An early morning walk around the Cemetery.

Wednesday 28th August 2024.

The Starlings are now starting to get their spotty Autumn plumage. A few were in and around the Cemetery this morning.

I took an early walk around Highland Road Cemetery this morning, arriving at my local patch at 8am to take a slow amble around this little oasis in the middle of Southsea. Earlier this morning, I sat outside in my garden enjoying a cup of coffee on such a fine morning, when a Tree Pipit flew high overhead heading south. That was a good start to the day and my second of this species this Autumn over my garden. This more than encouraged me to check out the Cemy and so once a few chores were done, I headed off with the dogs to my favourite part of Southsea.

Above, a flock of around 6 Blue Tits were around the Monkey tree and nearby bushes in the southern half of the Cemy and among them was a lone Willowchiff. Below, a clump of large trees and bushes that sometimes holds something exciting in the southern half of the Cemy.

There was a Pied Flycatcher over Northney yesterday and though I would love to see one this Autumn, I was hoping for one here in Highland Road Cemetery. Fat chance, as the only migrant I found today was a Willowchiff that was among several Blue Tits and even that bird only showed briefly a few times. I checked the bushes over in the south-east corner and the only bird of note was a Great Spotted Woodpecker that flew out and flew off eastbound over the houses. The only other birds here were several Blackbirds and a House Sparrow; just like the last time I was here. A Swallow flew very high overhead, but I failed to locate the bird as it must have headed off west.

A pair of Collared Doves were walking on the main path. 

Sadly, apart from the usual birds, it was very quiet and being so early, I didn't expect any insects around, but apart from a Holly Blue butterfly settling briefly on the grass and a few Bumble Bees buzzing through, it was all quiet. Never mind, it was still a pleasant walk nonetheless and kicked off the day nicely. If you are reading my blog, even though the sightings and photos on here are a lot of common birds, please remember, in 20 years time, a lot of these birds might have disappeared for good and so it is nice to look back on what was here at this time. Yellow Wagtails, Tree Sparrows and a few other birds were once common here on the south coast and now gone. Our common birds are disappearing due to many reasons, including Global Warming; but our green spaces are disappearing fast. Now I hear that the Lake on Farlington Marshes has been flooded due to the very poor management of the Sluice Gates there. Whatever is next!! 

An adult and juvenile Goldfinch sharing a TV aerial with a Wood Pigeon.

In Hampshire today, Pennington Marshes still held the Wood Sandpiper on Jetty Lagoon and a Curlew Sandpiper was now on Fishtail Lagoon! Bugger! Will I actually get to see one this Autumn? Another Curlew Sandpiper was seen on the Hook-with-Warsash reserve. Later on this morning, I found my first Rush Veneer moth of the year while I was in Reginald Road, Southsea, around midday. These are immigrant moths from the Continent and can turn up in very good numbers most years at this time of year. Annoyingly, the moth was flighty and my photos using my mobile phone were awful!