Superb male Firecrest at The Oaks Crem.

Monday 1st November 2021.

A view of The Oaks Crematorium looking north on the west side. The Silver Birches in the centre is where I spotted the male Firecrest. 

It was a much drier day with bright sunshine most of the day and also the strong winds from yesterday had gone also. However, there were a few large rogue showers dotted around and thankfully, one such shower we only just avoided in the afternoon while working over The Oaks Crematorium. I was back to work again, although I only have a short week this week having booked both Thursday and Friday off.

As always, I am always keeping an eye out on Mother Nature and this morning, my first stop was to be Portchester Crematorium. A good check behind the Crem for moths, around the back of the South Chapel, I managed to locate two Double-striped Pugs, up to 9 Beautiful Plume’s and 4 Common Plumes, which I suppose, wasn't too bad for this time of year. I was hoping for something like a November Moth or something similar, but maybe later on this week perhaps?

Odiellus spinosus, a species of Harvestman at Portchester Crematorium.

Another interesting insect I found was one of the Harvestman species. Though not a true spider, it certainly looks like one. I eventually got the insect identified as Odiellus spinosus, a short legged species of Harvestman. 

Also at Portchester Crematorium, I noticed a good number of Blackbirds around, but nothing really else of note. After Portchester Crematorium, I travelled next to Cowplain via Portsdown Hill. From here, I caught sight of a male Kestrel hunting over the fields to the north and also a Jay flew over the road heading north. Nearing Cowplain, I picked out a soaring Common Buzzard flying high over the shopping area, its underside lit up by the strong sunshine.

One of the many Beautiful Plume moths present this morning.

There was a lot of wildlife on show over The Oaks Crematorium this afternoon and pick of the sightings easily was the superb sighting of a male singing Firecrest. I was taking a slow walk beside the woodland, when its distinctive call grabbed my attention. A small group of Silver Birch trees held the bird as it came very close, some five feet away from me and needing no binoculars with this superb view, one could clearly see all its delicate plumage in detail. It was obviously part of a large tit flock that was going through the edge of the woodland that included several Long-tailed Tits and also Great, Blue, Coal and even a Marsh Tit got in on the act!

A queen Buff-tailed Bumble bee resting at The Oaks this afternoon.

Other sightings here included at least two Common Buzzards soaring over the grounds, a Jay flew into the woodland; a Meadow Pipit flew over southbound, calling in doing so. Finally, a Green Woodpecker was heard calling nearby in the woodland as was a Nuthatch, but would not offer a quick sighting. Last week, a birding friend of mine texted me to say that he saw a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker on the feeders, but there was no sign of the bird today. In the Winter season, this uncommon species tends to roam with Tit flocks. 

This superb Snow Bunting was found today on the beach at the bottom of Cowes Lane, Warsash. Thank you to Pete Appleton for allowing me his photo of the bird.

Other notable sightings here at The Oaks included a male Common Darter dragonfly and even a late Southern Hawker dragonfly put on a show in front of me before flying off towards the woodland! The weather is going to turn a lot colder as the week wears on and I expect that a lot of insects will disappear soon. The Great Grey Shrike was still present today at Backley Common, in the New Forest and now 6 Purple Sandpipers are present by Southsea Castle.         

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