The gorgeous male Red-backed Shrike at Church Norton this morning.
I picked the guys up a little later than normal and on reaching Andy’s house, the first port of call was going to be his Moth Box. Due to a lot of rain overnight over the past few days, I have relented in putting my Moth Box on and thankfully, Andy had his on overnight. Our day was going to be spent firstly in the West Sussex area, for a superb male Red-backed Shrike had been found by the Paddocks at Church Norton yesterday and was still present this morning. Subsequently, a Wryneck had been found near Manor Farm, Hamble and though tempting, the weather really didn't improve as the rain got steadily heavier as the day wore on. So, as Andy still needed an Osprey for his Hampshire year list, we finished the day off at Broadmarsh for a superb Osprey on the North Binness Islands, within Langstone Harbour.
Andy’s Moth Box, Cowplain Marsh:
My first Burnished Brassmoth for the year.
A total of 29 moths of 12 species were counted this morning and some quality moths were among them too. My first Burnished Brass moth of the year was a real stunner and a Portland Ribbon Wave was a ‘first’ for both Geoff and Andy. There were good numbers of both Large Yellow Underwings and Square-spot Rustics and a really tatty Old Lady moth was a nice moth to see too.
This Portland Ribbon Wave was a great find in Andy's garden.
The moths recorded in total here included the following:
MACRO MOTHS:
Light Emerald
Burnished Brass (New for Year)
Portland Ribbon Wave
Large Yellow Underwing 8
Lesser Yellow Underwing 3
Square-spot Rustic 8
Pale Mottled Willow
Old Lady
Silver Y
Double-striped Pug
MICRO MOTHS:
Light Brown Apple Moth
Common Plume 2
Church Norton & Offshore, West Sussex.
The male Red-backed Shrike.
A Red-backed Shrike, especially a male, is a quality bird and I expected the car park at Church Norton to be packed; but fortunately, there were a few spaces left. I met fellow ‘Lazee’ Grahame Loader within the car park as he showed us a superb photo on his camera of the said Shrike; though he had to wait an hour or so for the bird to reappear earlier this morning. Thankfully for us, the bird remained in situ where he told us it would be and got my camera ready………..bloody disaster! The bird was showing extremely well just below where we stood overlooking one of the Paddocks, but hey ho, the battery in my camera was completely flat! While I spent the next five minutes throwing a right verbal ‘paddy’, I decided to try my luck in digiscoping it and thankfully, I think it paid off. The bird did show very well and used various perches until flying off distantly to perch again on some bramble by the reedbed further west.
Above and below, the male Red-backed Shrike.
Happy with my photos and seeing such a superb bird (only my third time ever I have seen a male bird in the UK), we decided to check out the huge Gull flock offshore. Grahame had told us that a juvenile Sabine’s Gull (seen around 7am and seen to fly off west), several Black Terns, an Osprey and an Arctic Skua were offshore at Selsey Bill; therefore it was worth checking this large group of Gulls. When we got to the beach overlooking the sea, the Gulls had nearly vanished, but Geoff picked out a large flock on the beach further west. In fact, there must have been at least around 70+ Gulls here and 75% of them were all Mediterranean Gulls. In fact, scanning the sea behind them, there were even more on the sea; easily 150+ it seems.
A large number of Med Gulls and several Black-headed Gulls were on the beach and also on the sea.
Then using the scope, I looked towards the harbour entrance where there was yet another large flock of Gulls and then I found a Great Skua chasing some of the Gulls to disgorge their food. I quickly got the guys onto the bird and though distant, I got a good look at the bird to rule out a dark-phased Arctic Skua; the said Skua being a much bulkier bird with dark all over body and flashing white patches on the wing. This was yet another new bird for the year; my 210th species of the year.
Broadmarsh, Bedhampton, Hampshire:
The Osprey on North Binness Island with a passing Black-headed Gull. All my photos today had to be digiscoped.
The Wryneck was seen earlier today and no subsequent sightings it seems and as the weather was looking decidedly wet, I said to Andy and Geoff about trying for the Osprey on North Binness Island. We parked up at Broadmarsh car park as we took our grub (bought earlier) and telescope and quickly checked out the islands. It only took me a few seconds to pick up Andy’s first Osprey of the year, quietly perched on a tree branch on the island. Nearby, I saw a large Egret fishing on the edge of the island and Geoff quickly confirmed through the scope it was in fact a Great White Egret. Two superb birds in a matter of seconds. A little while later, I remembered that fellow ‘Lazee’, Garry Fennemore had seen a Peregrine on the island here during the week and it didn't take too long for me to pick up, not just one, but two Peregrines perched on two different islands!
The Great White Egret by North Binness Island.
I also pointed out a large gathering of Little Egrets on one of the smaller islands with a few Grey Herons among them. Geoff exclaimed that this little island was in fact Round Nap Island. I counted at least 40 Little Egrets on the island, roosting on the island while it was high tide, but that was only on the side of the island facing us. Who knows how many more were on the other side of the island? I did a slow scan over Langstone Harbour and counted at least 22 Great Crested Grebes here on the water. Several flocks of Swallows were flying low over the islands and large flocks of waders, notably Curlew, Oystercatcher and Black-tailed Godwit were seen heading towards Farlington Marshes. As the rain got heavier, I decided to call it a day and took the guys back home.
My first day back after the Summer break produced a variety of birds this morning.
It was back to Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth, this morning to start a new School year and thankfully, it was sunny with a clear blue sky overhead, with hardly any wind to speak of either. As soon as I stepped out of the car, a Yellow Wagtail was heard to fly over, but it was virtually impossible to locate the bird in the blue sky, which is so typical of this species. A little later, a Grey Wagtail flew over and it was the same situation as the Yellow Wag earlier! A male Kestrel was seen flying low over the Governor’s Green opposite me and seen to land on Garrison Church; a good record here for this species. A Chiffchaff was heard calling deep within the cover of the Holm Oaks on the opposite side of the road; a familiar Autumn sound for this time of year. That was my morning shift where 16 species were recorded. What will this afternoon produce although I hear there could be a few rain showers this afternoon.
Above, a Yellow Wagtail. Photo by Pete Appleton. Below, a Spotted Flycatcher. Photo by Rob Porter. Two familiar Autumn species here in the south and superbly photographed.
Birding news in Hampshire this morning included a Curlew Sandpiper on the Willow Pool on Farlington Marshes and out in Langstone Harbour, both an Osprey and a Peregrine were on North Binness Islands again.
Though I have not had the Moth Box on for the past few evenings, I tried my luck again last night seeing it was still quite muggy and with a promise of some migrant moths coming through. A check on the Moth Box last night before retiring for bed revealed a few moths, notably an Old Lady and a Box-tree Moth. While chatting to my father on the phone in the back garden, overhead, a couple of probable Pipistrelle Bats were hunting up and down the gardens.
Above, the dark form ofBox-tree Moth and below, my firstWhite Ermine moth for a few months.
This morning, there were 81 moths of 28 species and although there were no new moths for the year, at least there were some numbers and a good variety. The weather was mild again and overcast, but it took till 6.30am for it to be light enough to take photos of the moths. The pick of the moths was probably the Blair’s Mocha that was perched on the Moth Box but soon flew off before I could get a decent photo. Lesser Yellow Underwings, a familiar Autumn moth here, were up in numbers and among the micro moths, pick of the bunch was my second Pale-backed Detritus Moth of the year.
The small micro moth Pale-backed Detritus Moth.
The moths recorded this morning included the following:
MACRO MOTHS:
White Ermine
Angle Shades 2
Lesser Yellow Underwing 8
Shuttle-shaped Dart
Lime-speck Pug 4
Double-striped Pug 2
Willow Beauty 5
Silver Y
Pale Mottled Willow 11
Garden Carpet 3
Brimstone Moth
Square-spot Rustic
L-album Wainscot 7
Small Dusty Wave
Marbled Beauty
Large Yellow Underwing 3
Setaceous Hebrew Character
Blair’s Mocha
Vine’s Rustic 8
MICRO MOTHS:
Box-tree Moth 5
Ruddy Streak
Apple Leaf Miner 4
Light Brown Apple Moth
Dark Moss-moth 2
Rusty-dot Pearl 3
White-shouldered House Moth
Common Plume
Pale-backed Detritus Moth
I kept an ear out for any migrants flying overhead and although none were seen or heard, further south of my garden, I could hear a Chiffchaff calling repeatedly. Yesterday, sitting outside in my garden drinking a cup of coffee, a large, very tight flock of House Martins flew north, numbering around 70+. I first heard them calling as I looked up into the overcast sky and then noticed the flock slowly heading north. While I was taking the dogs for their early morning walk, a Tree Pipit was heard to fly over, but no sighting. Also, on the birding scene, everyone was rushing down to Calshot Marshes to see a White-winged Black Tern that was found by our best and underrated birders, Amy Robjohns. Well done Amy. Should it linger today (fat chance!!!),I might take a drive down there.
The White-winged Black Tern (middle) among Common Terns at Calshot Marshes. Photo by Andy Friend.
Calshot Spit, near Fawley, Hampshire
Though I forgot my actual camera, I took this photo from my mobile phone of the Terns that took off from the Spit.
The White-winged Black Tern was reported early this morning and so, having done my blog regarding the moths, I took the hour long trip to Calshot Spit car park for a bird I have never seen in Hampshire before. I have seen several of this species, though my last was a long time ago. Considering that I left both my camera and binoculars at home (yet again!!!), luckily I had a spare pair in the car and thankfully, I did bring along my telescope. Phew! The weather wasn't too bad either as the weather forecast this morning didn't look that great with the threat of heavy rain showers moving through.
The view from the Calshot car park overlooking the water towards the spit. A telescope was essential to view the bird.
I arrived at the car park around 11.30am, had an argument with the useless ticket machine that didn't work properly and so made my way to join a few birders still present, hopefully looking at the Tern. However, three chaps came up to me and said they had not seen the bird but admitted they really didn't know what the Tern actually looked like. They did say that 5 Black Terns were present, so I was hoping one of them was the bird. They walked off hoping to get a better view by walking to near the end of the spit, while I checked the Terns through my scope.
One of the Black Terns on the spit. Up to 11 Black Terns were later seen in late in the afternoon. Photo by Andy Tew.
Going through the Terns thoroughly, I picked out at least one Black Tern and one Little Tern among the many Common and Sandwich Terns. A large flock of Oystercatchers and Turnstone were also on the same spit but further back and a Bar-tailed Godwit joined the Terns. Suddenly, all the Terns and Oystercatchers took flight, but after a few minutes, they settled again and I had another go searching through the birds. They all took off again and on resettling down again, the White-winged Black Tern flew in! Huzzah! It settled comfortably with the Terns and I picked out all the necessary identification features of this rare Tern that ticked all the boxes. This was my 307th species seen in Hampshire and my 195th species seen in Hampshire this year.
Above and below, Andy Tew took a drive down to hopefully see the rare Tern and found this albino Starling with other Starlings. I have only ever been to this site once before and that was when Andy Fisher and myself went to see a juvenile Rose-coloured Starling here many years ago! Photos by Andy Tew.
While I was watching this bird, a dark-phased Arctic Skua was off Hayling Oysterbeds hassling the Terns there then later seen off Southmoor. I should have gone there straight afterwards, but I don't like leaving my dogs for too long.
Above, the dark-phased Arctic Skua off the Hayling Oysterbeds. Filmed by James Cutting.
Looking west from the east side of the Cemy towards the Mausoleum.
Though I never put my Moth Box on last night, I wanted to have something to write about on my blog for the first day of September (officially the first day of Autumn!); so I took the dogs for a walk around Highland Road Cemetery. In fact, walking around the Cemy at 8am this morning, there was plenty to look at including a few surprises. The easterly wind was still blowing, though gently over the Cemetery, but this could spell a lot of migrants from northern Europe arriving in the UK. We shall see. The weather was nice too with warm, bright sunshine and a bit of high cloud coming in from the south-east.
Above and below, the Grey Heron flying over Southsea.
Above, one of the two Chiffchaffs showed well in the south-east corner and below, this tatty looking juvenile Blackbird showed well on a gravestone nearby.
It started to actually liven up with birds when I saw a Grey Heron about 20 minutes in, flying west high over Southsea. The bird eventually disappeared over the rooftops but not before grabbing a few photos. The large bushes area in the south-east corner held a showy calling Chiffchaff, withanother heard nearby, but little else apart from a Small White butterfly landing on the brambles here The Green Woodpecker was heard but not seen; but I assume it was the adult bird calling? I managed to get up to 16 species here this morning, with all the common birds seen along with a few uncommon birds here. A Grey Wagtail flew north low over the Cemetery, but too quick for a photo. I also got my first two moths of the month with a Vapourer Moth flying over the Cemetery and earlier today, a Vine’s Rustic moth was fluttering about on my garden patio.
In the centre of the Cemetery, there were at least four Robins hopping around close to one another.
The birds recorded in the Cemy included the following:
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Grey Heron
Green Woodpecker
Blackbird
Herring Gull
Wood Pigeon
Feral Pigeon
Collared Dove
Chiffchaff
Goldfinch
Grey Wagtail
Carrion Crow
Magpie
Starling
House Sparrow
In Hampshire, this morning, a Curlew Sandpiper and a Little Stint was on Fishtail Lagoon on Pennington Marshes and a Black Tern flew past Hill Head this morning. Probably more to follow.
Above and below, a juvenile White-winged Black Tern at Dungeness. Matt & Emma Parkes took a trip to Kent yesterday to see this 'lifer' for them. Photo by Emma Parkes.
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 usbut 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 Scabiousand 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.
