Big passage of birds through the Solent and my first garden Orange-tip butterfly.

 Thursday 30th April 2026.

Though it was wall to wall blue sky again today, there was a blustery easterly wind all day that kept the temperature hovering around 17 degrees. As expected, there was a good seabird passage through the Solent and the usual observers filled their boots with some exciting birds passing through. Tomorrow looks good too with a south-easterly wind. Shame I have to work tomorrow, but Saturday isn't looking good with a weather front coming in.

The Moth Box was on again overnight, but it nearly was a total waste of time. Even Pembroke Road was quiet this morning, but a few more species were added on my afternoon shift.

My Moth Box:

This Bright-line Bright-eye was my first of the year.

The Box was on again overnight, but it was nearly a total waste of time with just two Moths! At least one was new for the year, a Bright-line Brown-eye that was on the bottom egg tray within the Moth Box. A Ruddy Streak was sitting on the white sheet, but the strong wind and clear cloudless nights of late hasn't helped at all with Moth numbers. Maybe Friday night / Saturday morning could be more fruitful? This date last year, there were 40 Moths of 14 species!

That bloody wind was so blustery today that it actually blew my Moth Box over TWICE today. Fume!

Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth:

Despite the glorious, but windy weather, I only saw just the 10 species this morning on my first shift and that included a pair of Pied Wagtails on the Bowling Green, but just the usual suspects so far. This afternoon, a gorgeous pair of adult Mediterranean Gulls flew over Governor’s Green and flew that low, I actually thought they were going to land at one stage. However, they circled  overhead close by and then flew off heading east. A Black-headed Gull also went over and even the House Sparrows started to chirp up from the Bowling Green hedge. 

In Hampshire today:

Sadly, not in Hampshire but this gorgeous Bluethroat was at Swineham Gravel Pits, Dorset recently. Photo by Pete Appleton.

Though there were not many reports on Going Birding today, I had the luxury of my two Whatsapp Apps telling me about the seabirds and other goodies in Hampshire today. The Solent was very busy with at least two big flocks of Pomarine Skua’s passing through Cut Bridge today (one flock this morning and another late this afternoon) and a Great Skua seen circling high over the Solent from Lee-on-Solent (Gilkicker). A distant Storm Petrel was also seen flying through as well! Incredible stuff. Also, there was a strong passage of Bar-tailed Godwits passing through (134 in total in various sized flocks) and 15 Whimbrel going past. A distant flock of 4 Black Terns were also seen.

Spotted Flycatcher in the New Forest. Photo by Pete Appleton.

Away from the Solent, a staggering flock of SIX Wood Sandpipers were found on the Bridge Street Floods this afternoon after 5 were there this morning. While I was in the bathroom very early this morning, I could hear Swifts screaming outside!

Cuckoo in the New Forest. Photo by Pete Appleton.

When I had my lunch around 1pm, I sat outside in the garden to watch the insects go about their business. Incredibly, I had my first ‘Garden Tick’ of a male Orange-tip butterfly flying into my garden TWICE. I even pointed it out to my neighbours as the insect fluttered around the garden and then headed off north. Both Small White and Holly Blue were abundant too. A big thank you to fellow birder Pete Appleton who has allowed me to use his superb photos on my blog.

Painted Lady in my back garden.

 Tuesday 28th April 2026.

My first Painted Lady of the year seen in my garden this afternoon.

It was an overcast start to the day which lasted up until around midday and afterwards the sun came blazing out, however, there was a breezy north-easterly blowing that kept the temperatures a lot cooler than yesterday. The Moth Box was on again overnight and unfortunately, there were very few Moths to go through. However, there was one that looked interesting. To round off the day, after my second shift in Pembroke Road, I spent a good 30 minutes in my back garden enjoying a cup of tea and watching the wildlife go by.

My Moth Box:

A probable Obscure Moss-moth in my Moth Box this morning. Dark Moss-moth has not been ruled out, but Obsidentify believes it is the former.

There were just four moths of three species present this morning of which the only ‘macro’ moth was a Double-striped Pug that I had flushed and then it perched itself inside my back door! There were 2 Light Brown Apple Moths within the Box and then I found a very small micro moth. I knew it as a Bryotropha species, but what one? Obsidentify believes it to be a Obscure Moss-moth (Bryotropha similis), although it did look like the more familiar Dark Moss-moth of which I am a lot more familiar with. I did put a photo of it on the Facebook Hants Moths for confirmation, but no takers yet. Should it be an Obscure Moss-moth, then that would be a ‘Lifer’ for me and so unless I get a reply, I shall stick with the Obscure Moss-moth, but probably needs to be dissected to be absolutely sure.

Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth:

This morning, I got up to 14 bird species at Pembroke Road and pick of the bunch was a pair of Collared Doves that flew through over the road heading south. That's twice now I have seen this species here this month, which is a record for this species. All the usual species were encountered today including the usual male Pied Wagtail on the Bowling Green. This afternoon, a Jay flew over the road to make it 15 species for the day. Are the Jays breeding nearby or perhaps in one of the Holm Oaks along the road? I was sure I heard Blackbird fledglings today, but no sighting of them yet.

My Garden:

The Painted Lady butterfly in my back garden.

Enjoying a cup of tea with my dogs in the garden, I noticed the riot of colour from the plants growing in the back of my garden. My Lilac tree is in full bloom and the Wisteria flowering over from my neighbours garden looks absolutely stunning. This in turn is attracting good numbers of insects, notably the Butterflies and Hoverflies. 

Above, Holly Blue butterflies also in my back garden.

Film footage of the Painted Lady butterfly.

Amazingly, while enjoying my tea, I saw my first Painted Lady of the year nectaring on the Lilac flowers and remained there long enough for me to grab my camera and take some lovely photos of this migratory butterfly. Holly Blues were abundant too with at least four floating about and the occasional Small White flew in several times but would not settle. 

Above and below, there were several Batman Hoverflies at the back of my garden.

Above and below, Marmalade Hoverflies also in my back garden.

Hoverflies were abundant too with mostly Batman and Marmalade Hoverflies showing very well in my back garden, taking advantage of the suntrap my garden is.

In Hampshire today:

Petersfield Lake (Heath Pond) rarely gets a mention regarding the birds there, but a Common Sandpiper and 150 Sand Martins were recorded there today. Arctic Terns made an appearance at a couple of locations including a flock of 8 off Weston Shore and 8 going past Southsea early morning.

Not many moths today, but glorious weather.

 Monday 27th April 2026.

Surely, one of the best songsters we have in the UK? This gorgeous Wood Warbler was seen and photographed in the New Forest last weekend by Emma Parkes.

The fine weather continued into the start of the week with unbroken sunshine with a very light southerly wind. Temperatures were fairly mild early this morning as I checked the Moth Box in my garden and it got warmer as the afternoon temperature reached 23 degrees centigrade when I was doing my second shift at Pembroke Road. There were a few nice birds around Hampshire today that kept the ‘Listers’ on their toes. On a negative note, whoever came up with the idea of Swift Boxes that have calling Swifts built into them needs absolute therapy. What an utter waste of time and money. Plus, I have been searching the skies due to the sound of Swifts only to find they come from those stupid speakers!

My Moth Box:

One of two Rusty-dot Pearls in the garden today.

My first Rusty-dot Pearl moths were in and around my Moth Box and quite early too for this time of year. Two were present with one in the Moth Box and the other sat by the Moth Box. There was only one other ‘macro’ moth, a Double-striped Pug while the rest were ‘micro’ moths. This included 2 Light Brown Apple Moths and a Common Plume.

Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth:

The Passenger ship Guillaume de Normandie sailing out of Portsmouth Harbour with the Garrison Church in the foreground.

It was actually a mild first thing this morning on my first shift in Pembroke Road (which makes a lovely change) and I didn't get into my car at the end of my shift with freezing cold hands too. Happy days. This afternoon, it really did get warm and I have to think again about what attire I have to wear should it stay warm. A total of 13 bird species were recorded this morning and although nothing exceptional, it is still good to get into double figures. The Pied Wagtail (a male bird) was back on the Bowling Green again and even this afternoon when the Bowlers were out in force, the bird was running in between the Bowling Ball going down the green. Comical.

In Hampshire today:

This superb photo of a Tawny Owl was taken in the New Forest this weekend. Photo by Rob Porter.

The warm Spring weather brought out some nice birds and early this morning, a Wood Sandpiper was on the Bridge Street Floods and a huge flock of 32 Cattle Egrets flew north up the reserve. A Ruff and a Jack Snipe were seen at the Deeps on Farlington Marshes plus a Wheatear later in the day. Hook-with-Warsash hosted a Marsh Harrier, Lesser Whitethroat, 2 Hobbies and 3 Wheatears. A possible Long-legged Buzzard was seen in the Alton area, but unconfirmed as yet. A pair of Black Redstarts were in the Winchester area and two Curlew Sandpipers were on Normandy Lagoon.

Another superb photo of the Wood Warbler in the New Forest yesterday. Photo by Emma Parkes.

Birding pal, Geoff Farwell, went birding at Beacon Hill yesterday and recorded the following sightings: 12 singing Blackcaps, 4 singing Common Whitethroats, 7 singing Chiffchaffs, 2 singing Firecrests, 2 Lapwings, Sparrowhawk, 2 Red Kites, 2 Common Buzzards and a Raven. He also found a Grizzled Skipper, Small Copper, several Orange-tips and Holly Blue butterflies.

Arctic Skua joins my year list.

 Sunday 26th April 2026.

Dawn over South Parade Pier, Southsea.

It was another 5am start this morning as I got ready to do another 3 hour ‘sea-watch’ from Southsea Promenade again today. The weather was identical to yesterday with yet another flat calm sea and a light easterly wind and again, I was treated to another ‘year-tick’ when my first Arctic Skua of the year flew through heading east low over the sea. There was a bit of variety again and a few surprises.

Afterwards, when I got home, I took my dogs out again to Highland Road Cemetery for a pleasant walk around my ‘local patch’.

The Solent, Southsea seafront:

A pair of Med Gulls passing Horse Sands Fort. There were dozens of Gulls resting on the Fort, mostly Great Black-backed and Herring Gulls.

Bird of the day was easily my first Arctic Skua of the year, a light phased bird that flew strongly east low over the sea around 7.13am. I did hear a little later that a dark-phased bird had entered the Solent, seen from Cut Bridge and the same bird seen later passing Hayling Island. Close behind, was a small flock of 3 adult Little Gulls going east in a tight flock low over the sea. Once again, it was beautifully calm at 6am when I arrived with an orangy hue in the sky to the east. There were, as expected, a large number of Gulls offshore and picking my way through them was never easy, especially the distant Gulls; but no pain, no gain and I certainly picked out a lot of nice birds during the three hours here.

Above, these three Shelduck flew close in heading east and a fourth bird shortly followed afterwards. Below, a flock of four Med Gulls passing close by.

The birds seen this morning from the Shelter included the following:

Whimbrel: A good total of 17 Whimbrels were seen this morning with most being single birds, though there were a pair and a small group of 4 birds all heading east bar one individual that went west!

Sandwich Tern: I did not want to count the birds flying along the foreshore due to the fact they were probably not migrant birds and have probably overwintered here. Of the more distant birds, I counted up to 28 birds seen throughout the morning.

Common Tern: Up to 14 birds were reliably identified going east and mostly in pairs. There was one flock of 7 birds seen going east. 

‘Commic Tern’: Two flocks of ‘Commic’ Terns went east, a group of four birds and a pair, but too far out to be certain on the species.

Above, this large ship was carrying a very expensive cargo. Luxury boats! Below, the small flock of three Avocets passing east.

Above, it wasn't till I checked on my laptop that the left hand bird was actually a Bar-tailed Godwit with a Whimbrel. Below, one of several Oystercatchers this morning.

Mediterranean Gull: A big total of 37 birds were recorded this morning with all the birds seen heading east. Most likely not migrant birds and probably coming in from feeding out in the Solent and then heading back into Langstone Harbour?

Bar-tailed Godwit: One was seen with a Whimbrel flying east. I honestly throught it was two Whimbrels passing through. 

 

Shag: A distant adult bird seen heading east.

Peregrine: A male bird was seen flying out to sea heading south-east. I did think it was going to land on Horse Sands Fort, but carried on flying out over the Solent.

Oystercatcher: Not as many as yesterday, with just five birds seen heading eastbound close in.

Little Gull: A flock of 3 birds flew close together heading east. All adult birds.

Sadly, litter louts are still plaguing the beach despite all the work that has been carried out here along the beach. The Herring Gulls made short work of the leftover food.

Swallow: The only Hirundine seen here this morning. It flew east over the beach but was lost to view.

Shelduck: A small group of 3 birds headed east and seconds later, another individual was flying behind the flock.

Arctic Skua: The pale-phased bird was my first one of the year as it sped low over the sea, but looked stunning through the scope.

Great Crested Grebe: An adult bird flew low over the Solent, fairly close in, heading west.

Avocet: A real surprise as a small group of three birds heading east close in. I think this is only the second time I have ever seen an Avocet on a ‘sea-watch’ here. Well pleased.

Highland Road Cemetery, Southsea:

The tail-less Chiffchaff was still singing strongly within the Cemy.

The dogs enjoyed their walk in the sunshine this morning as I did my usual route around my ‘local patch’. The Starlings were busy searching for food within the long grass and showed well near the footpath. Our usual ‘tail-less’ Chiffchaff was in full song yet again as he did a circuit around the Cemetery and posed nicely on an exposed branch. With the leaves on the trees now, it is becoming more difficult to locate the birds unless they fly and so sightings this morning were few and far between. I might take another walk later in the afternoon today, so maybe something of interest could be present.

Above, another photo of the Chiffchaff and below, it looks like one of the Starlings had become a meal.

Above, one of the House Sparrows on the perimeter fence in the south-east corner and below, a Starling searching for more food for its hungry chicks?

Above, three of the small flock of Starlings searching for food in the long grass.

A quieter 'sea-watch' but I get my first Gannet this year.

 Saturday 25th April 2026.

Now for a 3hr 'sea-watch'.

My plan today was to do a very early ‘sea-watch’ from my usual Shelter on Southsea Promenade along with my birding pal, Andy Fisher. Sadly, Andy was indisposed and so I spent 3 hrs checking out whatever passes by through the Solent and anything of note flying in. The weather was glorious again, with the sea state calm with a very light easterly wind and though there was a bit of white high cloud around, the temperature wasn't too bad though I had wrapped myself up thoroughly.

When I got back home, after a cup of coffee, I took the dogs for their walk and it was back over Highland Road Cemetery and although it was fairly quiet, I had the misfortune of the battery from my camera running out of juice! Harrumph! On a positive note, I did find an unexpected Warbler within the Cemy and when I got home, I also had a nice surprise when I sat out in the garden.

The Solent, Southsea Seafront:

One of at least 23 Sandwich Terns seen this morning including this close in bird.

Buoyed on from Thursday's ‘sea-watch’ earlier in the week, by coming very early this morning for  6am start, I was very hopeful of a productive time here, but apart from seeing my first Gannets of the year (both adults) it was a bit disappointing with long periods of nothing but Gulls drifting past. A few flocks of Terns headed east and a good number of Whimbrel went through, but all in all, a quiet ‘sea-watch’. But hey, it was a beautiful morning and I did actually enjoy it, especially when a couple of ‘piss-taking’ joggers went past and then ran into each other and sent flying. Karma!

Above, the Cruise Liner Spirit of Adventure sailing into town first thing this morning. Below, dawn over South Parade Pier.

The birds seen this morning included the following:

Gannet: Two adult birds were seen, both adults and both nearer the Isle of Wight side of the Solent; but it was my first sighting of this species for the year.

Peregrine: A male Peregrine was seen flying around and dive bombing Gulls on Horse Sand Forts; seen through my scope.

Sandwich Tern: Most of the Sandwich Terns were single birds or in pairs flying east although some did fly both east and west close in and allowed for some photos. Up to 23 birds were seen during the three hours.

Common Tern: Up to 7 birds were seen close enough for an ID of which the largest number were 3 in one flock. All were seen heading east.

‘Commic’ Tern: A total of 23 ‘Commic Terns’ (Common or Arctic) were all fairly distant of which the largest flock contained 10 birds; all of which were heading east.

Whimbrel: A good total of 20 birds were seen during my time here and the biggest number contained 5 birds. Whimbrels have been going past all week here through the Solent in very good numbers. I have yet to hear one call yet, but I suppose all were quite distant.

Above, three Whimbrels flying east fairly close in and below, a Sandwich Tern having a scratch on the wing!

Above, one of two Shelduck seen today.

Oystercatcher: Though these waders barely get a mention, I did see up to 10 single birds throughout the morning all heading east and most some distance out.

Med Gull: Just the three birds seen, all adults.

Shag: An immature bird flew low close in heading west.

Meadow Pipit: A single bird flew in off the sea. Strangely, no Hirundines were seen at all this morning.

As mentioned, despite it being rather low key here this morning, I had a hot flask to hand and some nice chocolate cookies to munch on while checking out a very calm Solent and with a nice recently bought seat cushion to hand, I was very comfortable this morning. Over at Sandy Point, Hayling Island, fellow ‘Lazee Birder’ Garry Fennemore scored with a Bonxie flying distantly and a Hobby flying in off the sea; his fourth one of the year coming in off the sea!

Highland Road Cemetery, Southsea:

A beautiful cloud formation over the Cemy looking north.

The weather continued to be fine this morning and so I took the dogs for their morning walk. A bit later than usual, but they enjoyed it nonetheless. A Chiffchaff was singing throughout my time there, though I didn't get to see the bird and was most likely the tail-less bird again waiting for a mate. However, I did hear another Warbler doing a bit of sub-singing and I soon got a reasonable view of it and realised it was Common Whitethroat. I think that all the time I have been birding here, I have only ever seen one before and that was many years ago.

Above, Ox-eye Daisies and below, one particular grave had Brome Grass growing on it.

Though my battery in my Camera went down, I did take a few photos of some of the plants here and that included a clump of Ox-eye Daisies and the Brome Grass of which Google believes it to be Ripgut Brome. A Red Admiral butterfly showed briefly but too quickly for a photo as it disappeared behind bushes in the southern half of the Cemy.

My Garden:

While enjoying a cup of coffee in the back garden with my dogs, I heard the sound of Swifts overhead and craning my head up, a small group of three birds chased each other low over the rooftops. At last, they are back. Happy days.

Pom Skua through the Solent and a moth 'Lifer'.

 Thursday 23rd April 2026.

The pale-phased Pomarine Skua passing through the Solent. Photo by Andy Friend.

Well, that was one 'sea-watch' that will not be forgotten for a long while. After my first shift in Pembroke Road, I decided to have a couple of hours 'sea-watching' off Southsea Promenade from my usual shelter just east of the Pyramids and it most certainly paid off with only my second ever sighting of a Pomarine Skua at this site. The weather was glorious with bright blue sky overhead and a light easterly blowing over the Solent; conditions just right for a reasonable ‘sea-watch’.

Earlier today, I had the Moth Box on overnight after repairing the Box which had fallen over due to the strong blustery winds yesterday afternoon. It paid off too with several moths that included a ‘Lifer’, which was totally unexpected. Not to put Pembroke Road down, a trio of Collared Doves flying over was also a damn good record for this site and so I can safely say that it was one hell of a day for me personally.

My Moth Box:

My first ever Common Grass-miner moth.

As mentioned, I found my first ever Common Grass-miner (Elachista canapennella) micro moth this morning, perched on the inside of the Box as I quickly took several photos of the tiny moth before releasing it. A very good start to the day and with 9 moths of 6 species, it was mostly a micro moth morning. Pick of the ‘macro’ moths was a Shuttle-shaped Dart that sat right at the bottom of the Box. It was clear overnight and quite cool with that north-easterly wind blowing, so I was pleased the Moth Box was still upright this morning. Phew!

The lone Shuttle-shaped Dart.

The Moths present this morning included the following:

MACRO MOTHS	MICRO MOTHS
Shuttle-shaped Dart x1	Light Brown Apple Moth x2
Double-striped Pug x3	Ruddy Streak x1
	White-shouldered House Moth x1
	COMMON GRASS-MINER* x1

A Chiffchaff was heard calling south of my garden and then the bird flew and landed in the tree at the back of my garden briefly and then flew north and began to sing.

Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth:

Up to 13 bird species were noted today from both shifts and that included the small flock of three Collared Doves flying high over the road and heading off south. Three species of Gull were recorded including a Great Black-backed Gull perched on a rooftop in Penny Street. Again, the male Pied Wagtail was searching for food on the short grass of the Bowling Green. All the usual birds seen and the House Sparrows within the hedge of the Bowling Green were quite vocal this morning. A quiet afternoon here and reasonably warm too with temperatures getting up to 18 degrees.

The Solent, Southsea seafront:

My miserable effort in getting a photo of the Pomarine Skua passing through the Solent.

As mentioned, after my first shift at Pembroke Road, I took the short drive to South Parade and parked up to walk through the Rock Gardens, for my usual seat within the shelter overlooking the Solent. The sea state was good and the weather was bright and sunny. Though it sounded good, visibility was a tad hazy, probably due to the strong sunlight, but with my scope to hand, I was picking out a few birds quite nicely.

The group of three Whimbrel passing close in.

Obviously, the biggest surprise was the news of a pale-phased Pomarine Skua entering the Solent from Cut Bridge (nr Lymington) and the bird was then seen off Hill Head and Lee-on-Solent. My hopes of seeing the bird were slowly evaporating for it was seen at 10am off Lee-on-Solent and by 10.30am, I had nearly given up. It wasn't till I saw a distant Skua heading east low over the sea (it had been seen earlier flying very high) I then rushed to get my scope onto it. Bingo! I could clearly see its long ‘spoons’ as it soon passed Horse Sands Fort towards Hayling Island. I did manage to take a few photos of the bird, but they were awful compared with a few taken of the bird. I quickly put my sighting on the Hants Rare Birds Whatsapp group and thankfully, the guys at Sandy Point, Hayling Island connected with the Skua also. Happy Days! This was only my second ever sighting of this species from Southsea and after missing the ‘Poms’ seen last year through the Solent; this surely made up for it. Major case of ‘right place, right time!’

A pair of Sandwich Terns passing close in heading east.

However, it wasn't all perfect as there was a report of a flock of Black Terns passing Hill Head, but there was no sighting of those birds despite a good search for them. I wonder if they flew inland or went into Portsmouth Harbour? An awful lot of work to bolster the sea defences along Southsea over the past couple of years has resulted in the viewing situation from the Shelter I watch from. I cannot now see the shoreline where the shingle has been raised considerably, so whatever is flying along the shoreline will be missed completely unless the bird is high up.

Most of the Whimbrel seen this morning were single birds all heading east.

Yes, the Pomarine Skua was a cracking bird to see, but there were other sightings too during my two hours there and that included the following:

Whimbrel: Up to ten birds were seen and were all singles heading east apart from a group of three birds together also heading east. 

Sandwich Tern: Two pairs flew east close in heading east along the shoreline

Common Tern: A pair flew east close in.

Swallow: Up to 6 single birds flew in off the sea, but too quick for a photo.

House Martin: A single bird was watched through the scope coming in off the sea and passed left of where I was sitting.

Swift: A single bird also flew in off the sea and passed by to my left.

Yellow Wagtail: A single bird was heard only flying in off the sea and passing close overhead, but against the bright sunshine and blue sky; no chance of seeing it!

Meadow Pipit: A pair flew low over the beach heading east.

Little Egret: A single bird flew west low over the Solent.

Mediterranean Gull: A flock of 4 adults flew east about half way out across the Solent.