Heavy rain showers here in Southsea, but the Moths still arrive.

 Tuesday 2nd June 2026.

One of three L-album Wainscot moths this morning. My first of the year.

There was heavy rain overnight (woke me up a few times!), but no thunder that was predicted by the weather forecasters. I was very lucky that a break in the rain was just about time to check my Moth Box at 5.30am this morning, but only just as another large batch of rain came in. With so many migrant moths coming through, I thought I would take a gamble and try my luck again and it paid off with a few migrant moths and another ‘macro’ moth to add to my year list.

The weather started off fairly OK when I got to Pembroke Road, but the heavens opened from around 8.20am onwards and a good soaking was had arriving at the school including my good self! Haroo! However, I still managed to notch up 14 species of birds during that wet hour.

The wind was from the west again and it was fairly mild too, ranging from about 15 degrees centigrade. More showers are predicted this afternoon, however and so my wet weather gear will be put on after it has dried out this morning!

My Moth Box:

My first Rufous Tortrix of the year.

The race for the highest moth total for the day goes on and on with a whopping 61 moths of 31 species this morning, despite the poor weather. Migrant Moths included another Small Mottled Willow (easily the highest total of this species I have seen in one year), Silver Y, Diamondback Moth and Rusty-dot Pearl. Moths that were new for the year included up to 3 L-album Wainscot and the micro moth, Rufous Tortrix (Clepsis consimilana).

Above, yet another Small Mottled Willow was present this morning and below, the first Common Plume for June.

My first Common Marbled Carpet for the year in my garden was in one of the egg trays and a good total of both Dark Arches and Heart & Darts this morning. A Treble Brown Spot was my second for the year. Sadly, no other insects, bar a small Ladybird, were in the Moth Box today. The Moths present this morning included the following:

MACRO MOTHS	MICRO MOTHS
Garden Carpet x1	Rufous Tortrix * x1
Willow Beauty x3	Box Tree Moth x2
Riband Wave x1	Rusty-dot Pearl x4
Green Pug x2	Apple Leaf Miner x2
Common Pug x1	Beautiful Plume x1
Pale Mottled Willow x3	Common Plume x1
Small Mottled Willow x	Diamondback Moth x1
White Ermine x4	Bramble Shoot Moth x1
Brimstone Moth x1	Large Pale Masoner x1
Vine’s Rustic x1
Common Marbled Carpet x1
Shuttle-shaped Dart x3
Yellow-barred Brindle x1
L-album Wainscot * x3
Heart & Dart x6
Large Yellow Underwing x1
Treble-lines x4
Marbled Minor agg x2
Dark Arches x6
Silver Y x1
Treble Brown Spot x1

Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth:

Some of the flowering plants that are attracting the insects in Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth, currently.

As mentioned, the weather turned poor this morning as heavy rain fell for around 15 minutes, soaking all those poor parents and kids on their way to school. Despite the rain, a Cormorant flew over as I notched up 14 bird species in all and that included a pair of Pied Wagtails on the Bowling Green and a pair of Blue Tits going to and fro to their nest hole in one of the nearby trees. More rain is to follow later today it seems from around 4pm onwards. Hopefully, I will miss it?!

More migrant moths in my garden.

 Monday 1st June 2026.

My first Small Marbled moth of the year was an excellent moth in my garden today.

A fairly bright start to the week with high clouds and a bit of sunshine, though rain is forecast later this afternoon with a light southerly wind. Though there were fewer moths than yesterday, the variety was enormous and it included 4 new species for the year and an insect species that was also new for this year. 

I was back at Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth, again this morning and the week here kicked off with a good species total, with a few unexpected species thrown in too. The rain never materialised this afternoon, but was a pleasant afternoon instead. As I write this up tonight, it certainly has gotten darker due to the clouds and thunderstorms that are predicted this evening. I might put the Moth Box on tonight, but not so many egg trays outside the Box. It was a bit cooler today with temperatures around 18 degrees centigrade.

My Moth Box:

Small Mottled Willow moths have been reported in many places in the UK and in huge numbers in the south and south-west area of the UK. This was the one in my Moth Box this morning.

The rare moths theme continued this morning with my first and only my second ever Small Marbled moth. This particular species could be considered a ‘micro’ moth for being so small, but it is considered to be a ‘macro’ moth for one reason or another. Other migrant moths present included another Small Mottled Willow, Silver Y (which was flying around the flowers) and a Diamondback Moth. 

Above, a Cherrybark Tortrix and below, the Common Slender micro moths.

My first Box Tree Moth of the year.

Moths that were also new for the year included a dark form of Box Tree Moth, the tiny Common Slender (Gracilliaria syringella) and a Cherrybark Tortrix (Enarmonia formorsana). Other notable moths included a differently marked Golden Twin-spot and my first Garden Straw for the garden this year. A good total of 42 moths of 33 species were recorded this morning. The following Moths were seen today:

MACRO MOTHS	MICRO MOTHS
Small Marbled * x1	White-shouldered House Moth x1
Silver Y x1	Box Tree Moth * x1
Willow Beauty x2	Cypress Tip Moth x1
Yellow-barred Brindle x1	Common Slender * x1
Shuttle-shaped Dart x1	Apple Leaf Miner x1
Golden Twin-spot x1	Blushed Knot-horn x3
Green Pug x1	Cherrybark Tortrix * x1
Marbled Minor agg x1	Bee Moth x2
Riband Wave x4	Mallow Seed Moth x1
Heart & Dart x1	Garden Straw x1
White-point x1	Large Pale Masoner x1
Garden Carpet x1	Light Brown Apple Moth x2
Pale Mottled Willow x1	Diamondback Moth x1
Buff Ermine x1	Rusty-dot Pearl x1
Small Dusty Wave 1	Ruddy Streak x1
	Bramble Shoot Moth x1

Other insects attracted to the Moth Box overnight included a Black Vine Weevil, which was my first one I have seen this year.

The Black Vine Weevil. Plants beware!

Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth:

The Echium plant is getting a lot taller since I had a week off!

I think the parents and some of the kids were happy to see me back in Pembroke Road this morning as the quiet spell between 8 and 8.20am proved quite fruitful when I notched up at least 15 species this morning. The surprise species was an Oystercatcher heard calling somewhere near the Curtain Moat and no, I do not have ‘bionic’ hearing, but at my age, I couldn't be more happier with my hearing!

Another notable bird was a Coal Tit heard calling somewhere in the Holm Oak trees, a species I think I have only ever encountered once in the three years I have been working here. A Jay flying into the footpath between the Bowling Green and Governor’s Green was also unexpected; but at this time of year, no doubt it is after eggs or chicks of other birds. Grumble! Three species of Gull were seen: Great Black-backed, Herring and Black-headed Gull, but no Med Gulls today.

Away from birds, the Echium plants growing in Pembroke Close are getting very tall now and enticing many Bumblebees to their flowers. One of the plants was probably twice my height! No butterflies were seen here today, but plenty of Buff-tailed Bumblebees around the front gardens and, of course, the Echium plants.

During the afternoon, I was driving through Milton, when I saw a big female Peregrine flying low over the road heading south. As I missed all the Springwatch episodes last week as my wife wanted to watch the awful ‘Soaps’, I managed to watch one episode of last week's Springwatch where a Pine Martin was killing the Robin chicks. I still cannot believe that this predator has been released in various areas of the UK. Our UK birds are disappearing at an alarming rate and some idiots decide to make it more difficult for the birds to survive. We are losing important habitats for birds and then throw in a vicious predator to make things worse. I just cannot understand the logic of it and there is Springwatch praising the re-introduction of this species. Mink got a bad name for destroying Water Voles and water birds; so why does the Pine Martin get a hand clap? ‘Makes me seethe, I could throw the phone down!!’

In Hampshire today:

Fairly quiet in Hampshire today, though a Quail was heard calling on Martin Down again along with two singing Tree Pipits. A late Wheatear was on Farlington Marshes early this morning, a species I have still not seen this year and probably will not now until the Autumn! One of the ‘Lazee Birders’ saw a singing Great Reed Warbler over at the Little Deeps last night on Thorney Island! No report of it today though.

EASTERN BORDERED STRAW heads the cast of a good selection of Moths.

Sunday 31st May 2026.

Sometimes, I am blessed with something really special in my Moth Box and this morning, this EASTERN BORDERED STRAW moth was present in one of the outside egg trays. A very rare moth from eastern Europe.

It was back to dear old Southsea where it was overcast first thing this morning at 5.15am. After watching a good gig last night (Toyah Wilcox) at the Thornden Hall, Eastleigh, when I got home, I put my Moth Box on and after the good variety of migrant moths coming through, I was a bit optimistic in getting something interesting this morning and I certainly did! I had only switched the Box on for about five minutes and already, a Large Yellow Underwing, Bee Moth and a Pug species had arrived! So the signs looked good. A breezy start with westerly wind blowing and temperatures around 15 degrees centigrade. 

My Moth Box:

My second Twin Gold-spot of the year.

Though I never joined the ‘Striped Hawk-moth club’ yet this morning, I think I had the next best thing, my first ever EASTERN BORDERED STRAW moth! I have read that some guys have had this very rare moth to their traps all over the UK and amazingly, I was now among them. Having got the Bordered Straw moth this week twice in Devon, to get the Eastern species is something special. It was perched on one of the outside egg trays and remains there while I write this up early this morning.

Above, new for the year was this Diamondback Moth, another migrant moth that had made it to my garden. Below, the common Blushed Knot-horn was also new for the year and in good numbers too.

Above, a Codling Moth and below, the Bramble Shoot Moth. Both new for the year.

Other moths new for the year included the ‘Macro’ moth Treble Brown Spot and Dark Arches and the ‘Micro’ moths Bramble Shoot Moth (Notocelia uddmanninana), Blushed Knot-horn (Ephestia woodiella), the migrant Diamond-back Moth (Plutella xylostella) and the Codling Moth (Cydia pomonella). The Golden Twin-spot was again in my garden, on the same egg tray as the Eastern Bordered Straw and up to 5 Green Pugs and 2 Riband Waves were new to my garden this year having seen both species in Devon this week.

Treble Brown Spot was a nice moth for the year. Below, this Dark Arches was new for the year.

A cracking 54 moths of 28 species were recorded this morning; my highest total for the year so far. How long this heatwave is going to continue, I don't know; but the rare moths are still turning up. The following Moths were recorded this morning:

MACRO MOTHS	MICRO MOTHS
EASTERN BORDERED STRAW * x1	Bramble Shoot Moth * x1
Golden Twin-spot x1	Bee Moth x2
Small Dusty Wave x3	Apple Leaf Miner x2
White Ermine x1	Brown House Moth x2
Treble Brown Spot * x1	Blushed Knot-horn * x8
Riband Wave x1	Diamondback Moth * x1
Large Yellow Underwing x2	Light Brown Apple Moth x1
Marbled Minor agg. x1	Codling Moth * x1
White-point x1	Cypress Tip Moth x1
Shuttle-shaped Dart x1	Large Pale Masoner x1
Heart & Dart x2
Pale Mottled Willow x3
Green Pug x6
Brown-line Brown-eye x1
Dark Arches * x1
Common Pug x1
Yellow-barred Brindle x1

Other insects attracted to the Moth Box overnight included a Lacewing, a small Ladybird species, Marmalade Hoverfly and my first ever Green Immigrant Leaf Weevil! It really was a tiny little Beetle. A pair of Med Gulls flew over while I was checking the Moth Box.

My first ever Green Immigrant Leaf Weevil was on my Moth Box.

Mr Geoff Farwell texted me last night to say he went birding around the Hazeley / Twyford Down area and heard a Quail calling there. He also saw 2 Red Kites, Common Buzzard, 2 singing Corn Buntings, Lesser Whitethroat, 5 Common Whitethroats, 8 singing Blackcaps, 5 singing Chiffchaffs and 2 Stonechats tending to 2 fledglings.