Friday 19th November 2021.
A rather cool overcast day where the sun rarely broke through. A very busy day at work which took me over to Portchester, Waterlooville and Chichester and with a late finish, a nice drive home in the dark! I was keeping an eye on Birdguides throughout the day, hoping to find a decent bird to go for tomorrow. A showy Little Auk, a species I have not seen for many years, is showing well in Weymouth and is very,very tempting, but I really want to see the Short-eared Owls on Thorney Island and so will play it safe and stay local.
Despite being quite a grey day, I saw a superb male Merlin flying across the road on top of Portsdown Hill, clutching prey as it flew south right in front of my vehicle before disappearing over the fields. It was a very brief view, but no mistaking this tiny falcon. Two Sparrowhawks were also seen with a male over Portchester and a second bird at dusk, flying out of a tree right by Chichester Crematorium. Also at the latter site, as dusk fell, I could hear a Ring-necked Parakeet calling somewhere in the distance, but no sighting of the bird.
A Grey Wagtail was seen twice while at our Waterlooville branch, flying over the rooftops behind our branch, calling in doing so. Portchester Crematorium was relatively quiet, though I did find the micro moth, Eudonia angustea, by the exit of the South Chapel along with a few Common and Beautiful Plumes. A pair of the Opiliones species of Harvestmen was also present along with good numbers of Lacewing still by the main lights.
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