Yellow Wagtail over Southsea Castle.

Thursday 11th April 2024.

A murky, drizzly start to this mornings 'Sea-watch' from Southsea Castle, but I look forward to doing more 'Sea-watching' from here as Spring progresses. The Isle of Wight Ferry was making its way across the Solent past Spitbank Fort.

My plan this morning was to do a seawatch for a couple of hours from Southsea Castle where, hopefully, I might catch up with a Common Tern or Whimbrel, but when I arrived this morning at 7.30am, I was greeted by a heavy drizzly mist over the Solent and visibility was down to a couple of hundred yards. However, as the morning wore on, the visibility got better and though the aforementioned birds were not seen, I did see some interesting birds nonetheless, which made the trip worth it. Yesterday, I bought myself a transparent lid as a rainguard for my moth box and after drilling some holes in the corner of it to let any rain drain out, I tried my luck with the moth box overnight.

Above, the only moth by the box this morning was this Early Grey moth. Below, I potted this Bloxworth Snout moth last night that was by the box, but it was photographed through a moth pot, hence not very clear.

The Moth Box:

Ever hopeful of a good selection of moths, I was to be disappointed yet again with just two moths! Last night, just before retiring to bed, I saw a moth that looked interesting by the moth box and quickly potted it. It was a Bloxworth Snout and so after taking a few photos of it through the moth pot, it was bedtime. This morning, the only moth I found was an Early Grey perched on the kitchen wall in front of the box; but hey, it's better than a blank! My first Early Grey moth in the garden for 2024!

Above, three of the five Purple Sandpipers on the rocks just east of the Castle and below, one of several Great Black-backed Gulls flying over the Solent.

One of several Sandwich Terns flying over the Solent.

Southsea Castle & the Solent, Southsea:

And so, it was back to good old ‘sea-watching’. It is something you either hate or love and sorry guys, I opt for the ‘love’. It's simply the unpredictability of it and when something very interesting comes through, it's the ‘buzz’ it leaves you afterwards. I'll cut to the chase, it was very quiet this morning, but enough in the two and a half hours I was there to keep me entertained and with my first Yellow Wagtail of the year flying north calling, I was more than happy. Yes, I was hoping for a Common Tern or a Whimbrel, but I am sure they will arrive in due course.  Up to 12 Med Gulls were seen during my time there and up to 5 Sandwich Terns, but I am sure the latter species were overwintering birds and not the tight flocked birds you see later in the Spring on passage. Two adult Shags were also noted over the flat calm Solent

My usual haunt to ‘Seawatch’ the Solent is one of the shelters on the Promenade near the Pyramids, but the work to do the Sea Defences does not look to be finished to at least the end of May and so I decided to sit on one of the benches, just east of Southsea Castle. From here, I had a great view over the Solent once the mist had cleared and I even found up to 5 Purple Sandpipers flying around the rocks below, though only three birds were visible to grab a quick photo. Sadly, a lot of dog-walkers were around and my trip here ended when two coach loads of French students descended on the area in front of me. Though they were polite, enough was enough and so made my way back home. However, before their arrival, I could hear Greenfinches ‘wheezing’ behind me and a Pied Wagtail calling. A Linnet flew over and the local House Sparrows and Feral Pigeons came close to my bench, oblivious of me being there. So starts the ‘Solent seawatching’ and I am so looking forward to it. Yes, it means some very early starts, but no pain, then no gain as they say.