A bitterly cold day in Southsea.

Thursday 30th November 2023.

A grey, very cold trip to Highland Road Cemetery again today. 

My god, it was cold today! Temperatures rarely got above 5 degrees and with the wind chill factor, it was easily below freezing and it even snowed a little early this morning, but thankfully not enough for it to lay. On my first shift this morning, I only saw 10 species of birds, with all the common ones noted and it was not till midday that I decided to walk my dogs over Highland Road Cemetery (I was hoping it would warm up a bit. Fat chance!). Blue Tit was added to my day list at Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth, this afternoon on my second shift. 

It was very overcast while walking around the Cemetery with a blustery wind too with a bit of rain thrown in and so I had to guard my camera from getting wet. Nothing exciting whatsoever regarding the birdlife here today as I only notched up just 15 species, with literally nothing singing and apart from Herring Gulls and Wood Pigeons flying over, very little to photograph too. It wasn't till I checked my photos on my laptop that I discovered among a flock of Goldfinch perched in a tree, that several Greenfinch and a Linnet were present! I rarely carry binoculars with me in the Cemetery at this time of year and so was pleased with this particular photo. There are not many flowering plants within the Cemetery at this time of year, but I was surprised to find a clump of Creeping Thistle growing by a grave and a Holly tree over on the south side of the Cemetery.

Above, a mixed flock of Goldfinch, Greenfinch and Linnet in one of the trees near Highland Road. Below, some strange looking fungi growing on this dead tree. Eventually, I got an ID on this and I can confirm that it is White Brain Fungus! I waited for quite a while for the experts to come up with the ID, but it took a post on one of the Facebook Toadstool sites to finally grab the ID.

The birds noted here in the Cemetery today included the following:

• Herring Gull
• Wood Pigeon
• Collared Dove
• Feral Pigeon
• Starling
• House Sparrow
• Pied Wagtail
• Carrion Crow
• Magpie
• Goldfinch
• Greenfinch
• Linnet
• Blue Tit
• Wren
• Blackbird

Above, both the Field Blewit toadstools and below, Honey Fungus, were still showing still.

I didn't expect this Creeping Thistle to be still in flower here in the Cemetery today.

A few odds and ends in Hampshire today included a female Goosander at Hill Head and a Great White Egret, Marsh Harrier and a Red-throated Diver from Sandy Point, Hayling Island. A Black-necked Grebe and a Long-tailed Duck were in Portsmouth Harbour near Portchester Castle. There was a dodgy report of a flock of Waxwings seen in Fordingbridge yesterday, but no-one reported any there today. It shouldn't be long now before Hampshire actually gets rewarded with this stunning species.