Gilkicker woes and Butser Hill Goshawk.

Saturday 4th October 2025.

Possibly the most exciting bird we saw at Gilkicker this morning was this Great Black-backed Gull passing close by.

With the UK being battered by Storm Amy, what better was there than to go ‘sea-watching’ at Gilkicker with a whole bunch of ‘Lazee Birders’? Right? Wrong!!! Despite gale force south-westerly winds blowing across the Solent, that was arguably the worst 4 hours of ‘sea-watching’ I have done for a very, very long time. Seriously, though it was bright and sunny throughout the morning, apart from a few Gulls, in those four hours, we saw absolutely nothing; not even a Cormorant!!! Yes, it looked good for either a storm driven Leaches Petrel or Sabine’s Gull, but nothing? 

After the four hours, with sightings of Ring Ouzel at a few known hilly sites in Hampshire, we then headed off to Butser Hill to try our luck there. But first, there were Moth Boxes to check and thankfully, at least mine provided the numbers.

My Moth Box:

One of three Golden Twin-spot moths this morning.

There were 26 moths of 11 species present this morning, all typical Autumn species for this time of year and so no surprises, though a late Large Pale Masoner was a surprise. The Golden Twin-spots are still arriving in my Moth Box, despite being a very scarce moth to Hampshire.

Above, a Feathered Ranunculus was present on one of the egg trays and below, this Large Pale Masoner was resting on the outside of the Moth Box.

Above, this moth proved too worn to be ID'd.

The Moths recorded this morning in and around my Moth Box included the following:

MACRO MOTHS	MICRO MOTHS
Golden Twin-spot x3	Rusty-dot Pearl x2
Double-striped Pug x4	Large Pale Masoner x1
Lesser Yellow Underwing x2	Light Brown Apple Moth x5
Large Yellow Underwing x3	Common Plume x1
Turnip Moth x1
Lunar Underwing x2
Feathered Ranunculus x1

Two Spotted Thintail Hoverflies were perched on the brick holding down my rainguard.

Geoff and Andy overlooking Cowplain Marsh (Andy's garden pond) and discussing the biodiversity and management plans for the coming season.

There was no ‘visible migration’ overhead this morning as I was carefully checking the Moth Box, but there were a few interesting insects that included several Lacewings, two Spotted Thintail Hoverflies (Meliscaeva auricollis) that were perched on the brick holding down my rainguard and the expected return of a Yellow-striped Flatworm! These creatures turn up in my garden annually and I usually find them on the patio or making their way up one of the walls of the house outside in the garden. They seem to arrive in very wet conditions and this morning was no exception with heavy rain overnight. They are an invasive species from Australia and considered a pest as they are impacting our native wildlife here in the UK (see photo).

The Yellow-striped Flatworm.

I remember finding one some years ago climbing one of the house walls and being fascinated, I checked out all the info on the creature and eventually potted it and sent it to a Laboratory in Aberdeen to be ID’d and they gladly replied and told me all about it.

Sadly, Andy’s Moth Box held just two moths: a Lesser Yellow Underwing and one that was so worn, it was impossible to ID the moth, though it looked a bit like a Square-spot Rustic in shape and size.

The Solent, Gillkicker:

Despite gale force winds and a very choppy sea, virtually all we saw here were distant Gulls, bar a few close Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls. Osborne House, on the Isle of Wight, is in the distance.

As mentioned earlier, all we saw in the four hours we were there were mostly distant Gulls flying at speed with the wind behind them. Most of the Gulls were over the Isle of Wight side and nothing interesting among them either. On arrival, around 9am, we joined another seven ‘Lazee Birders’ in the shelter and even after an hour there, they all went off to get some breakfast in the nearby Cafe further west along the promenade! They already had seen their bird of the day, a flock of four Eiders heading west!

Above, these hardy souls soon tired of a very disappointing 'sea-watch' and sensibly went off for a good hearty breakfast! Leaving behind the two miserable chaps (far right) to sit it out! Photo by Chris Spate. Below, we missed the birds of the day here, a flock of four Eider, minutes before we arrived. Photo by Andy Friend.

There was more action behind us with a large flock of Starlings swirling around in the wind and settling on the lush grass to check for insects. A gathering of mostly Herring Gulls were also on the Green behind us along with a few Wood Pigeons. So, yes, there was absolutely nothing else to look at and so by 1pm, we made our way to Butser Hill and hopefully, our luck might change.

Butser Hill, nr Petersfield:

The glorious landscape from Butser Hill looking north-west from the Car Park.

Though there was a rain shower when we arrived at the Car Park, it soon quickly disappeared because of the wind, but it was nowhere near as strong as Gilkicker. We made our way to the usual ‘Ouzel’ site of Grandfather's Bottom and found a good spot to overlook the site for the Thrushes. Cut a long story short, there was no sight or sound of any Ring Ouzels, but we did get to see a superb juvenile Goshawk sailing over the valley. The bird was not alone, as up to four Ravens were in the area and two of the birds tried to chase off the Goshawk, although they probably thought better of giving the Hawk a bad time!

Above, a juvenile Goshawk being closely watched by one of the Ravens and below, the Goshawk being followed by another of the Ravens.

On our way to the Grandfather Bottom area, we flushed a Wheatear which quickly flew off and disappeared down behind some vegetation and not to be seen again, unfortunately. Another raptor, a male Kestrel, was also hunting over the valley and seen several times during our stay here. A Green Woodpecker was heard and eventually seen briefly; but no sign of any Ring Ouzels in the windy conditions.

Two of the four Ravens over Grandfathers Bottom.

There was a ‘Shoot’ going on way down in the valley some distance away to the north and the sound of gunshot had pushed a lot of Wood Pigeons our way and a few Pheasants too. We decided to retrace our steps and then take a walk south around the Telecommunications Tower, just in case any Ring Ouzels were hiding from the wind. Sadly, none to be seen, but we did see at least three Stonchats, a couple of Meadow Pipits and a Skylark. That rounded off our day’s birding today and so took the guys home.

The male Stonechat we saw near the Tower.

The strong winds did not really produce much along our southern coastline, with even Selsey Bill only getting a distant Sooty and Balearic Shearwater for their efforts. More than what we saw anyway.