Another 'dipped on' Yellow Wagtail!

Tuesday 25th April 2023.

A lone Common Tern heading east over the Solent. But will it return west like some of them did?

Well, it is day 2 of where I am now working in Old Portsmouth and yet another day of unbroken sunshine this morning, though a chill southerly wind had me wearing my gloves early this morning. I had put the moth box on overnight and the moth total this morning was a big fat ZERO! We are nearly into May and to get bugger all at this time of year is worrying, though it was very cold and clear overnight.

Overlooking the Solent with Spitbank Fort and Ryde on the Isle of Wight in the background.

During my hour or so in Old Portsmouth, I was pleasantly surprised to hear a singing Willow Warbler near the Bowling Green off Pembroke Road and although I had no binoculars on me, I was pretty sure I saw the bird fly up into the nearby Holm Oak trees by the roadside. Male Greenfinches were displaying overhead and at least 5 Goldfinches flew out of the trees. A small flock of 3 Rooks was rather extraordinary for I rarely see them in Portsmouth at all and I wonder where they had come from? The elusive Great Spotted Woodpecker was ‘drumming’ again in the gardens behind me and a Wren livened things up with its loud song in the same garden. A single Pied Wagtail was on the Bowling Green briefly until flying off west.

The male White Wagtail that was seen by not only Andy Fisher and myself on Saturday at Pennington Marshes, but also by Andy Friend who took this photo of the bird.

After my first stint at work, I spent a couple of hours sea-watching from my usual shelter on the Promenade overlooking the Solent. Having got myself a delicious Sausage Bap and a Cup of Coffee, I sat comfortably overlooking the Solent and set up my scope to give the Solent a good thrashing! The tide was out and there were a lot of people walking down by the shoreline, but it did not stop me picking out a few birds going through. True, not exactly breathtaking, but anything going by is always worth checking.

What would have been ‘bird of the day’, a calling Yellow Wagtail, eluded me as I heard the bird call loudly, but it had disappeared north before I could get a look at the bird. This is the second one I have heard this year and still have not seen the bugger, so I cannot ‘tick’ it off for my year list. During the two hours I was there, about a dozen Common Terns flew east, though whether a lot of them were migrants is anyone's guess as at least 6 birds flew west. Same as the Sandwich Tern which flew both east and west in much smaller numbers. Firstly a single and then a pair of Whimbrel flew east as did a pair of Arctic Terns that flew reasonably close in. Other sightings included two individual Swallows coming in off the sea and up to 3 Med Gulls flew past. Annoyingly, photos taken today of any quality were far and few between. My P900 is simply ARSE at flying birds and so I will have to rely on other birders top notch photos.

The stranded Nightjar that was attacked by a Magpie in an Emsworth garden, but rescued and successfully flew off later.  

On my second shift this afternoon in Old Portsmouth, though there were no bird sightings to speak of, I did see my first Hummingbird Hawk-moth of the year fly past by the large garden next to Pembroke Close. So I eventually did see a moth today!