Some cracking moths & the Hampshire Dipper's.

Saturday 4th June 2022.

Scorched Wing was added to my year list as was all the moth photos here on this entry to my blog.  

It was a trip down to Romsey this morning for the well documented Dippers that have bred on the river there and although the weather forecast was not looking good, we were lucky enough to have a dry trip to this part of Hampshire. However, Andy had his moth box on overnight despite some heavy rain showers overnight and there were a few nice surprises in store.

Small Square-spot.

Treble-lines.

Knot Grass.

Among a reasonable total here within the moth egg trays, there were two nice ‘year-ticks’ that included a Scorched Wing, Knot Grass, Treble Lines and a Small Square-spot. A lot of Andy’s moths have to run the gauntlet of the spiders that live in the back door room and a Giant House Spider lurking close to the back door most certainly didn’t help!

• 5 Common Marbled Carpet
• 1 Scorched Wing
• 1 Knot Grass
• 1 Treble Lines
• 3 Heart & Dart
• 1 Light Emerald
• 2 Vines Rustic
• 1 Square-spot Rustic
• 1 Pale Mottled Willow
• 1 Garden Carpet
• 2 Double-striped Pug 
• 3 Light Brown Apple Moth
• 1 Celypha striana

My Sat Nav took us right to the spot on where to view the Dippers and for the sake of protecting these birds, I shall not give the exact location on my blog, but thankfully, it was disclosed to us and after parking up, we joined fellow ‘Lazee Birders’,  Andy Tew and Graeme Loader, who kindly put us on to the juvenile Dippers resting on a rock by the river. Dippers have not bred on a Hampshire river for some 16 years and I certainly have not seen any in Hampshire before and therefore made the most of the opportunity in being here. 

The juvenile Dippers waiting to be fed by their parents this morning. 

From our viewpoint, we had reasonable views of the juvenile Dipper's being occasionally bred by the adults, though the adults briefly popped in to feed the birds and then flew off to hunt more aquatic insects. It was later in the morning that from the same viewpoint, we had an adult bathing on the edge of the river and I managed to grab a few photos and some film footage of our Hampshire Dippers. The last time I saw this species was five years ago on the River Dart, in Devon, where Andy and myself were coming back from East Prawle.

Photos of the adult Dipper on the river. It was bathing & preening for while and then went hunting underwater.

While chatting to Andy Tew, I heard the distinctive song of a Firecrest overhead and sure enough, I saw the bird flitting about the branches above us and quickly pointed it out to the guys. A nice support act. After a good hour here and enjoying a superb species, it was time to go home as I had to get back early as friends of mine were coming over for lunch. I was hoping yesterday’s Glossy Ibis were still at Posbrook Floods, but there was no news on Birdguides and so I went straight back home after dropping Andy off. It turned out they were still at Posbrook Floods after all and so another good species has gone begging for my year list. Nevertheless, the 190th species for the year was achieved today.  On the way back along the M27, there were sightings of Great Spotted Woodpecker, Jay, Kestrel and Common Buzzard flying over the motorway. Below, some film footage of the adult Dipper on the river.

Superb wildlife at Woolmer Pond this afternoon.

Friday 3rd June 2022.

Both the Cuckoo and the Hobby sharing the same tree north of Woolmer Pond. 

I took the long drive up to Woolmer Pond this afternoon, not just for the soul purpose of seeing a Redstart for the first time this year, but also to check all the other superb wildlife this superb place has to offer. Though mostly overcast throughout my trip here, the sun did pop out occasionally and best of all, it was quite warm, though there was a breezy north-easterly stopping it being muggy.

The bracken has really grown since the last time I was at Woolmer Pond.

A male Common Blue Damselfly.

To cut to the chase, I will start with the bird life and yet again, there was no sightings of any Redstarts and although this time I could walk through Woolmer Forest to the Heath on the other side, the best it got is when I heard at least two males singing within the Forest, but when I neared the area where they were singing, it all stopped and the birds did not show. Bugger! My wait for my 190th species of the year goes on! Nevertheless, I did see some superb birds on my walk including a superb Hobby. First seen flying low over the Pond itself, hawking for Dragonflies, I watched a bird successfully catch a Dragonfly after flying near down to ground level and then flew off north to enjoy its catch. It was later seen in a bare tree, sharing it with a Cuckoo no less (a female bird I presume as it did not call, while a nearby male was in song somewhere in the Forest), near the entrance to the Forest by the large lake (see photos). Though a bit distant, both the Hobby and Cuckoo showed very well while I rested by the gate to take some reasonable photos.

Above, a male Azure Blue Damselfly and below, a pair of mating Common Blue Damselflies.

On the Pond, there were at least 3 pairs of Lapwing seen, with birds either displaying, or chasing off Crows or simply resting on the muddy areas. The water level was very low and though heavy rain is forecast for tonight, I think it will take a good week's worth of rain to fill this Pond up again. While watching a brood of Canada Geese with their yellowy four youngsters, a small wader flew in and it was indeed a Little Ringed Plover. I could not find a second bird, so whether it was a bird passing through or possibly breeding, I don't know; but a nice sighting anyway. Both Grey Heron and Little Egret fished the deeper part of the water and a small flock of 4 Tufted Ducks swam on the main pool. A pair of Stock Doves flew over the Pond and headed off northbound. 

Above I brought along a Moth Pot with me and successfully potted this Brown China-mark, one of several fluttering about by the Pond. Below, a smart Lapwing on the Pond.

While walking along the edge of the Pond, I was pretty sure I heard a Garden Warbler sub-singing deep within trees, though there was no sighting of the bird, nor was the Blackcap singing nearby seen either. Small birds were at a premium at this location along the Pond, so I was keeping an eye on the insects that were abundant along the footpath. Both Common Blue and Azure Damselflies were on the wing in good numbers, though Dragonflies were rarely seen and if I did see one, they belted did not hang around long enough for an ID. I did find a cracking little moth, a Brown China-mark flitting about in the tall grass and managed to pot it briefly to grab a few photos.  

Above, a Grey Heron made the most of the shallow water. Below, a distant Little Ringed Plover sitting on the mud near a family group of Canada Geese.  

I checked out the Cottage garden and although peaceful and with no Army Cadets within it like last time I was here, it was also a bit void of any birds too. The bracken has now grown to at least 3 foot high, which supported good numbers of Brown Silver-lines moths that flew up all over the place within the bracken. Maybe due to it being overcast, I did not see one butterfly while I walked around the area, which I found unbelievable as this area is so productive for these insects. Exiting the Garden, I made my way along the footpath to the Forest, enjoying a family flock of Stonechats flying about the Gorse bushes and also joined by a female Yellowhammer that rested briefly for a quick preen on the barbed wire fence. A few Linnets passed by as I entered the Forest, keeping an ear out for any Redstarts calling. No such luck, but there were plenty of Coal and Blue Tits within the canopy of the Conifers and a Mistle Thrush flew out of the wood and headed off south. I then spent the next 15 minutes enjoying both the Cuckoo and Hobby perched in the dead tree.

Above, there were good number of Brown Silver-lines moths in the Cottage garden and below, a female Yellowhammer dropped in along the footpath.

Passing the small iron gate, I then heard a distant Redstart singing within the woodland and so took a footpath south which led up a hill with the woods either side. Once I reached the end of the footpath, overlooking part of the heathland, there was still no sign of any Redstarts, but a Tree Pipit was heard singing and then found perched on a lone tree close to the footpath (see photo). I then walked back to the main path through the woodland and on the way, I found a pair of Dartford Warblers chasing each other over the heather and when perched, allowed me a few photos of these delightful little birds. A pair of Common Buzzards soared overhead, my first and only ones of the day, as they headed off slowly east over the heathland.

Above, a juvenile Stonechat was part of a family flock along the main footpath to the Forest and a little later in the day, this male adult bird, below, showed very well on a sprig of Gorse. 

Walking back through the woodland back towards the Pond, I heard TWO Redstarts singing and so quicken my pace, I got to within distance of one of the birds but it suddenly went all quiet from them and despite waiting patiently for them to show, there was no sighting whatsoever. This species must now go down as the bogey bird of 2022! Looking up to the heavens, I noticed how dark the clouds were overhead and so made a hasty retreat back towards the car along the northern side of the Pond. Again, there were good numbers of Common Blue Damselflies scuttering about low over the heather and bracken and I found a Common Wave moth along the footpath too.

The Hobby looking out for passing Dragonflies.

The Cuckoo that sat quietly next to a Hobby!

A male Stonechat showed very well, perching nicely on some bracken close to the footpath and the four Tufted Duck showed well on the still water too, but little else of note as I made my way back through the woodland to the small car park for a good glug on my drink and make my way southbound along the A3 and home. I could actually spend a long time at this location because there is so much wildlife to see and enjoy and probably with patience, I expect one would see a lot more than what I saw today.      

Above, the Tree Pipit perched in a conifer by the heath. Below, the male Dartford Warbler on the heath.

Over 100+ moths this morning.

Friday 3rd June 2022.

Varied Coronet was new for the year and virtually near annual in my garden.

A reasonably mild morning to start off with, around 11 degrees to be exact and it was a little cloudy overhead, but at least it was bright and not raining! I have started putting egg trays by the side of the box now and it is most certainly paying off, with a good haul of moths this morning. Swifts were once again circling overhead and a Blackbird was in full song on top of my roof. The House Sparrows eventually came down to try their luck in pinching a moth or two, but all the time I was there, they had no chance! 

Apple Leaf-miner. 

The dark form of Box-tree Moth.

Common Carpet.

A very large haul of moths this morning, easily my highest number to date this year so far with 103 moths of 35 species recorded. This included seven new species for the year including a very smart Variable Coronet, Common Carpet and my first Box-tree Moth of the dark phase type. Am I going to be inundated with this species again like last year? The following moths were present this morning:

• 19 Lime-speck Pug
• 4 Common Pug
• 3 Double-striped Pug
• 8 Willow Beauty
• 1 Varied Coronet (NFY)
• 4 White Ermine
• 1 Silver Y
• 8 Pale Mottled Willow
• 5 Bright-line Brown-eye
• 1 Marbled Minor
• 1 Large Yellow Underwing (NFY)
• 1 Straw Dot (NFY)
• 1 Early Grey
• 4 Common Marbled Carpet  
• 2 Vines Rustic
• 8 Garden Carpet
• 5 Heart & Dart
• 1 Common Carpet (NFY)
• 1 Yellow-barred Brindle
• 1 Angle Shades
• 3 Shuttle-shaped Dart
• 1 Box-tree Moth (NFY)
• 2 Tachystola acroxantha
• 1 Celypha striana
• 2 Common Plume
• 4 Ephestia woodiella
• 2 Light Brown Apple Moth
• 1 Eudonia lacustrata (NFY)
• 1 White-shouldered House Moth
• 1 Brown House Moth
• 1 Bryotropha affinis
• 1 Apple Leaf-miner (NFY)
• 2 Mompha subbistrigella
• 1 Swammerdarmia pyrella
• 1 Agonopterix arienella

Eudonia lacustrata.

Large Yellow Underwing.

Straw Dot.

Three more moths added to year list.

Thursday 2nd June 2022.

The first Riband Wave moth for the year in my garden this morning.

And now the start of a long weekend with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee kicking in, I was up to yet another early start to check on my good old moth box. Thankfully, the House Sparrows had not got near the moth box yet, but by the time I had recorded what was present, they came and landed close to me, eager for their insect breakfast! Yes, I have been moaned at before by the ‘nanny brigade’ of moth lovers that I should leave the moths in the box all day etc., but I carefully place most deep within vegetation or they simply fly away and find some place else to hide.

Bramble Shoot Moth was also new for the year.

Another very still morning with a bit of cloud, but relatively bright with a lot of blue sky first thing with a temperature of around 9 degrees. There were 41 moths of 20 species this morning with three being new for the year that included a Riband Wave and the micro moths, Bramble Shoot Moth and the tiny Swammerdarmia pyrella. This morning, there was the following moths:

• 1 Green Pug
• 7 Lime-speck Pug
• 3 Common Pug
• 3 Pale Mottled Willow
• 2 White Ermine
• 1 Freyer’s Pug
• 5 Willow Beauty
• 2 Vines Rustic
• 1 Bright-line brown-eye
• 1 Riband Wave (NFY)
• 1 Setaceous Hebrew Character
• 1 Eudonia angustea
• 2 Common Plume
• 3 Brown House Moth
• 2 Ephestia woodiella
• 1 Light Brown Apple Moth
• 3 Tachystola acroxantha
• 1 White-shouldered House Moth
• 1 Bramble Shoot Moth (NFY)
• 1 Swammerdarmia pyrella (NFY)

The local Swifts were quite active over the house this morning with at least four doing low fly-passes, calling in doing so. I am sure one is certainly going into one of my nest boxes currently, which I shall monitor regularly now and hopefully, the boxes put up last year on nearby St Margaret's nearby are being looked at too. 

Another Green Pug was present this morning.

Campion moth added to year list.

Wednesday 1st June 2022.

My first Campion moth of the year.

So technically, we are already half way through the year and I am standing out in the garden where it is just 7 degrees at 4.45am! I am so glad I have a fleece on! It is a clear blue sky type of morning and there is plenty of activity going on around and over the garden with ‘chirruping’ House Sparrows mostly making a din, but the dozen or Swifts are passing overhead, ‘screaming’ excitedly in doing so and passing Gulls flying north to probably feed in the countryside?

The micro moth Notocelia cynosbatella. 

I have slightly relocated my moth box due to pressure from my wife and though I was not too pleased at first, I suppose I will just have to get used to it. However, she did come up with a few good ideas to attract more moths. Much smaller numbers this morning, probably due to the low temperature overnight and a clear blue sky this morning, but I did have my first Campion moth of the year within the 30 moths of 14 species. The following moths were present this morning:  

• 3 Yellow-barred Brindle
• 3 White Ermine
• 1 Campion
• 1 White-point
• 3 Willow Beauty
• 2 Vines Rustic
• 3 Pale Mottled Willow
• 2 Buff Ermine
• 1 L-album Wainscot
• 1 Bright-line Brown-eye
• 2 Garden Carpet
• 3 Lime-speck Pug
• 1 Notocelia cynosbatella
• 4 Brown House Moth

It is so good to see Springwatch back on our TV’s at last and this time, it is being run for THREE weeks instead of two. Something finally decent to watch on the telly, while my wife watches her awful soaps! I wonder if there will be anything on moths again and hopefully not too much on Beavers and Red Deer; zzzzzzz! Below, a few late evening photos taken in the garden. 

'Are there any moths here'? One of my moths executioners!

A Holly Blue butterfly enjoying the last of the sun's rays in my garden.

This Buff-tailed Bumble bee was also enjoying the warmth of the evening sun.

Probable Black Kite over Portsdown Hill.

Tuesday 31st May 2022.

Small Dusty Wave. This individual, quite a grey subject, was one of two at Portchester Crematorium on Monday.

The last day of May was sunny with showers. I was quite busy at work most of the day. It took me to both The Oaks Crematorium and also to the Rose Green area in West Sussex and along the way, there were a few noteworthy sightings. I have not had the moth box on recently, due to me being rather tired of late, but I will be turning the box on tonight and really looking forward to checking the moth box first thing in the morning. Having both Thursday and Friday off to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Anniversary on the throne (thank you, your Majesty), an extra long weekend beckons.

The Eleonora's Falcon at Worth Marsh, Kent. Photo by Dave Hutton. 

Not quite a midweek update, but Monday was interesting due to the fact that I saw a probable Black Kite drifting low over Portsdown Hill mid-morning. I saw the bird at a distance first of all, but knew immediately it was a Kite judging by wing shape and size, which ruled out a Common Buzzard. I was driving at the time and although I was only doing 30mph, on nearing the bird, I noticed the tail shape was most definitely square and not deeply forked like a Red Kite and the bird was quite dark. I have had trouble getting my previous sightings of Black Kite accepted by the Hampshire Rarities Committee, mostly due to the fact of no photographic evidence and so I shall simply keep this sighting to my blog, though I did put a post on the 'Lazee Birders' Whatsapp group.

This superb Roseate Tern was photographed leaving the South Scrape at Titchfield Haven last Friday. Photo by Mark Francis.

Other notable sightings that morning included at least 3 hovering Kestrels along the Hill and another Kestrel seen flying over Southbourne, near Emsworth. The Great Spotted Woodpecker was quite noisy this morning by its nest site at Portchester Crematorium, though I could not get any sightings of the bird due to all the leaves in the way. 

A check for moths around Portchester Crematorium produced 2 Small Dusty Wave, 2 Double-striped Pugs, a lone Garden Carpet and the micro moth, Eudonia angustea. Over The Oaks Crematorium, I found one of last week's Pale Tussocks perched in the same area, by the exit of the Main Chapel and was still present this morning with another individual.

The Eleonora's Falcon at Worth Marsh, Kent. Film footage by James Cutting.

The big rarity at the moment in the UK is the pale morph 2nd summer Eleonora's Falcon at a place called Worth Marsh on the east side of Kent and some of the guys I know kindly allowed me to use their superb photo/video of the bird. It has been in company with a female Red-footed Falcon, a few Hobbies plus nearby, both Caspian Tern and Sardinian Warbler have been found near there over the past weekend. A really superb weekend for those who travelled there. More locally, I have also been told that an adult Rose-coloured Starling has been feeding in Fawley and that elusive Long-tailed Duck on Blashford Lakes had returned back on Ibsley Water! My guess is that the bird was resting on the other side of the spit when Andy and myself were there last Saturday.     

White-point moth the highlight this morning.

Sunday 29th May 2022.

My first White-point moth of the year.

A really cold start to the morning at 4.45am and with not a cloud in the sky, no wonder overnight the overnight temperature dropped considerably. The forecast today is supposed to be sunny and a slight breeze, but it probably will not be as warm as yesterday. There was only one new moth species for the year this morning and that was a White-point, another regular immigrant moth while easily the most numerous moth was the Willow Beauties and the Pale Mottled Willows. Slightly down in numbers from yesterday with 55 moths of 20 species recorded:

Not the usual guise of a Garden Pebble moth, but a welcome one.

• 1 Double-striped Pug
• 5 Lime-speck Pug
• 1 Common Pug
• 2 Bright-line Brown-eye
• 3 White Ermine
• 1 Buff Ermine
• 12 Willow Beauty
• 3 Heart & Dart
• 4 Vines Rustic
• 1 Shuttle-shaped Dart
• 1 Small Dusty Wave
• 1 Yellow-barred Brindle
• 8 Pale Mottled Willow
• 1 Garden Carpet 
• 1 White-point (NFY)
• 1 Garden Pebble
• 3 Mompha subbistrigella
• 2 Tachystola acroxantha
• 3 Light Brown Apple Moth
• 1 Celypha striana

A cracking morning in Bolderwood and Blashford Lakes.

Saturday 28th May 2022.

This cute female Chaffinch greeted us once we got to Bolderwood car park.

We were to spend the day in the New Forest area today, though traveling to Kent to see the Eleonora’s Falcon was mighty tempting, with a female Red-footed Falcon in support! Though I knew I had to be back some time in the afternoon to help Becky finish off with the garden, I plumbed for a trip to the Forest and hopefully picked up a few more ‘year-ticks’. The weather was a little cold at first when we arrived at Bolderwood car park, but the heat eventually arrived as we were reduced to t-shirts by midday.

Rusty Shoulder-knot moth. Probably the best moth in Andy's small selection this morning. 

A check of Andy’s moths in his garden at Cowplain Marsh was a bit of a damp squib, seeing that I had over 60 moths earlier this morning. I could only find a few, which included a Rusty Shoulder-knot, Common Pug, Vines Rustic, Bee Moth, Common Marbled Carpet, Eudonia angustea and a Light Brown Apple Moth. Whoosh! So, I drank my coffee and then headed off westbound to the New Forest for some goodies.

This stunning little stream that ran through Bolderwood always attracts Damselflies & Dragonflies in high summer. 

Now, I must find a quicker route to Bolderwood as it seemed to take ages in arriving at the car park, but we did see a few Stonechats along the way on the heath near Milkham Inclosure and also a Skylark hovering just by the roadside. Red-footed Falcons had been reported yesterday in the area and also over the Beaulieu Road area as well, so we carefully scanned the heath as we made our way to Bolderwood. Yes, it was a bit chilly at first when we arrived at a near deserted car park and as we were getting our birding gear out of the car, we were treated to a male Chaffinch hopping about by our feet; no doubt it regularly gets fed by the public!

I found this giant Wood Ant's nest near the main path. Colossal was an understatement. 

We followed the footpath down by the Deer Watch platform and into the woodland where we were quickly onto our first Firecrest of the trip. I have to say, we probably heard so many that it must have been into double figures and at least four birds were seen as well. Our target birds were Wood Warbler, Garden Warbler, Redstart and Spotted Flycatcher and we managed to grab two of those species this morning. Unbelievably, we saw no Redstarts whatsoever, which I found incredible. I suppose on another day, we might have seen 5+? Our first ‘year-tick’ didn't take too long to materialise, when I heard the distinctive call/song of a Spotted Flycatcher and eventually it gave itself up as i spotted it flicking about from branch to branch high overhead in some Oak trees; though grabbing a half decent photo of the very active bird proved difficult.

One of two Spotted Flycatchers seen this morning in Bolderwood and our first of the year.

A Treecreeper was seen by Andy, which I had missed by too busy trying to photograph the Flycatcher, but we saw an adult feeding a juvenile on the way back out of the wood later on. There were plenty of young birds within the wood, with Coal and Blue Tit youngsters being fed by their respective parents. A pair of Common Buzzards drifted over one of the clearings and I was pretty sure a female Sparrowhawk drifted lazily over the woodland. Siskins and Crossbills were constantly heard on our walk through the wood, but it was only the former that we got to see occasionally, including a lovely male doing its display flight. 

One of a few Treecreepers seen this morning.

After checking out a giant Wood Ants nest, Andy was onto a gorgeous Beautiful Demoiselle damselfly and quickly gave me the shout. I managed to grab some lovely photos of the insect, which was my first of the year. I was hoping for some more dragonflies within the woodland, famed for its good numbers of Golden-ringed Dragonfly, but I guess it is still too early for them yet. The only butterfly species seen this morning here were Speckled Woods, but there was a healthy number of them here. I did find a micro moth fluttering about by the main track and as I had a moth pot on me, I quickly potted the said moth and eventually identified it as Musotima nitidalis, a particular moth that enjoys bracken.

The stunning Beautiful Demoiselle damselfly seen by one of the paths this morning. 

After crossing the small stream and then taking the large footpath to the left, we made our way slowly along this track, avoiding the many Cyclists going through the woodland. This is a very popular woodland for both Cyclists on the mountain bikes and Ramblers and we saw many this morning here. The track we were taking was always good for Wood Warbler and was always a reliable site for them, but all was quiet at first. I soon picked up the distinctive song of a Garden Warbler within the woodland, but the bird proved elusive, but we did get to see our second Spotted Flycatcher of the morning and this time, the bird stayed still for me to grab a photo or two. Also present here was a Marsh Tit, seen and heard calling within the woodland and showed well for a while as it went about searching for food. Then, somehow, with my ‘bionic’ hearing, I picked out the delicate song of a Wood Warbler some distance away.

The beautiful Wood Warbler in full song. Arguably, one of my favourite Spring birds.

At first, I thought my ears were deceiving me, but as we walked further along the track, I heard it again and sure enough, we were watching our first Wood Warbler of the year. We never got to see one here last year and this bird most certainly made up for that. Walking very carefully into the woodland, we waited patiently for the bird to show and eventually, we picked it up within the canopy of some trees. In one superb moment, the sun came out behind a cloud and lit up the bird that was perched nicely right out in the open until it moved to a different perch to sing. It then virtually remained high up in the canopy and proved more difficult to photograph; but later on today, I read that Wood Warblers actually nest on the ground and so I was glad we didn't spend too much time in its territory.

This juvenile Goldcrest was waiting for its parents, nearby, to feed it.

Well happy with this sighting, we made our way back through the woodland to the car and although we heard a very distant Garden Warbler, we could not see the bird. After having a quick and well-deserved Ice-cream in the car park, a quick check on Birdguides revealed that yesterday's Long-tailed Duck was still on Ibsley Water, Blashford Lakes. So we made our way there to hopefully notch up another ‘year-tick’.

It was a good idea to go to Blashford Lakes where we were quickly onto our first Garden Warblers of the year.

Parking up within the car park near the Tern Hide, as I brought my telescope, I decided to make our way from the viewing platform where we bumped into one of the ‘Lazee Birders’, James Cutting and his two offspring! As per last year, the area was surrounded by singing Garden Warblers and it didn't take long for at least three birds to show reasonably well and climb onboard our year list! But it wasn't all good news as James said there was no sign of the Long-tailed Duck, but the female Red-crested Pochard was still showing well, which I glimpsed briefly while swimming on Ibsley Water. He kindly also gave us the location where the Dipper was in Romsey and so I shall probably pay that area a visit next week.

This stunning Hobby entertained us to make up for the no-show Long-tailed Duck.

After a good chat with James, who went off to check out the Woodland Hide with his kids, I got about checking the water for the Long-tailed Duck, but proved unsuccessful. However, there was plenty to look at including a superb Hobby overhead, flying back and forth over the Lake and into the woodland behind us and giving us some great views and Andy’s first of the year. 

One of at least 5 Common Terns on Ibsley Water this morning.

Even a pair of Common Buzzards soared low above us and in this bright sunshine (and it was certainly warming up now), we saw at least 5 Common Terns, probably about a dozen Great Crested Grebes and good numbers of Tufted Duck on Ibsley Water. I was trying to find a Little Ringed Plover for Andy’s year list, but no diamonds there, but there was a Lapwing and Oystercatcher along the small spit. A few Swallows were noted and a Sand Martin flew low overhead, calling in doing so. 

Common Blue Damselfly by the Info Main Building at Blashford Lakes.

After around half an hour, Andy was desperate for the toilet and knowing they had one by the main centre, we made our way to the car park there. Andy went off to do his thing while I had a quick chat with the two Voluntary wardens who pointed out the Hobby overhead, which was most likely the same bird we had seen earlier. Good numbers of Common Blue Damselflies were zipping about the place, especially around the edge of the woodland, enjoying the very warm sunshine. Once Andy came out of the Portaloo, we went around the back of the Main Building to check if any of the moths seen this morning from their moth box were perched on the building wall. Sure enough, I found three moths including a Tawny-barred Angle (NFY), Pale Tussock and my second ever Brussell's Lace moth.

Above, a Tawny-barred Angle moth behind the Info Centre and below, only my second ever Brussell's Lace moth.

Realising it was now 1.30pm, I decided to make tracks for home and so took the drive back through the New Forest instead where we had lovely views of three very young Donkeys with their Mums! Aaah! Some interesting birds in Hampshire today including a Stone-curlew at the Fishtail Lagoon in Lymington. The Iberian Chiffchaff was still singing in Otterbourne Park Wood and close by, a Black Kite was reported flying over there in the early evening.