Back to Pembroke Road.

Tuesday 22nd April 2025.

There were a few Starlings in the Cemetery this afternoon including this bird clinging to the perimeter wall searching for food.

It was back to Pembroke Road in Old Portsmouth after my Easter Break and although it was bright and sunny, it was still rather cold at first thing and with a breezy south-westerly wind blowing down the road, my poor hands were freezing! After my second shift, I took the dogs for a leisurely walk around Highland Road Cemetery to not only give them a bit of exercise but also to see if any migrants might have turned up.

Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth:

The view from my office window!

Finally, the Water Company responsible for the utter mess in Gordon Road (bottom of Pembroke Road) had finally cleared up and moved on, leaving a straight through run to the end of Pembroke Road. It only took about 6 months!!!! As mentioned, looks can be deceiving when it comes to the weather as I was damn cold first thing this morning at 8am, but the birds came in thick and fast as I notched up 16 species during my hour there. A pair of Jackdaws were unexpected as they flew overhead and made their way north over the houses. This is a very uncommon species here; the last being a large flock in the Autumn of last year. A Chiffchaff was heard briefly singing somewhere near the Bowling Green and a pair of Pied Wagtails were actually on the Bowling Green until flushed by a Groundsman.

This afternoon, the only bird added was a Black-headed Gull to make it 17 species here for the day. At least it was a bit warmer this afternoon!

Highland Road Cemetery, Southsea:

Several Robins were seen including this individual searching for food.

It was rather pleasant here in the afternoon though the wind was still a bit breezy. There were a few bird species of note that kept me happy as me and the dogs walked round that included my first Swallow over the Cemetery this year. I simply didn't have time to grab a photo of the bird as it flew low over the northern end and within seconds, it was up and away over the rooftops! An adult Med Gull was seen flying east high overhead, calling in while doing so, but apart from all the usual suspects, all was fairly quiet.

Above, Common Field Speedwell grows abundantly and below, one of the Collared Doves preening on a rooftop.

Above, this male Blackbird was on the search for food and another Robin posing in the sunshine.

There were a lot of insects flying around including a couple of Small White butterflies and a few Hoverflies (Syrphus species and a few Drone Flies) and Bees were on the wing too. The Green Alkanet was now in bloom by the Mausoleum and plenty of Common Field Speedwell put on a fine show around some of the graves.

Above, an Andrena species of Mining Bee and below, this is a female Syrphus species of Hoverfly.

I heard some interesting news this afternoon when I found out that this Maccao Duck that was present on Ibsley Water, Blashford Lakes, was actually confirmed by the Hampshire Ornithological Society as a 1st winter Ruddy Duck!!! This constituted my 171st species in Hampshire for the year and also put a very big smile on birding pal Andy Fisher's face no doubt. More interesting news is that a Little Bittern had been found on the River Stour near Bournemouth today and is still present this evening. I have only ever seen one Little Bittern and that was many, many years ago down at Dungeness and even then, it was a crap view of the bird!