Woodpeckers were heard calling down in the Copse below the field, but still no sightings of them yet. I had better luck with a Great Spotted Woodpecker flying over the garden. A Nuthatch flew out of the trees by the garden and then south over the house and a couple of Goldcrests were flitting about in the nearby trees. I did hear a Blackcap ‘chacking’ some distance away in the roadside hedgerow. A Treecreeper was calling in the trees behind the house, and a Grey Wagtail also flew over but lost to view.

One of the Roe Deer bounding over the field.

After a trip to Yeovil with my wife and dogs, once home and after lunch, I took the dogs for a short walk around the village. Apart from the usual birds, I did find a Firecrest flitting about in a tree but was very active and would not keep still long enough for a decent photo; but sadly, not much else to report. I wonder what dusk will bring?

A pair of Roe Deer this morning in the usual field.

This evening finished with a gorgeous sunset over the countryside as I watch dusk fall here in Askerswell. Birds were going into roost and the Roe Deer came out of hiding to start grazing in the field opposite. Up to 7 Deer came out of the woods and that included the well antlered Buck that showed very well. I was hoping for an Owl or a Woodcock to go over, but I had to wait till nearly 7.30pm when it was fully dark for a Tawny Owl to call somewhere in the wood below the field to round off a relaxing day.

Above, up to 7 Roe Deer came out of the wood to graze.

Above, the Buck Roe Deer came out as well.

Above, a gorgeous sunset over the countryside from our Cottage and below, the moon rising over the hill to the east.

Thirty minutes birding from the patio.

Wednesday 28th October 2026.

Above, these male Pheasants were squaring up to one another in the adjacent field.

Disaster struck last night when I went to check the Moth Box before retiring to bed. The lightbulb had blown! So, no Moth reports this morning, but I will be going into Bridport later this morning to buy a new bulb for the Moth Box.

This Skylark flew high over my head.

Thankfully, I had a bit of a lay in this morning and got up just after 5am this morning and so made my way downstairs to put the kettle on and let the dogs out onto the patio to do their business. While waiting, a Little Owl was heard calling somewhere to the west and over to the east, a Tawny Owl was also calling!

A flock of Stock Doves flying south over the adjacent field.

It was bright and clear looking over the countryside from the patio as I donned both my binoculars and camera to spend 30 minutes before breakfast between 7.30am to 8am. There was again plenty of birds to look at and many more flying overhead, which kept me busy checking the fields in the distance and the area looking west for anything of note.

One of the many Rooks present by the Cottage.

Both Green and Great Spotted Woodpecker were present, but only the latter was actually seen as it flew up to the tall Pine by the Cottage and then flew off south. Good numbers of Redwing went over that included two sizeable flocks of 20 and 25 birds, plus smaller flocks of 6 and 4 birds.

A Common Buzzard trying to lose these Carrion Crows with a 'photo-bombing' Wood Pigeon in the photo.

Finches were also abundant that included a flock of Greenfinch numbering birds; a flock of 7 Goldfinches, several Chaffinches and a Bullfinch was heard again, but I failed to locate the bird. A small flock of 4 Siskin headed east and at least two Skylarks flew high over heading west.

Let the fight begin. This Pheasant fighting with another.

At least two Common Buzzards were seen soaring distantly over the countryside, much to the annoyance of the local Corvids. Another pair drifted low over the Cottage after I had my breakfast and a Grey Wagtail flew over the neighbouring field and most likely landed on the small lane adjacent to the Cottage to round off a productive morning here in Askswell. Stop press: while writing this up on my blog, a female Reed Bunting has just landed in the trees by the patio!

Take some of this! The Pheasants having a squabble.

Back in Hampshire, ‘Lazee Birder’ Mark Francis found two Shorelarks on the Rainbow Bar off Hill Head this morning and a Purple Sandpiper with the Sanderling flock!

Above, the Shorelark off Hill Head this morning and below, also this Purple Sandpiper turned up with the local Sanderling. Photos by Mark Francis.

Hive Beach, Burton Bradstock, Dorset:

Hive Beach at Burton Bradstock. 

One of the main priorities today was to replace the bulb for my Moth Box and so I popped in Morrisons on the way back from a lovely trip to Hive Beach at Burton Bradstock. Becky and I were staying around four years ago in a little holiday Cottage on nearby Portland when up popped a message on Birdguides that an American Herring Gull (not see one yet!) was found by the car park there at Burton Bradstock. Sadly, I didn’t go for it and headed off home in the rain instead.

Above, a Jackdaw flew into the trees by the patio and then I heard a familiar call of a Reed Bunting and there it was, a female bird perched in the same tree. Below.

Above, a Dunnock was exploring the patio area and then a variety of birds came into the garden including this Great Tit.

After an hour within a very busy Bridport town centre (it was Market Day today), Becky suggested about going down to Hive Beach and so taking the 15-minute drive down to the coast, we eventually parked up and had lunch at the superb Hive Beach Café. After a delicious lunch, we took the dogs to the beach for a good walk on an upcoming tide. Of course, I kept my eye open for any birdlife and both Raven and a Rock Pipit was seen during the 20-minute walk around the beach, which was all part of the Jurassic Coastline.

This female Great Spotted Woodpecker flew in and landed in one of the trees.

Above and below, one of the flock of 6 Long-tailed Tits was literally just outside the kitchen window!

Above, even a Chiffchaff came in with the birds to our patio garden.

When we got back to the Cottage, I spent a good 30 minutes outside on the patio waiting for dusk to fall and out came the Roe Deer again, with at least four seen in the field. Corvids were coming into roost in nearby trees and large numbers of Gulls were heading back to the coast after spending their day out in the Dorset countryside. The Moth Box is back on and hopefully, a good showing of Moths tomorrow morning; we shall see. I have added some more photos of the birds that were in and around the patio from earlier this morning.

Two excellent Moths to kick off a brighter day.

Tuesday 27th October 2026.

A much brighter start her in Askerswell this morning after heavy overnight rain.

An awful lot of overnight rain had left my outside egg trays all sodden and I am hoping they all dry today as the weather has finally changed (fingers crossed!). Though I was up at ‘stupid o’clock’ again this morning, I could hear the wind drop and the rain that was earlier hammering against the window finally stopped. It left behind a full moon west of the Cottage and a bright start beckoned. All we needed now was the sun to rise.

While I was lying in bed, contemplating in getting up early again, I could hear one of the Roe Deer ‘barking’ outside and this continued for at least an hour, which totally intrigued my dogs for they have never heard anything like it!

 

My Moth Box:

A stunning Mottled Umber was perched near the Moth Box.

Despite the grim wet weather overnight and all my egg trays all soaked, I till managed to get 10 moths 8 species this morning. Two of which were new for the year as well; a stunning Mottled Umber and another nice moth, the Feathered Thorn. Both species have turned up in my Southsea garden, but very rarely and so to see these two species this morning really put a big smile on my face.

Above, my first Feathered Thorn of the year and below, the only micro moth present this morning was this Narrow-winged Grey.

The other Moths present included those that have been seen so far with the micro moth Narrow-winged Grey (Eudonia angustea) being the exception. I would not have seen it until it flew across the back of the garden and landed on a wooden fence. There were two other macro moths present, but they were so worn that I did not try to ID them but still safely released them from the Moth Box.

Just some of the Moths present this morning.

Once again, the Moth Box attracted several species of insects including two Ichneumon Wasps and at least 5 large Caddisflies plus numerous House Flies!

Two Ichneuman Wasps were in the Moth Box.

The Moths present this morning included the following:

 

MACRO MOTHS	MICRO MOTHS
Mottled Umber * x1	Narrow-winged Grey x1
November Moth x1
Feathered Thorn * x1
Large Yellow Underwing x1
Yellow-line Quaker x1
Beaded Chestnut x2
Green-brindled Crescent x2

 

While checking the Moth Box, there was a lot of birds going over or calling in the background. This included both Green and Great Spotted Woodpecker that were both heard only, however, a Mistle Thrush was seen calling high up in one of the Conifers by the garden. A Common Buzzard was calling in the small bit of woodland nearby and a Grey Wagtail was seen twice flying around high over the garden and eventually landed out of view in the small lane adjacent to the Cottage.

Above, this Jay perched up in a nearby tree this morning and below, a male Pheasant strutting his stuff in the field opposite our Cottage.

Again, there was a lot of finches flying over that included Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Greenfinch and even a flock of 6 Crossbills going over heading west over the trees. A Jay flew out of the nearby woodland and headed south and still plenty of Corvids around the premises. A Red Admiral flew high around the garden before flying off north and out of view. A nice start to the day me thinks!

Askerswell and then onto West Bay:

The Grey Phalarope on the small estuary at West Bay this afternoon.

Before we headed off back to West Bay, I spent at least 30 minutes or so enjoying the birds around the garden. A flock of Long-tailed Tits came into the edge of the garden, numbering around 6 or so birds as they explored the small trees and bushes. A Treecreeper then flew in and landed in one of the nearest trees and showed superbly in the bright sunshine as did a male Great Spotted Woodpecker within the same tree.

Above, the Treecreeper sharing the same tree with a Great Spotted Woodpecker below.

A Common Buzzard drifted lazily over the large field to the north of the Cottage, being chased by a posse of Carrion Crows, while more Chaffinches were flying overhead heading west. A busy 30 minutes of birding. There was no news on Birdguides about whether yesterday’s Grey Phalarope had been seen at West Bay, but seeing there were quite a few around the coast of Dorset this morning, I decided to take a gamble and with agreement from Becky, we were heading back to this rather nice little town.

Above, some of the Long-tailed Tits in the garden and below, the Common Buzzard flying over the neighbouring field and hassled by Carrion Crows.

Parking up within the car par by the Rise Café, I quickly grabbed my camera (forgot to take my binoculars! Doh!) and made my way overlooking the mudflats and the small estuary where sadly, there was no sign of any birds here. I then walked further west to get a better view of the creek in front of me but to no avail. There was another birder there also after the Phalarope and he looked rather disappointed to as he and his family sped past me.

The Grey Phalarope in West Bay.

I almost gave up and then I caught sight of a small grey and white wader walking over the mudflat towards the estuary. It was the Grey Phalarope and quickly, I got some decent images on my camera and some film footage of this beautiful little wader. It was my first of the year and hopefully, not my last as I watched it head to the water and then have a brief swim. It did return to explore the mudflats again and realising I had both my wife and the dogs still back at the car, I made my way back to the guys with a huge smile on my face. Happy days.

Above, the Grey Phalarope and below, the Isle of Portland in the distance seen from West Bay beach.

Back at the Cottage, we had great views of a doe Roe Deer bounding over the field and then getting closer, I managed to reel off a few close photos of this lovely animal. Becky was well pleased looking at the Deer through my binoculars. The Great Spotted Woodpecker flew in again and showed well in one of the nearby trees and good numbers of Chaffinches went over and also a pair of Stock Doves that flew over westbound. The Common Buzzard drifted over a few times, but no other raptor species have been seen here yet. I did put my sighting on Birdguides when I got back to the Cottage, and I also noted that Portland still has a Snow Bunting on there near the Bill and nearby Chesil Cove had up to FIVE Grey Phalaropes there today!

This Roe Deer showed nicely for both Becky and I.

The Grey Phalarope at West Bay today.