We have arrived at Chittlehampton.

 Saturday 23rd May 2026.

This male Siskin favoured this Ash Tree to begin singing near our garden.

Day one of our holiday to North Devon and now a pleasant week’s stay within the small village of Chittlehampton. We have been here several times now and this time, it looks as though the weather is looking very good for our stay here. The drive up to the location wasn't too bad as we left sunny Portsmouth around 10am and arrived here, after a brief stop, around 2.3pm. The gorgeous cottage we are staying at has not changed much since the last time we were here last year and with the superb weather, I am so looking forward to checking out the area and its wildlife. I have brought along with me a portable Moth Box and hope to get a lot more ‘year-ticks’ throughout the week.

Chittlehampton, North Devon:

A singing male Greenfinch sharing the same tree as the Siskin.

I couldn't resist grabbing a few photos of the birdlife here by my Cottage as a lot of the birds were making use of certain trees to sing from. We have a Rookery nearby, which I know is going to be quite noisy, especially early in the morning; but with all the other birds here, it should keep me occupied, if not the Moths! Painted Lady butterflies are coming into the UK in big numbers and I wasn't surprised to see one in the garden this afternoon. Both Hornet and a Honey Bee were seen around some of the garden plants while I was checking out the back garden for the first time.

The singing male Greenfinch again in the Ash Tree and below, one of many Swifts soaring over the countryside here.

Above, the male Siskin and below, a pair of Goldfinches also settled in the same tree.

Above, a Honey Bee and below, the Painted Lady butterfly.

Above, a Common Buzzard distantly soaring over the nearby fields and below, a view of the garden.

Above, my Moth Box is all set up for tonight and below, Rooks in one of the fields behind our garden.

The birds came in thick and fast with Siskins, Chaffinches and Goldfinches using a large Ash tree in a neighbouring garden to sing from. A Goldcrest was singing from a Conifer within the garden and overhead, there were good numbers of Swifts, Swallows and House Martins (plenty of the latter are nesting under the eaves of the houses within the village) hawking overhead and a Common Buzzard was seen soaring over the countryside. Other birds noted this afternoon included a singing Willow Warbler heard in someone's garden on the opposite side of the road and a Raven soaring high over the countryside nearby. So begins a relaxing week for both Becky and myself and we also have our good friend Jackie staying with us too.

An excellent evening over Whiteley Woods.

 Friday 22nd May 2026.

One of the areas of Whiteley Woods that had Nightingales singing close by.

This evening, Andy Fisher and myself took the drive to Whiteley to meet up with both Emma and Matt Parkes for our annual trip to see the Nightjars at this fantastic site. A fellow ‘Lazee Birder’ was here the night before and successfully saw the Nightjars, plus Woodcocks and a bonus Goshawk and so my hopes were high. Not only is the area good for these birds, but there is always plenty of other wildlife to see (Matt & Emma have a sharp eye for insects) including a few Moth species and even several Wood Mice. Emma brought along her thermal camera, which incidentally, is amazing when you look through it. The weather was just perfect with a clear sky, but I could not believe in how warm it was. At one stage, I was actually sweating!

Whiteley Woods, nr Fareham:

Sadly, this was the best my camera could get of one of the Woodcocks flying overhead.

Andy and myself met up with Emma and Matt around 7.30pm and then made our way to the Woods via the wooded footpath leading to the Nightjar site. On our way there, we stopped off at a large Pond on the edge of the woodland where there were a lot of Yellow Iris plants in full bloom, but it was very quiet around the Pond. Moving on towards the main site, I came across my first Plum Tortrix (Hedya pruniana) micro moth of the year and it was quite stunning to see them actually on the wing. It didn't end there with the moths either as we came across both Cork Moth (Nemapogon cloacella) and a Garden Straw (Agapeta hamana) micro moths. There were many more moths flying around but none would settle long enough for me to get an ID on them.

Three nice 'year-tick' micro moths were found in Whiteley Woods tonight. From top to bottom: Cork Moth, Plum Tortrix and Straw Bell.

Both Nuthatch and Chiffchaffs were seen well as we made our way slowly along the main footpaths and the area was alive with the sound of singing Song Thrushes and Blackbirds, but strangely, no Nightingales! It wasn't till around 8.45pm that the first Nightingale was actually heard. Though I have seen Nightingales earlier this year in Turkey, this was my first one in the UK and my first of at least four birds singing tonight in various areas of Whiteley Woods. Standing next to one (though we could not see it as it was too dark to see the bird) was stunning; the song is so loud and beautiful, one simply could not get tired of hearing this amazing sound.

Above, we found two Common Spotted Orchids along the main footpath and below, several Chiffchaffs were seen along the way.

A big flock of Long-tailed Tits were moving through the trees and Blackcaps were in good numbers too, though very hard to see in the dense woodland. I was sure that I heard a Garden Warbler singing nearby, but, as per usual, the bird remained well hidden and only sang briefly. As we enjoyed more Nightingales singing on our way back to the usual site, it was around 9.15pm that the first Nightjar began ‘churring’. Then a bird flew over the ‘ride’ we were standing in and though the sighting was brief, it was good to actually see it, but that was the best sighting we had all evening. There were at least two ‘churring’ birds present, but both remained elusive.

Above, Emma stumbled across this female Glow-worm crossing the main footpath and below, Matt found this nest that was on the main footpath. Possibly, a Jay had pulled it out and robbed the eggs; a familiar tactic that Jays carried out.

Above, one of the UK's most poisonous plants, the Hemlock Water-dropwort, which was growing abundantly along the main footpaths. Below, a Nuthatch was seen well up one of the trees.

We had much better luck with my first Woodcocks of the year as we had numerous sightings of the birds flying over the ‘ride’, calling in doing so. My awful photos do not do the birds justice, but my camera does struggle to get the photos in the reduced light. While one of the Nightjars was ‘churring’, a Nightingale was singing close by and the bird was actually seen flying over the ‘ride’ of which we all saw. So, I managed to see all the birds we were hoping to see and can conclude it was a very successful evening here at Whiteley Woods. More Woodcocks were heard flying over and then an unusual sound was coming from deep within the woods which stopped us in our tracks. We were sure they were young Tawny Owls, of which there were three of the birds somewhere perched up in the trees. Sadly, the Thermal Camera failed to pick them out among the many bright coloured trees within the wood.

Above, another photo of the Nuthatch showing well and below, the large Pond that I never knew existed until Emma showed it to us.

Above, Yellow Iris plants were abundant around the Ponds perimeter.

Other notable sightings here included the Bats. At least two probable Noctule Bats flew over our heads and continued down the ‘Ride’ and at least four probable Pipistrelle Bats were chasing flying insects over our heads! Emma had found a female Glow-worm walking across one of the footpaths and using her Thermal Camera, we found at least two Wood Mice scurrying along the ground by the edge of the ‘Ride’. We also found our first Common Spotted Orchids of the year along the footpath, which was a bonus. All in all, a superb evening's birding that was full of wildlife and great company. 

Another large haul of Moths today and it is getting hotter!

 Friday 22nd May 2026.

The warm weather is most certainly on its way and with overnight temperatures in the double figures, I wasn't surprised to get another good haul of Moths early this morning. I was even up at 4.45am to hopefully catch a few Moths before they flew off as dawn arose. Pembroke Road in Old Portsmouth was fairly warm at first thing this morning, but in the afternoon, the temperatures rose considerably as it got up to around 24 degrees. Tonight, I am off to Whiteley to hopefully see the Nightjars and Woodcocks that were seen here the night before. Fingers crossed.

My Moth Box:

My first Bee Moth of the year.

Another high turn out of Moths this morning that contained more micro moth species than macro moths! Among these were two new species for the year, a Bee Moth (Aphomia sociella) and the much smaller Mallow Seed Moth (Platyedra subcineria); both species that are common to my garden for this time of year. Yesterday’s Poplar Hawk-moth still shows no sign of moving on and remained on the outside egg tray this morning.

Above, this Mallow Seed Moth was my first for the year and below, a Brown House Moth, was only my second for the year.

A Cabbage Moth was perched on the white sheet and a Small Dusty Wave (only the second for the garden this year) was perched on the nearby fence panel. Yet again, there was a large number of Cypress Tip Moths present with at least 13 counted. A Black Cloak moth was present and I even managed to get some film footage of the very small Apple Leaf Miner in one of the pots. A good total of 57 moths of 21 species were recorded today, which surpassed yesterday's total. These were the following moths seen today:

MACRO MOTHS	MICRO MOTHS
Poplar Hawk-moth x1	Brown House Moth x1
Angle Shades x2	Apple Leaf Miner x1
Freyer’s Pug x2	Mallow Seed Moth * x1
Double-striped Pug x1	Light Brown Apple Moth x9
Cabbage Moth x1	Bee Moth * x1
Small Dusty Wave x1	Ruddy Streak x6
Shuttle-shaped Dart x1	Dark Moss-moth x2
Pale Mottled Willow x2	Cypress Tip Moth x13
Vine’s Rustic x2	Black Cloak x1
Buff Ermine x1	Rusty-dot Pearl x3
	Garden Mompha x5

A Black Cloak moth (left) and a Ruddy Streak moth.

Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth:

I managed to film the very small Apple Leaf Miner moth early this morning.

Finally, the Swifts were back over Old Portsmouth, with a pair seen several times flying high over Pembroke Road. A good count of 15 bird species were seen or heard today and that included three species of Gull and the Wren going back and forth to its nest despite work being carried out by a Painter nearby. Up to three Pied Wagtails were on the Bowling Green in the morning, but no sign of them in the afternoon as the temperature rose. 

The warm temperatures certainly brought out the Bees today, mostly Buff-tailed Bumblebees and Early Bumblebees, with many taking advantage of a flowering Palm Tree nearby and also the Echium plants in Pembroke Close. A Painted Lady butterfly was seen briefly flying around Pembroke Close but did not linger long enough for a photo.

Back in my Southsea garden, both Red Admiral and Holly Blue butterflies were seen; the latter producing at least 6 individuals dotted around the garden.

Highest Moth total in my garden for the year.

 Thursday 21st May 2026.

My 3rd Poplar Hawk-moth this year and the first for the garden.

An overcast start to the day though it was very mild and virtually no wind whatsoever. The temperatures actually got up to 17 degrees centigrade mid morning as I had to take my wife's car up to Waterlooville for an MOT! Once again, the Moth Box was on again overnight and I was rewarded with the highest number of Moths for the year so far! What with this heatwave on its way, who knows how many Moths will now turn up to my Moth Box. This Saturday's trip to Devon should be very good for Moths.

My Moth Box:

One of two Yellow-barred Brindle moths.

An excellent total of 49 moths of 17 species were recorded this morning and noticing it was overcast first thing this morning, I assumed the cloud cover came in overnight on a southerly wind as predicted. My 3rd Poplar Hawk-moth sighting for the year was in my garden, perched on the outside egg tray. This was the first one for the garden this year and hopefully not the last. Other notable moths included 2 Yellow-barred Brindle’s, 3 Freyer’s Pug, Angle Shades and also a whopping 14 Cypress Tip Moths! There must have been an explosion of the latter species as when I was walking the dog, I was sure I flushed several as I was walking down my road?

Above, three of the 14 Cypress Tip Moths recorded this morning and could have been many more around the garden. Below, an Angle Shades moth.

The Moths recorded this morning were as follows:

MACRO MOTHS	MICRO MOTHS
Poplar Hawk-moth x1	Light Brown Apple Moth x8
Freyer’s Pug x3	Ruddy Streak x3
Double-striped Pug x1	Rusty-dot Pearl x1
Buff Ermine x1	Cypress Tip Moth x14
Vine’s Rustic x4	Garden Mompha x2
Shuttle-shaped Dart x4
Bright-line Brown-eye x1
Marbled Minor x1
Pale Mottled Willow x1
Garden Carpet x1
Yellow-barred Brindle x2
Angle Shades x1

Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth:

The very tall Echium plants growing in Pembroke Close near where I stood.

A good total of 14 bird species were recorded from my first shift here in Pembroke Road this morning with a male Sparrowhawk being the pick of the bunch. I saw the bird drifting off westbound towards Gosport, high over Governors Green before flying off distantly. This was my first raptor I have seen here all month! I shall be keeping an eye out this afternoon for passing raptors as fellow ‘Lazee Birder’, Andy Friend photographed as Honey Buzzard (see photo) over on the Isle of Wight!

The Wren was busy flying to and from its nest opposite where I stood, despite being interrupted by someone painting the window frames! Up to three Pied Wagtails were on the Bowling Green this morning, busy chasing insects and the House Sparrows were ‘chirruping’ heartely within the neighbouring hedgerow. Both the Holm Oaks and Sycamore trees are now in flower and no doubt will be encouraging the insects to pollinate them. There were a lot of Bumblebee’s around this morning, due to the very mild temperatures no doubt; with mostly Buff-tailed Bumblebees going about their business.

In Hampshire today:

Though not in Hampshire, this Honey Buzzard with a Carrion Crow was photographed over the Isle of Wight this morning; though the bird could make its way north to Hampshire today? Photo by Andy Friend.

From Sandy Point, Hayling Island, there was a report of an Arctic Skua sitting on the sea offshore and four Kittiwakes (2 adults and 2 juvs) heading east over the Solent. Up to three Spotted Flycatchers were seen around the Fort Widley area.

Locally, the Swifts were busy either flying low over the rooftops by my house in Southsea and the birds that are probably incubating eggs within the nestboxes were screeching frequently to attract their mates.

Another two more Moths for the year list.

 Wednesday 20th May 2026.

One of 7 Cypress Tip Moths this morning.

A heatwave is on its way here in the UK, just in time for not only the Bank Holiday, but also our trip to Devon this week. However, this morning, you would have never guessed it was on its way as there was a breezy westerly wind that kept the temperatures just into double figures. It was fairly bright though and in the afternoon, it did come out rather nice and the wind had dropped a bit too.

I couldn't resist putting the Moth Box overnight again and was rewarded with a couple more moths that were new for the year; but blink, then you would have missed them! Pembroke Road was relatively quiet again, with nothing that unusual among the birds seen today, but most of the usual suspects were present today.

My Moth Box:

My first Apple Leaf Miner of the year.

There were a lot more moths than yesterday this morning, with 28 moths of 12 species present today. A breezy wind blew over the garden and one of the outside egg trays was a bit soggy from yesterday's rain. Among them were two micro moths that were new for the year: the tiny Cypress Tip Moth (Argyresthia cupressella) and also the very small Apple Leaf Miner (Lyonetia clerkella). 

Among the notable macro moths, there was another White and Buff Ermine and my third Marbled Minor agg of the year. Also within the Moth Box was an Ichneumon Wasp species and my first Black-horned Gem fly for the year. This was a very small metallic Soldier Fly species and quite a stunning little insect too.

The Black-horned Gem. A Soldier Fly species.

The Moths present this morning included the following:

MACRO MOTHS	MICRO MOTHS
White Ermine x1	Cypress Tip Moth * x7
Buff Ermine x1	Light Brown Apple Moth
Shuttle-shaped Dart x4	Apple Leaf Minor * x2
Vine’s Rustic x2	Ruddy Streak x1
Heart & Dart x1
Marbled Minor agg x1
Common Pug x1
Garden Carpet x1

Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth:

I got up to 13 bird species for the day, though all of them were seen on my morning shift at Pembroke Road. As mentioned, all the usual suspects were present this morning including the usual three species of Gull, the pair of Pied Wagtails on the Bowling Green and the Wrens going back and forth to their nest opposite to where I stood. The Great Tit was singing again in the Holm Oaks and the House Sparrows were quite vocal when I arrived this morning. 

The Ichneuman Wasp that was within my Moth Box today.