A morning walk around the Cemy.

Sunday 23rd June 2025.

One of two juvenile Blackbirds in the southern half of the Cemy.

I really deserved a lay-in this morning and so no Moth Box this morning to check before 5am! Phew! In fact, I was up around 6am to write up on my Blog which took long enough. Once finally finished, I decided to take the dogs for a walk around my local patch for the first time this week, Highland Road Cemetery. It was bright and sunny this morning with a bit of a south-westerly wind blowing a fair bit and nowhere near as warm as yesterday. I happily gave Matt & Emma Parkes the location of the Wood Warblers we saw earlier in the New Forest and I was pleased when they texted me to say they were successful.

Above, a bright sunny morning here in the Cemetery and below, a passing Meadow Brown butterfly while I was taking a photo of this Rough Hawkbit plant.

Above, a settled Meadow Brown buttefly and below, a passing Swift flying south over the Cemy.

Birdlife was rather limited within the Cemy, which was kind of expected, but all the usual birds were present and correct. No sign of any Woodpeckers this morning, but several Swifts flying low overhead kept me entertained. A couple of inquisitive juvenile Blackbirds were seen in the conifer at the southern end of the Cemy, close to the footpath, watching my dogs and I slowly walk past of which a Collared Dove shared the same tree.

Above, Ground Ivy and Birds-foot Trefoil growing on the short grass and below, Field Bindweed growing over the grass.

Above, a Collared Dove getting ruffled by the wind and below, Lady's Bedstraw.

Butterflies were abundant, but they were mostly Meadow Browns which were distinctively flying low over the grass in good numbers. A Red Admiral was feeding on flowering Buddleia just outside the Cemy and a Peacock was nectaring on Bramble flowers near the Mausoleum. A couple of Small White’s fluttered past us, but as soon as one settled down onto a Bramble flower, I was ready to press the shutter button and then it flew off! OK, not a great deal to write about this morning here, but it's always a pleasure to be in amongst all the nature here (and the dogs love it too!).

Above, a view of the Cemy looking towards the Mausoleum and below, a Peacock butterfly nectaring on Bramble flowers.

Above, a Hummingbird Hawk-moth in the New Forest. Film footage by Matt Parkes.

Birding pal Geoff Farwell went down a windy Farlington Marshes today and recorded the following sightings that included a Cattle Egret, 68 Avocets, a Sparrowhawk, 3 Ravens and 6 Swifts plus a couple of Marbled White butterflies. In Hampshire today, an Arctic Skua was seen off Milford on sea this afternoon and a Cuckoo was seen over Old Winchester Hill.