Pied Flycatcher at Northney & Old Winchester Hill.

Saturday 31st August 2024.

The Pied Flycatcher at Northney Paddocks. 

Another cracking days birding with the lads (Geoff Farwell & Andy Fisher) where we kicked off the day with the Moths then onto Old Winchester Hill for possible migrants and then down south to the Paddocks at Northney for the Flycatchers. We even had a last gasp look at the islands within Langstone Harbour for the Osprey, but to Andy’s dismay, there was no sign. There were no new moths for the year at both Andy’s or my Moth Box, but we did have two new butterfly species for the year at Old Winchester Hill and over at the Paddocks on Northney, I finally caught up with a Pied Flycatcher. The weather was a bit indifferent throughout the day with a breezy north-easterly blowing and quite strong at times too, especially over Old Winchester Hill; but it remained dry throughout the day and so great sightings kept us thoroughly entertained throughout the day.

My first Dusky Thorn moth in my garden this year. I had seen one earlier in the month in Devon.

My Moth Box:

Though there were no new moths for the year this morning at my Moth Box, I still had my second Lesser Yellow Underwing, Dusky Thorn and Flounced Rustic for the year, which were  nice looking moths. Up to 57 moths of 29 species were recorded today and it is nice to see the Autumn moths now coming through which, hopefully, might bring in some immigrant moths over the next few months. I have been looking closely at some of the exciting moths turning up in Southern England and fingers crossed, they just might pay a visit to my little garden in Southsea?

This was my second Flounced Rustic moth of the year.

The moths present this morning included the following:

MACRO MOTHS:

• Brimstone Moth 
• Double-striped Pug
• Canary-shouldered Thorn
• Dusky Thorn
• Small Dusty Wave 3
• Marbled Beauty 2
• Vine’s Rustic 5
• Shuttle-shaped Dart
• Small Ranunculus
• Square-spot Rustic 5
• Flounced Rustic
• Lime-speck Pug 2
• Angle Shades 2
• Garden Carpet 2
• Bright-line Brown-eye 2
• Willow Beauty 3
• Garden Tiger
• Large Yellow Underwing
• Lesser Yellow Underwing
• Pale Mottled Willow 3

MACRO MOTHS:

• Dark-spotted Moss-moth
• Chevron Grass-moth
• Rusty-dot Pearl 2
• Common Plume 8
• Garden Pebble
• Ruddy Streak 2
• Beautiful Plume
• Apple Leaf Miner
• Light Brown Apple Moth

While checking the Moth Box, I heard a Yellow Wagtail fly high overhead heading east, but I failed to see the bird in the early morning sky. I should be hearing these quite regularly now as the weeks go on. Over at Andy’s house, there were a total of 37 moths of 17 species. Among these, there was my second Snout moth of the year among a nice variety of moths.

The moths recorded in Andy’s garden this morning included the following:

MACRO MOTHS:

• Brimstone Moth 4
• Double-striped Pug
• Willow Beauty 4
• Square-spot Rustic 3
• Garden Carpet 3
• White-point
• Light Emerald
• Setaceous Hebrew Character 4
• Vine’s Rustic 8
• Snout
• Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing
• Large Yellow Underwing

MACRO MOTHS:

• Rusty-dot Pearl
• Common Plume
• Narrow-winged Grey
• Dark-strawberry Tortrix
• Chevron Grass-moth

Such an amazing view you have over the countryside looking west from the Hill. How many migrant birds must be within this area of the countryside?

Old Winchester Hill

We arrived at the car park at Old Winchester Hill around 9am and on arrival, we were obviously one of the first ones here. The ‘Hill’ is a hotspot for migrant passerines at this time of year and hopefully for us, we could be in for a treat…….fingers crossed. In fact, it didn't take too long to get to grips with a lot of small birds flitting about near the slope overlooking the Fort and the beautiful countryside to the west as we set about identifying the birds here. A large group of Goldfinches, probably 60+, were flitting about around the small brambles and fence line, with many being juveniles. I picked out a Redstart perched on the Pines below, but it didn't linger enough for the guys to pick up as it flew off behind the Pines. Walking slowly along the footpath by the fence line, a Green Woodpecker was flying away from us, but would land briefly then take off again until flying off strongly south.

Above, a pair of juvenile Cormorants circling high overhead was most unexpected and another was subsequently seen on the way back to the car park. Below, several large flocks of Goldfinch congregated on top of the Hill.

Above, one of several Ravens passing by us from one of the benches overlooking the Fort. Below, this Dark Bush-cricket showed very well for us near the reserve entrance.

Sitting down on one of the ‘comfy’ benches (all benches are comfy according to Mr Fisher!), we had a quick drink and watched a mixed flock of both Swallows and House Martins going over. I caught a  glimpse of a possible Grasshopper Warbler flying past us but it was too quick and disappeared behind the bushes. More Goldfinch flocks flew over and a few Chiffchaffs darted about below over the slope as did a lone Common Whitethroat. A Bullfinch flew over our heads, heading north and more Hirundines poured through. Things were looking good. Looking towards the Fort area, the distinctive shape of a Red Kite gracefully flew low over the Hill and Geoff saw one much lower down over the Pines to kick off our raptor sightings.

We found some interesting insects near the reserve entrance that included (above) this species of parasitic wasp called Amblyteles armortorius. Below, doing some research, I think this is a Pine Marbled moth.

Above, another Dark Bush-cricket that Geoff had found also showed well. Below, one of the Ravens flying over our heads.

Walking slowly to the next ‘comfy’ bench, a Common Buzzard was seen soaring high heading west and was joined by a female Sparrowhawk that flew off strongly south and then took a stoop onto some poor hapless bird somewhere in the trees below. From the bench, I picked up at least four distant Ravens north of the Hill, then suddenly more and more came through and all told, at least a ten or more birds were probably seen? A Marsh Tit was calling and then seen low in a nearby bush and a few Blackcaps were darting about around the bushes. A small flock of three Bullfinches flew north over our heads too. Geoff pointed out a rare plant growing by the bench, the Devil's-bit Scabious; my first sighting of this species this year. A Firecrest was heard nearby and seen briefly in one of the trees along the footpath as more Swallows and House Martins flew high overhead.

Above and below, two different Chalkhill Blue butterflies.

Above, a Common Blue butterfly and below, our first Silver-spotted Skipper of the year.

The footpath leading to the Fort was fairly quiet though a large party of elderly guys on a Wildlife Walk passed through; though I have to say, they were very noisy from where we stood; especially when me and the guys were down in the south slope of the Fort. I suggested going down the south slope to check out the bushes and trees below for migrants and during our time down there, we also got two Butterfly ‘ticks’ for the year: a Silver-spotted Skipper that was sat on an Ox-eye Daisy and at least two or more Chalkhill Blue’s. Other butterflies present included Common Blue, Small Heath, Small White and Meadow Browns.

Above, our first Autumn Lady Tresses that was found by Geoff. This tiny Orchid grows here abundantly, but this was the only one we found. Below, Andy and Geoff getting a closer inspection of this small plant that was growing on the south slope below the Fort.

Above, the Small Scabious and below, the diminutive Carline Thistle also growing on the south slope.

Down at the bottom of the south slope, it was more protected from the wind and so we had a long rest while watching the many Blackcaps go about their business. Among them were a few Chiffchaffs, Greenfinches and a Common Whitethroat. A probable Flycatcher species flew north, but was lost in the bushes nearby as Geoff pointed out a variety of plants still flowering here including both Small and Field Scabious, Carline Thistle, Harebell, Ragwort, Knapweed, Greater Knapweed, Wild Marjoram, Wild Basil and Ox-eye Daisies that all attracted the many butterflies here. On the climb back up the slope, Geoff pointed out our first Autumn Ladies Tresses flower of the year. This is a species of Orchid and its latin name, Spiranthes spiralis, makes sense as the plant flowers in a spiral shape.

Above and below, a few Willow Warblers were seen among other passerines on the Hill as we made our way back to the car park.

Above, a Wheatear was flushed from the footpath and landed in this bush. Below, a Brown-banded Carder Bee took my eye and so I quickly got a photo of it to identify properly later. 

On reaching the top of the slope, we climbed further still to the top of the Fort and walked around the circumference to the Fort entrance. On our way there, we flushed a Wheatear that must have flown off just in front of us and fortunately, it landed on a bush and so I quickly grabbed a photo. It was rather quiet on the way back to the car, but I got to see my fourth raptor of the day when a Kestrel flew low over the footpath and then south over the fields. There was a lot of small bird activity in the bushes on the way back to the car as we checked out the many Willow Warblers and Chiffchaffs flitting about within the nearby Wild Parsnip plants and bushes nearby. A few Blackcaps were seen too plus a few Goldcrests mixed in as well. Another Firecrest was heard calling, but remained hidden in the bushes as were the Long-tailed Tits. Surprisingly, there were no Tree Pipits heard or seen this morning and no Flycatchers either, though the wind was pretty strong at times and could be down in a more sheltered area. However, our next destination made up for the lack of Flycatchers here.

Northney Paddocks, Hayling Island.

One of at least five Spotted Flycatchers seen at the Paddocks this afternoon.

Parking up in the Applegreen Petrol Station car park, we met up with a friend of Geoffs who had earlier been checking out the Spotted Flycatchers here. Earlier today, a Pied Flycatcher was reported here, but he and his partner had not seen them; so we bid farewell and made our way to the well-known hedgerow that was a well known favourite area for the Flycatchers. When we arrived there, a fellow birder told us that he had seen a Pied Flycatcher just five minutes ago and so we quickly checked the hedgerow on the opposite side and came up with at least FIVE Spotted Flycatchers hawking for insects here. Most were a bit distant but one or two came quite close. We then tried our luck on the footpath leading to here and the chap we saw earlier gave us the nod that the Pied Flycatcher was showing again. I was lucky enough to pick it out near a Spotted Flycatcher, which was the first of the year and gave a quick hand pump of pleasure to the guys! After waiting for about ten minutes for the bird to reappear, we gave up and decided to watch from the opposite side of the hedge again and here, Geoff’s mate who we saw earlier, gave us the wave that signaled the Pied Flycatcher was showing well again, but from this side of the fence.

Above and below, the Pied Flycatcher always remained a bit distant but it showed well during our time there.

Above, one of the Spotted Flycatchers that showed a lot closer.

From here, by the field, we had several reasonable sightings of the Pied Flycatcher over a 30 minute period; though it never hung around long, I did get a few distant photos of this gorgeous bird. Along with the showy Spotted Flycatchers, we found a Common Whitethroat and a Willow Warbler sharing the same hedgerow. A male Kestrel was also seen earlier during our time here. As I said to the guys that it is amazing that year after year, this particular area of Northney attracts both Spotted and Pied Flycatchers virtually every year at this site.

Broadmarsh, Bedhampton.

To round off the day, we checked out the North Binness Islands for a possible Osprey, but to no avail. Despite a good look over the islands, there was no sign of the bird that was using these trees to rest recently. In front of us on the exposed mudflats below, there was a flock of at least 50 Black-tailed Godwits feeding and out on the water within the harbour, at least four Great Crested Grebes were seen. Needing to be home for my wife, we made our way home, with two butterfly ‘year-ticks’ under our belts and Geoff and I seeing our first ‘Pied Fly’ of the year (Andy had seen one at Catherington Downs earlier this month), but this was Geoff’s first one for many a year.  

One of the five Spotted Flycatchers seen at Northney Paddocks this afternoon.