Redstarts are finally added to my year list at Thursley Common.

Saturday 18th June 2022.

One of the male Redstarts at Thursley Common this morning.

I took a drive north today to the superb location of Thursley Common, for Redstart was my target species today as one of the ‘Lazee Birders’ recommended it to get a guaranteed Redstart on my year list. Thankfully, the information was correct as Andy and myself got to see at least two singing males on the edge of the heath as well as a wealth of other superb sightings.

Another photo of the male Redstart.

A Woodlark on the main footpath.

Though very muggy and warm, it was much more overcast than yesterday and occasionally, it actually rained albeit not that heavy. It was most definitely shorts and polo shirt weather as we parked up in the large car park to make our way slowly to the heath. Almost immediately, I heard a singing Redstart nearby and retracing our steps and then going up another path, I soon found the male bird perched high up in a Silver Birch tree. Our first Redstart of the year was finally on our year list at the umpteenth attempt! A second male bird was seen on the edge of some conifers and showed very well on various song perches.

The cryptic patterning of the upperparts of the Woodlark help camouflage the birds on the ground. 

This juvenile Stonechat was one of many seen this morning.

We walked slowly south along the sandy track, taking in the wildlife before us including good numbers of Stonechats here on the heath. I must have counted at least four to five juveniles as well as at least two adult pairs, all of which showing really well with the male birds bursting into song now and then. Further over the heath, the ‘bubbling’ call of Curlew could be heard, but what was disheartening was the amount of dogs off their leads. Within the New Forest, they are closing car parks to stop dog walkers on the heath to help save the breeding Curlews from disturbance and I think they should exercise that here should the dogs get out of hand.

Another photo of the juvenile Stonechat.

A male Black-tailed Skimmer dragonfly settled down on the footpath as the rain fell.

On a more positive note, there were a good number of Woodlarks seen with a family flock of at least four birds seen and an additional two more along the footpath and not venturing too far away when we walked past. As well as the Stonechats, a male Dartford Warbler was heard singing and eventually we clocked it flitting low in the heather. A singing male Reed Bunting was heard out on the heath, but there was no sighting of the bird this time. There was no sighting of any Hobbies either, but high overhead, a small group of 3 Red Kites circled and then drifted off along with a Common Buzzard.

My first Silver-studded Blue butterflies for many a year were seen by the footpath. 

I managed just a quick photo of the male Dartford Warbler before it disappeared into the heather.

It wasn't just birds that kept us well entertained; it was the insects too. Our first Silver-studded Blue butterflies showed well along the footpath, the first of this species I have seen in a very long time; so I was well pleased with this sighting. I also found a Silver Brown-lines moth on the heath and Andy was quick to find a Black-tailed Skimmer dragonfly perched on the sandy soil by the footpath as I quickly got to photograph it as the rain came down. The rain started to get a little heavy and so we made our way back slowly to the car and a well-earned drink.

One of the male Redstarts popped down from its high perch to land in front of us by the footpath.

The male Stonechat was keeping a sharp eye on its youngsters.

On my way back along the A3, I decided to go back into Chalton Village to see if the Turtle Doves would be showing again and as Andy needed this species for his year list, I made our way to where we saw them last Sunday. We were not to be disappointed as I picked out a ‘purring’ male high up in a tree some distance away and Andy was more than happy. Other birds seen here included a Red Kite and a Common Buzzard drifting over the countryside and a few Mistle Thrushes flying around. Good numbers of Swallows were fluttering over the road as we made our way to the Red Lion Pub for a nice pint and a packet of Crisps within the pub garden. Happy days. In the early hours of this morning, I did hear a moth trying to get into the bedroom, but I knew the blinds and curtain would stop it from entering the bedroom despite the window being open. However, this afternoon, when I opened the curtain, there was a superb Eyed Hawk-moth perched on one of the blinds! Incredible! 

Above, a Brown Silver-lines moth on the heath this morning and below, the Eyed Hawk-moth in my bedroom.

Another cracking haul of moths.

Saturday 18th June 2022.

Swallow-tailed Moth.

A very warm night where it was a tad uncomfortable to sleep. I was awake around 4am, with some idiot and disrespectful neighbours nearby yapping drunkenly away to themselves at silly o’clock and so, once I heard the first Blackbird start singing and a couple of Herring Gulls making a racket overhead, I decided to get up and make my way down to the moth box where I knew there were going to be a big haul of moths due to the balmy overnight temperature.

Gold Triangle.

Eudonia mercurella.

Yesterday, when I got home from work and poured myself a very cold drink, I sat in the back garden to cool off and enjoyed watching a Hummingbird Hawk-moth feeding briefly on our Buddleia plant, my third of the year. However, it didn't stay that long but there were plenty of Holly Blue butterflies and even a Small White butterfly for entertainment. It looks as though the Starling that was caught by a cat in my garden recently has made a full recovery and enjoyed being with another juvenile bird, the remains of the food left out for them.

Small Magpie moth.

Blastobasis lacticollela.

This morning, I recorded at least 110+ moths of at least 36 species including Snout, Swallow-tailed Moth, Short-cloaked Moth, Blastobasis lacticollella, Small Magpie, Meal Moth, Eudonia mercurella and a  Gold Triangle which, were all new for the year.

Meal Moth.

Snout.

The following moths were present this morning:

• 13 Willow Beauty
• 3 Heart & Dart
• 2 Common Emerald
• 1 Snout (NFY)
• 10 Riband Wave
• 9 Lime-speck Pug
• 2 Box-tree Moth
• 8 Garden Carpet
• 1 Swallow-tailed Moth (NFY)
• 3 Double-striped Pug
• 1 Brimstone Moth
• 2 Straw Dot
• 5 White Ermine
• 1 Pale Mottled Willow
• 3 Marbled Minor
• 1 Vines Rustic
• 2 Common Pug
• 1 Treble Brown Spot
• 1 Short-cloaked Moth (NFY)
• 1 Bright-line Brown-eye
• 1 Large Yellow Underwing
• 6 Common Plume
• 8 Ephestia woodiella
• 1 Blastobasis lacticollela (NFY)
• 1 Small Magpie (NFY)
• 3 Light Brown Apple Moth
• 9 Tachystola acroxantha
• 1 Meal Moth (NFY)
• 1 Celypha striana
• 1 Brown House Moth
• 2 Chrysoteuchia culmella
• 1 Green Oak Tortrix
• 1 Diamond-back Moth
• 2 Bee Moth
• 1 Eudonia mercurella (NFY)
• 1 Gold Triangle (NFY)

Short-cloaked Moth.

Four more moths new for the year.

Thursday 16th June 2022

Yellow Shell moth.

A much warmer early morning with temperature outside in my garden already 13 degrees, even with a clear blue sky overhead. Only trouble is, I seem to be getting up earlier and it was 4.30am when I staggered bleary eyed into my garden, but at least there were plenty of moths to look at. There were at least 4 species that were new for the year this morning: Yellow Shell, Common Emerald, Green Oak Tortrix and another micro moth, the unusual looking Endotricha flammeus among the 79 moths of 31 species. 

Common Emerald moth.

• 9 Willow Beauty 
• 8 White Ermine
• 5 Riband Wave
• 1 Buff-tip
• 7 Lime-speck Pug
• 1 Double-striped Pug
• 2 Common Pug
• 2 Setaceous Hebrew Character
• 1 Yellow Shell (NFY)
• 2 Vines Rustic
• 5 Heart & Dart
• 1 Common Emerald (NFY)
• 1 Treble Brown Spot
• 2 Green Pug
• 2 Common Marbled Carpet
• 2 Bright-line Brown-eye
• 1 Marbled Minor
• 1 L-album Wainscot
• 5 Ephestia woodiella
• 1 Endotricha flammeus (NFY)
• 2 Common Plume
• 1 Bee Moth
• 5 Tachystola acroxantha
• 2 Bryotropha affinis
• 2 Diamond-back Moth
• 2 Mompha subbistrigella
• 1 Hawthorn Moth
• 1 Light Brown Apple Moth
• 1 Chrysoteuchia culmella
• 1 Green Oak Tortrix (NFY)

Endotricha flammeus micro moth.

Green Oak Tortrix.

The day got a lot hotter and by around 3pm, it was up into the 80’s and with us working in our ‘monkey suits’, shade was simply a grateful thing! This morning, a trip over The Oaks Crematorium produced a few interesting sightings of both moth, birds and butterflies. Kicking off with the bird life, a graceful Red Kite slowly glided low over the main car park heading east and a Common Buzzard was also seen drifting over. Both Great Spotted and Green Woodpecker showed themselves briefly and a Skylark took flight singing its heart out. Even one of the local staff questioned whether it was a Skylark he heard singing this morning, of which I confirmed.

I saw my first Marbled White butterflies of the year with at least two individuals fluttering low over the meadow between the woodland and the main car park. I found my second Buff-tip moth of the day when I found an individual perched nicely by the Chapel exit. I later showed the staff Paula and Lee the moth, of which Lee took a photograph of. I also found a Garden Carpet moth on the roof by the front entrance, but it was too distant for a photograph.

Meanwhile, back over Portchester Crematorium, I did find a few moths, mostly by the South Chapel exit that included a Small Dusty Wave, Riband Wave, Treble Brown Spot and the micro moth Oegoconia quadripuncta. Further around by the Flower Bay, I found two Bee Moths, but I could not get to look all the way round for there was a family in mourning there.

The impressive Buff-tip Moth. Two were seen today, one by my moth trap (still there tonight) and a second one by The Oaks Crematorium. 

Tonight, while watering the garden (tomorrow is predicted to be a very hot day and possibly well into the 90’s!), I flushed up a few of last night's moths that were hidden by the plants and a pair of Beautiful Plume moths were flushed as well and added to my day total. I think I have some good news as yesterday’s Starling that was caught by a Cat, looks as though it survived its horrible ordeal as it was seen gingerly feeding on one of my feeders this evening. A second juvenile bird came in and after a good feed and a drink, the birds looked fit and healthy.  Meanwhile, a pair of Goldfinch came in and plenty of House Sparrows also came in to enjoy the plenty of food I put out for them tonight and l also cleaned the bird baths too. Last night, as dusk fell, a pair of Pipistrelle Bats fluttered around over our gardens, which are also so entertaining and even at 10pm, a few Herring Gulls flapped over!     

Damn cats!

Wednesday 15th June 2022.

Goldfinches enjoying my sunflower hearts in my back garden this evening.

Another very warm day today with temperatures getting into the mid 70’s and with bright sunshine and just a hint of cloud, it was quite hot at times this afternoon. There was no checking of the moth box this morning as I am restricting it to three times a week, so I am not so knackered during the day! However, it will be on tonight. 

A Robber Fly with prey at Woolmer Pond. Photo by Andy Friend.

Today took me over the Chichester and Emsworth area where I was working most of the day and most of my sightings I noted were by Chichester Crematorium. The female Sparrowhawk was seen sitting on her nest at this location and nearby in the trees, a Blackcap was singing still. Behind the Crematorium, both Chiffchaff and Common Whitethroat were also heard singing. A flock of Long-tailed Tits were busy searching the canopy of the trees and I noticed a lot of small butterflies high up in the tops of the trees and looked good for a Hairstreak species, most likely being Purple Hairstreak, but without my binoculars, I could only guess, but they did look dark in the sunshine. 

A Dark-green Fritillary butterfly on Knapweed photographed at Charlton Down last Sunday by Andy Friend.

When walking back from work, I was walking along Jesse Road where I came across a Hummingbird Hawk-moth flitting around by a house. It was seen several times and could have even been two individuals as it or another one was seen flying at speed across Talbot Road! This mini heatwave we are getting this week could prove the catalyst in getting some more interesting immigrant moths this week. Fingers crossed. 

Another photo of the feeding Goldfinches in my garden.

The pair of Glossy Ibis are still present on Posbrook Floods today and look good for a long stay. Could they possibly breed in the future here? I do hope so. When I got home late this afternoon, I poured myself a cold drink and went to sit in the garden. As soon as I stepped into the garden, a bloody cat took one of the young Starlings and hurried off into the next door's garden to simply play with it. I quickly got my big Water Pistol gun fully armed with cold water (it is Isabelle’s, honestly!) and fired directly at the cat of which it quickly ran off. Several times the cat came back and several times it got a good bloody soaking! It soon got the message and ran off leaving behind a thoroughly stunned young Starling, but I am not sure if it survived or not. Domestic Cats kill millions of birds and animals each year in the UK and even Australia have now banned Cats from going outside. That would never happen here in this 'Nanny' state country. Maybe one day when the thick public might realise the disappearance of all our wildlife?

Second Hawk-moth of the day.

Tuesday 14th June  2022.

My first Elephant Hawk-moth of the year. 

Up again at 4.45am, I quickly got dressed, glugged down a cup of Orange juice and then made my way into the garden for another check of my moth box. It was a cool start to the morning and with not a cloud in the sky or a breath of wind, I started to check the outside of the box. I put the white sheet back up last night behind the box, hoping to attract more moths and when I did a quick check before retiring to bed last night, I had found my first Elephant Hawk-moth of the year to go along with the Hummingbird Hawk-moth I saw earlier that day!

Marbled Minor. 

Beautiful Plume. Though common, I have had just a few this month.  

Thankfully, it was still around this morning, clinging onto the bottom of the white sheet along with a few other moths including a Light Emerald, White Ermine and a Straw Dot among 35 moths of 19 species. The following moths were present this morning:

• 1 Elephant Hawk-moth
• 4 Willow Beauty
• 3 White Ermine
• 1 Straw Dot
• 3 Bright-line Brown-eye
• 2 Riband Wave
• 1 Marbled Minor
• 2 Heart & Dart
• 2 Lime-speck Pug
• 1 Buff Ermine  
• 1 Bee Moth
• 2 Vines Rustic
• 1 Light Emerald
• 3 Common Plume
• 2 Tachystola acroxantha
• 2 Light Brown Apple Moth
• 2 Celypha striana
• 1 Beautiful Plume
• 1 Chrysoteuchia culmella

I have a Buff-tailed Bumble bees nest at the back of my garden and I guess this and another one never made it home last night and spent the night in my moth box!

Some back garden birding.

Monday 13th June 2022.

House Sparrows and a pair of juvenile Starlings enjoying the dried mealworms in my garden.

This morning did not go according to plan as I awoke to a pounding headache and felt as rough as a Badgers Bum and this was about 4 am this morning! So, early this morning, I contacted my employer to say I wasn't coming into work today. Even a few hours later, I was really unsteady on my feet and my head was banging and so took it very easy this morning till I felt a bit normal again.

And again.

It was late in the afternoon that I took some photos of the Starlings and House Sparrows enjoying the mealworms I had just put out for them and it did not take long for the birds to find the bounty. Though the Starlings were juveniles and filling up their bellies, the House Sparrows looked to be adults as they gobbled up as many as their bills could carry and off, probably to feed their youngsters. I sat there enjoying a cup of coffee with my camera, taking some lovely photos of the birds in the late afternoon sunshine, proving you can stay at home to enjoy the birds as well as travelling a few miles to see them.

This Lesser Yellow Underwing was a complete surprise as I flushed it out of one of my pot plants while watering!

Other notable sightings in my garden this evening included good numbers of Marmalade Hoverflies enjoying the sun trap at the back of the garden while I was watering the garden. Buff-tailed Bumble bees were passing close to my head as they returned to their nest in the soil at the back of my garden. I regularly keep an eye on the insect life here and am always fascinated in checking out the variety of insects i get in my garden and now that my Buddleia is flowering and should attract more insects and butterflies. A real surprise this morning was my first Hummingbird Hawk-moth of the year; seen hovering about the top of the house before heading off north.

Good numbers of Marmalade Hoverfly were enjoying the last of the late afternoon sunshine at the back of my garden.

The weather is supposed to be getting hotter as the week goes on with a heat wave predicted, peaking around Friday with daytime temperatures reaching 85 degrees! Hopefully, this will bring in some large moth catches this week. My moth box is on tonight, so a very early start again tomorrow morning. 

Glossy Ibis and Turtle Dove seen this morning.

Sunday 12th June 2022.

Always distant, this pair of Glossy Ibis has been a nice attraction over the past week at this site.

A pair of Glossy Ibis have been a regular feature at Posbrook Floods of late and seeing I had the morning free, I then took an early morning drive down to the small car park near the Floods. I found out today that the far northern end of the Posbrook Floods is actually called the Bridge Street Floods and not the latter and so I shall not make the same mistake again for upsetting the local birders there!

The Glossy Ibis in both the bush and on the Floods.

The Glossy Ibis on Posbrook Floods taken earlier in the week. Film footage by James.

I arrived at the small car park around 7.45am and noticed that the area was surrounded by Himalayan Balsam, sporting their lovely pink flowers, however this plant is considered an absolute pest and can quickly spread anywhere. Nevertheless, it will support a wealth of insect life which is good for the local breeding birds including many of the local Common Whitethroats I saw this morning here. The vegetation here was rather overgrown and it I could see it was going to be a tad difficult to see any birds on the Bridge Street Flood, but I did manage to get a reasonable view to check out the area.

A Common Whitethroat singing close to where I stood at Bridge Street Floods. 

At first, there was no sign of the Ibis on the Floods, but I did count at least 4 Avocets and at least a dozen Black-tailed Godwit feeding within the shallow water. A lone Common Buzzard was perched in a small tree nearby and a male Reed Bunting that was perched up on a bush was singing merrily. Overhead, there were several House Martins swooping low over the ground along with good numbers of Swallows and further south, over the trees, I could see at least 20+ Swifts picking off flying insects. The vegetation in front of the pools held good numbers of Common Whitethroats busy searching for insects and near where I stood, a Cetti’s Warbler burst into its loud song and flew across the main footpath, landing behind me into cover.

Above, a Large Skipper butterfly on the nettles as I was walking back to the car. Below, a Comma butterfly also basking in the early morning sunshine.

I was about to give up searching for the Ibis and take a walk southbound down the footpath and then I saw a large lump in one of the bushes by the Floods. Checking it out through the scope, it was one of the Glossy Ibis and another bird suddenly appeared in the same bush. They flapped their wings for a while as if to get a steady balance within the bush and then one of them flew down to the Floods to begin preening. After a while, the bird flew up back into the bush with its partner and then settled down. I quickly put out a message on the ‘Lazees Whatsapp’ group to let them know about the birds and when I went to look at them again, they had disappeared. Never mind, my 191st species of the year was added. Happy days. 

The 'Batman' Hoverfly, Myathropa florea, also sun bathing along the footpath.

Always on the lookout for anything interesting, I made my way back to the car and noticed a couple of smart butterflies resting on the nettles in the early morning sunshine. These were a Comma and a Large Skipper, which showed very nicely and rounded off a nice hour or so of birding here. On getting back to the car, I was tempted to go for the Turtle Doves near the village of Chalton as a friend of mine gave me the ‘gen’ that he saw there last Sunday. So Chalton village it was. 

One of the three Turtle Doves seen this morning near Chalton village. Photo by Andy Friend. 

I parked up by the Red Lion pub and who should be there, a gathering of 'Lazee Birders' including Andy, Martin, John and Jim and his son. Martin kindly gave me a lift in his car as we made our way to the area where the Turtle Doves were last seen and sure enough, it did not take long to locate the birds by their ‘purring’! I will not be disclosing exactly where the birds were situated as they are now becoming such a rare species in the UK, probably due to the hunting of this species on the Continent (however, even France is now banning the hunting of this gorgeous bird), but we counted at least 3 ‘purring’ male birds in this particular area where we watched from. Hopefully, there were a few females in the area too, but to see three birds was exceptional. Apparently, one of the ‘Lazee’s’ was told last year by a local that the Doves have been seen here for the past 12 years and was a local secret!

These two photos were arguably the best photos I managed to take of the Turtle Doves, but the birds were always distant. 

This Swallow perched nicely overhead as we passed by. 

A beautiful view from where we stood.

We managed to get good views of the birds, but they did remain distant apart from when we got a few ‘fly-bys’. They were always present with one individual perched in a dead tree being the most easily seen bird. Other notable birds seen included at least a dozen or so Mediterranean Gulls flying north; good numbers of Swallows around the area, including a showy individual on overhead wire, plus the odd Linnet or two, a distant Red Kite and a group of 6 Mistle Thrushes in a nearby field. A truly beautiful location that could hold some other well kept secrets here too. Well, at least we now know a good spot to see our Turtle Doves next year, fingers crossed. Another bit of good news, is that our local Swifts have two youngsters in one of the nest boxes by my house. I am hoping that the other nest boxes get used as well.       

Above, Pyramidal Orchids could be found nearby and below, there were a few Common Spotted Orchids 'spikes' on show.