A soggy walk around the Cemetery.

Thursday 13th April 2023.

Large heavy rain clouds east of the Cemetery and 40 minutes later, a huge long one decided to empty its load on the Cemetery! Fume!

There were a lot of heavy showers around here on the south coast today and also a lot of very bright sunny spells, but I took a gamble during one of those bright spells and went for a stroll around my local patch, Highland Road Cemetery, in the hope there might be a few migrants here. Nope! Apart from all the usual birds present, I could not find one single migrant bird during the hour I was there. True, the heavy rain that set in after 40 minutes of being there, dampened my enthusiasm; but hey, Spring migrants are very unpredictable here and when you do happen to come across one, they are usually in spanking breeding plumage.

From top to bottom: Mouse-ear Chickweed, Starlings on the hunt for food in the recently mown grass and Lords & Ladies (Cuckoo Pint) plant in the southern half of the Cemetery.

I notched up 18 species of birds either heard or seen during my walk around the Cemetery and also, despite the grass being cut throughout the Cemetery, there were plenty of plants in flower including my first Mouse-ear Chickweed of the year by the main entrance. The Lords & Ladies plants over by the south wall was showing well and there was a good spread of Dandelions showing well throughout the Cemetery, which is good for the local Bees. Sadly, there were no insects seen at all within the Cemetery during my walk, which was probably due to the rain.

From top to bottom: a male Blackbird, the Horse Chestnut Trees coming into leaf and a preening Wood Pigeon in the same stretch of trees.

I suppose the pick of the bunch regarding the birds probably goes to either the Mediterranean Gull or Jackdaw which were both heard only! Jackdaws are a scarce bird in or over the Cemetery and although I did probably see it, it quickly was lost to view behind the trees. I did find a Field Mushroom upside down near the footpath and was probably mown down by the Council Workers this week. It was a shame that there were no migrants picked up today during my walk round, but there are plenty of birds being seen elsewhere in Hampshire. Checking the bird sightings on the Hants Birding website, there were many migrants recorded today including Cuckoo, Redstart, Osprey and Little Terns. I have the next three months to catch up with these lovely birds, so patience is the key. 

From top to bottom: One of many Goldfinches still in the Cemetery, a lone Dandelion among Common Field-Speedwell and Geranium and finally, a male Greenfinch slightly obscured among the budding branches.

Birds recorded in the Cemetery this afternoon included the following:

• Herring Gull
• Black-headed Gull
• Mediterranean Gull
• Feral Pigeon
• Wood Pigeon
• Collared Dove
• Carrion Crow
• Magpie
• Jackdaw
• Blue Tit
• Great Tit
• Robin
• Wren
• Starling
• Blackbird
• Dunnock
• Goldfinch
• Greenfinch

Away from birds, I found a Brown House Moth in my living room this morning; my first of the year and most likely hatched somewhere in the house I expect!

Above, some of the local House Sparrows within the Cemetery. Below, possibly one of the oldest trees in the Cemetery. It looked down and out during the winter, but every year, its leaves suddenly awaken it into something beautiful. 

Above, yes, it does look a bit like an apple, but in fact, it is a stone covered in a species of moss called Barbula streblotrichum and very common throughout the Cemetery. Below, the first flowers of the Oak tree in the north-east corner.

 

The Brown House-moth in my house this morning.