A quiet walk around the Cemetery.

 Sunday 20th September 2026.

An overcast but brightening start to the morning walk over the Cemetery.

It was overcast this morning and still mild with temperatures around the 17 degree mark. A north-easterly wind was blowing lightly over Southsea as I took my dogs for their morning walk and this time, it was back over my local patch, Highland Road Cemetery. It has been a few weeks since I have been here and as Autumn marches on, the possibility of something unusual within the Cemy could be on the cards.

Highland Road Cemetery, Southsea:

Another view of the Cemetery looking east. Finding the birds wasnt easy this morning, but a few gave themselves up.

There was nothing out of the ordinary here this morning and although it was bright but overcast, it was rather quiet. Very few birds were actually calling, but as I casually walked around anticlockwise along the main footpath, birds did start to appear as well as call. Small numbers of Meadow Pipits were flying overhead, heading southbound towards the coast, but that was all that the ‘Vis Mig’ had to offer here this morning.

On the way to the Cemetery, there is a house nearby in Highland Road that always seems to hold a moth that is attracted to its bright white walls. This Common Plume was present there this morning. Below, the Virginia Creeper is starting to glow red on this large bush.

A couple of Chiffchaffs were heard calling deep within cover, but it wasn’t till I was nearly walking towards the exit of the Cemy that I saw one of the birds flitting about in one of the large Yucca Plants near the Chapel. Over on the east side of the Cemy, I could hear the Starlings giving off their alarm calls as a swirling flock gave way to a male Sparrowhawk flying through and heading north over the Cemetery; but too quick for a decent photo.

Above, one of the Chiffchaffs that was in the Cemetery this morning. Below, several clumps of Honey Fungus were now in full bloom.

Up to 13 bird species were recorded this morning, either heard or seen, but I said to myself that I must get over here a lot more to increase this number. It is the time of year that Fungi are starting to appear and there were at least three very large blooms of Honey Fungus growing along one of the footpaths, notably where the large, but dying Beech Tree used to be. Hardly any plants were flowering, with Yarrow easily the most common plant seen.

Above, this Atlas Cedar tree was full of cones near the Cemetery entrance. Below, a Grey Squirrel on the footpath leading to the Mausoleum. 

Yes, it was rather quiet, but this oasis in the middle of Southsea never fails to produce something to look at and enjoy.

Above, a clump of Honey Fungus growing next to some late flowering Ragwort. Below, flowering Hoary Plantain plants close to the main footpath.

Yesterday, birding pal Geoff Farwell went to Beacon Hill, in the Meon Valley and recorded the following sightings that included 2 Red Kites, 2 Common Buzzard, 10 Blackcap, 3 Chiffchaff, 2 Firecrest, Marsh Tit and at least 150+ House Martins through overhead. A Tawny Owl was also heard too on his trip there.

 

 

Windy weather still produces the Moths & birding with Andy.

Saturday 19^th September 2026.

A windy night here in Southsea with some rain thrown in too but still a reasonable haul of Moths in my garden this morning. The patio was wet when I started checking the Moths but the forecast does say it should remain dry throughout the day though cloudy and still breezy with a westerly blowing all day.

My Moth Box:

This Nutmeg moth was one of the latest I have ever had.

Up to 69 moths were recorded this morning of 19 species and the pick of the bunch was an unexpected Nutmeg moth. I did have a few earlier this summer, but this one was by far the latest one I have had in my garden. All the Autumn moths are starting to appear now including two Lunar Underwings, Plumed Fan-foots and the regular Golden Twin-spots. I read that somewhere else in Hampshire they are breeding now and I can only assume they are here in Southsea.

Above, one of two Golden Twin-spots and below, one of 5 Turnip Moths this morning.

Above, 2 Lunar Underwings were present inside the Moth Box including this bright individual.

The most numerous moths were the Lesser and Large Yellow Underwings with 14 and 12 respectively. 5 Turnip Moths was a good total and regarding the micro moths, up to 10 Light Brown Apple Moths were recorded. The following Moths were present this morning:

 

MACRO MOTHS	MICRO MOTHS
Blair’s Mocha x1	Light Brown Apple Moth x10
Clancy’s Rustic x3	Common Plume x1
Lesser Yellow Underwing x14	Olive-tree Pearl x2
Large Yellow Underwing x12	Rusty-dot Pearl x2
Lunar Underwing x2	Ruddy Streak x1
Turnip Moth x5	Chevron Grass-moth x2
Pale Mottled Willow x1
L-album Wainscot x4
Plumed Fan-foot x2
Square-spot Rustic x1
Golden Twin-spot x2
Nutmeg x1
Double-striped Pug x3

 

Farlington Marshes & Langstone Harbour:

The Bar-tailed Godwit on the Lake at Farlington Marshes this morning.

It was Andy Fisher’s turn to drive today, of which I was most grateful for and although his car is on its last legs, the furthest he could drive to was Farlington Marshes. By 9am, the wind had increased and so the walk around the Reserve was a bit blowy to say the least. Birding pal Geoff Farwell went off inland today and so it was just Andy and myself enjoying what Farlington Marshes had to offer.

The Curlew Sandpiper on the Lake.

Our first port of call was the Viewing seat overlooking the main Lake where, sadly, there were very few waders. An unusual small wader had us baffled at first, but we concluded it was a juvenile Curlew Sandpiper that was wading on the foreshore at the northern end of the Lake and over at the southern end, a Bar-tailed Godwit was wading over on the grassy area. Wildfowl are most definitely building up in numbers with Pintail, Shoveler, Mallard, Teal and several Wigeon all seen on the Lake, while flocks of both Linnet and Goldfinch were seen in the adjacent fields.

This Oystercatcher, just north of the Lake, was seen hobbling away from us.

We received a message reporting a probable American Wigeon in the Stream area and promptly made our way there to join several familiar birders. Our initial excitement soon gave way to disappointment when the bird proved to be an escaped Chiloe Wigeon. I observed it preening near a group of Canada Geese, among which the Greylag Goose remained, and could understand how the initial misidentification had arisen. Such errors can occur even among experienced observers. The sight of a male Kestrel flying over the Bushes area then prompted me to move on.

Above, overlooking the Stream area from the Viewing benches. Below, honestly, this is a Cattle Egret flying off north.

After a chat with the guys present, we headed off to the Viewing seats overlooking the Stream for a coffee. Sadly, not a lot of birds were present from here (just Gulls and Coots!), but I did hear at least one or two Bearded Tits calling within the reedbeds; but it was so windy, there was no chance of seeing any within the reeds. A Cattle Egret was seen briefly heading north high over the Reserve and then flew off northbound over the motorway.

Above, a Small Copper and below, a Common Blue with a Clouded Yellow behind.

Above, yet another Clouded Yellow and below, a Small White.

The Butterflies present on the Reserve were virtually all Clouded Yellows. It has been an incredible year for this migratory species in the UK and there must easily have been at least 40+ seen today. In one area along the seawall, near the Deeps area, we saw five species of Butterflies in just one area: at least 4 Clouded Yellows, Small White, Small Heath, Small Copper and Common Blues.

Above, I cannot believe how dry the Deeps were with this hard-backed mud for proof. Below, a pair of Little Egrets hunting fish.

It was low tide within the Harbour, but we were keen to keep an eye out in the channel for Terns due to the amazing number of species seen here recently. The only Terns we did see from the Point was a flock of 6 Sandwich Terns. The Deeps area was very quiet. I have never seen it so dry here with hardly any water whatsover due to the heatwaves in the Summer. We did not sit there long, though a group of 7 Great Crested Grebes were out in Langstone Channel. From the Point, there were a respectable number of waders to be seen including around 30+ Ringed Plover, a Dunlin and around 10 Oystercatchers. Way in the distance southwest of Oyster Island, I could see at least probably around 100+ Oystercatchers and many more Dunlin feeding on the mudflats plus good numbers of Little Egrets fishing in the shallow waters.

Above, Ringed Plovers moved in to where we sat by the Point and below, a Dunlin joined them.

Above, one of a flock of 6 Sandwich Terns out in the Channel.

While walking into the wind, I proposed that Andy and I conduct a seawatch from Southsea seafront to observe any seabirds moving through the area. Earlier reports from Hill Head had included two Arctic Skuas and several Black Terns, suggesting a reasonable possibility of encountering one or both species. I found out later this afternoon that a Garganey had flown onto the Stream area this morning.

The Solent, Southsea Seafront:

You can just make out the large flock of Gulls and Sandwich Terns offshore from Southsea seafront.

After paying for our parking and a couple of excellent coffees from the Briny Restaurant, we made our way to one of the shelters overlooking the Solent. We spent almost the next two hours checking the sea, but it must be said, it was a bit disappointing; especially for Andy.

There was a scattering of Gulls on the beach including this Herring Gull flanked by Black-headed Gulls. Below, an adult Med Gull heading off westbound.

In two hours, we observed two distant gull flocks, mainly Black-headed Gulls, with several Herring Gulls and up to three Mediterranean Gulls. A shoal of fish also attracted at least 16 Sandwich Terns, many of which dived for prey. The birds remained for about 30 minutes before dispersing or settling on the sea.

Above, the Waverley Paddle Steamer out in the Solent.

The bird of the trip here was an adult Gannet of which I picked up through the scope. I was lucky to find it as it was gliding down to land on the sea and once upon the sea, it simply vanished behind the waves and never seen again. I put Andy onto where the bird landed, but he had no sighting of the bird of which it would have been a ‘year-tick’ for him. So, apart from a couple of very distant Cormorants, we decided to stop for the day and although it was a rather quiet day for us, it was still enjoyable.

A real blast from the past. Coloured vinyl still available.

A nice selection of Moths this morning and a bit of 'Vis Mig'.

Friday 18^th September 2026.

Dawn over Highland Road Cemetery.

A cloudy start to the day here in Southsea, though it was quite bright and with a light south-westerly wind, it felt quite cool today, especially on my first shift in Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth this morning. It was nearly ‘gloves’ weather!

The Moth Box was on overnight, and I was pleased to see the outside egg trays undisturbed this morning, though I was up at 4am and simply could not drop off to sleep again and so went downstairs to update my blog. It didn’t really get light till around 6.30am and so took photos of the Moths using my flash on my mobile phone!

My Moth Box:

It has been a good couple of months for Vestal moths including this one this morning.

Moth numbers are starting to decrease now as Autumn takes hold, but the variety can be interesting. There were no new species for the year list today but some nice Moths present that included a Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing (I think I have only had a few this year), Vestal, up to 3 Plumed Fan-foot and my second Lunar Underwing of the year.

From top to bottom: Lunar Underwing, Plumed Fan-foot and Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing.

Again, micro moths were in short supply, with just three species this morning. A total of 43 moths of 15 species today. The Moths present this morning included the following:

 

MACRO MOTHS	MICRO MOTHS
Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing x1	Light Brown Apple Moth x4
Lesser Yellow Underwing x10	Chevron Grass-moth x1
Large Yellow Underwing x10	Tree-mallow Tortrix x2
Square-spot Rustic x2
Plumed Fan-foot x3
Double-striped Pug x1
L-album Wainscot x3
Turnip Moth x1
Vestal x1
Cabbage Moth x1
Clancy’s Rustic x2
Lunar Underwing x1

 

Overhead, up to two Grey Wagtails were heard and then seen calling, both heading south and a small number of Meadow Pipits also went over. While walking the dogs on their early morning walk, more ‘Mipits’ flew over as did another Grey Wagtail.

 

Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth:

This Carnation Tortrix moth was fluttering about in Pembroke Road this morning and eventually landed on the road sign.

Up to 13 bird species were recorded this morning on my first shift within Pembroke Road and probably the pick of the bunch was a male Sparrowhawk flying low eastbound overhead and being chased by up to 10 Magpies! This happened as soon as I stepped out of the car. A good start to the day.

Other notable birds here was the calling Chiffchaff yet again; it was heard calling down the footpath adjacent to the Bowling Green but not seen this morning. The pair of Jays put in a brief appearance again this morning when they flew up to the Sycamore trees nearby and then headed off west.

 

 

Two Pectoral Sandpipers in Hampshire?

Thursday 17^th September 2026.

A grey start to the day that led to heavy rain during my first shift as I walked past Highland Road Cemetery early this morning with my dogs. A Chiffchaff was calling within the Cemy when I walked past.

A thoroughly wet and miserable morning today with a breezy south-westerly that brought in thick cloud overhead around 8am, with first drizzle and then persistent heavy rain up to around 10am. It did get brighter briefly, but more rain came in here in Southsea. This afternoon was completely different with bright sunshine and some high cloud.

The Moth Box was off last night as I didn’t want to take another chance with the inquisitive Fox coming into my garden and disturbing the egg trays etc or worse! My wife has ordered some Fox repellent of which I can spray around where I keep my Moth Box, which, I hope, will arrive very soon. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely adore Foxes, but when they potentially wreck my Moth Box and also leaving ‘scat’ in my garden; sorry, I will not tolerate that. Its bad enough with all these Cats in the area taking out the birdlife in the gardens and although I will not harm them in any way, there is only so much a keen Birder like me will take.

On a different footnote, the RSPB is now saying that there must be a ban of feeding birds in our gardens between May 1^st to October 31^st due to the fact that it ‘promotes the spread of diseases in garden including the parasite Trichomonosis which caused serious declines of both Greenfinch and Chaffinch across the UK’. I do know that ‘Cowplain Marsh’ has a steady supply of food for the birds and Andy’s garden is frequently receiving good numbers of birds. Consequently, I have contacted him regarding the RSPB’s message. I, personally, have stopped feeding the birds since the end of last winter this year, mostly due to the fact virtually nothing was actually feeding on the food I was putting out.

Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth:

Thankfully, the rain and cloud had gone by late morning and bright sunshine replaced it this afternoon on my second shift. A carpet of Sycamore leaves lay on the road and pavement here. Common Wasps seem to be on the increase now here as one settled on my arm this afternoon. Gulp!

Despite the grim weather on my first shift this morning, I still notched up 10 bird species in all and that included a big flock of 25+ Swallows flying overhead, all heading west against the wind. A further two more were seen flying low over the Bowling Green and then heading towards the Curtain Moat.

Several Blue Tits were noted up in the trees opposite and my first Blackbird of the week was heard giving off its alarm call, but no sighting of the bird. Sadly, I have not seen or heard the House Sparrows from the Bowling Green hedgerow now for some time and only can assume they have dispersed north to the countryside? Out of interest, I wrote about a dead Carrion Crow on the Bowling Green and also that the groundsman upon this Green have not removed it. It turns out that it is a ‘stuffed’ bird and being used as a decoy to scare off other birds, including the Crows! Sorry, guys. It is not working, lol!!!

 

In Hampshire today:

This excellent photo of last week's juvenile Red-backed Shrike on Farlington Marshes. Photo by Pete Appleton.

Mark Francis kicked off the day nicely when he found a Grey Phalarope flying along the shoreline at Hill Head. This afternoon, Jason Crook found a juvenile Pectoral Sandpiper at the Lake on Farlington Marshes and with one still at Pennington Marshes this morning; could this be two birds in Hampshire? Jason also found up to SIX species of Tern from the southern end of the Reserve out in the harbour that included a Roseate, Black, Arctic, Common, Sandwich and Little Tern! Incredible!

Late news from yesterday, while at Wake Lawn, Eastney, I spotted a Hummingbird Hawk-moth flying around one of the gardens. At one point, I thought it was about to settle on the fascia of a nearby house, but instead it sped away.

Seconds later, a Clouded Yellow butterfly flew past me and continued towards Milton Common. When it comes to nature, I simply never switch off!

A new album by the Funky Wardens due to be released before Xmas!