Virtually, a repeat of yesterday. Low moth numbers & superb 'Vis Mig'.

Tuesday 7th October 2025.

This Common Fern Moth was only my second one for the year.

Once again, the Moth numbers were very low again in and around my Moth Box, but I shall persevere in having the Box on overnight. On a much more positive note, visible migration overhead was quiet first thing this morning, but when I got back from my first shift at Pembroke Road, I put the dogs out for a while and in 15 minutes, there was a superb showing of birds going over. The weather was very calm, though overcast with high clouds and temperatures around 15 degrees.

My Moth Box:

Golden Twin-spot. This species is now becoming quite regular to my Moth Box.

Sadly, another poor showing of moths this morning, despite being fairly mild and overcast this morning. Just two macro moths and 6 micro moths were found today in and around the Moth Box, but it did include another species new for the month; a Common Fern Moth, which was only my second for the year!  

One of only two macro moths this morning, a Feathered Ranunculus.

The Moths present this morning included the following:

MACRO MOTHS	MICRO MOTHS
Golden Twin-spot x1	Large Pale Masoner x1
Feathered Ranunculus x1	Beautiful Plume x1
	Light Brown Apple Moth x2
	Common Fern Moth x1
	Pale-backed Detritus Moth x1

The Moth Box always seems to attract other insects and this morning, a Twin-spot Centurion (Sargus bipunctatus), a species of Soldier Fly, was on one of the egg trays within the Box. a Chiffchaff called briefly in one of the nearby gardens and a few Meadow Pipits were heard flying over while I was checking the Moth Box.

A Twin-spot Centurion within my Moth Box.

Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth:

A reasonable total of 17 species were recorded during the hour I was there on my first shift this morning and it included a Chiffchaff and a couple of Jays within the Holm Oaks. Overhead, Meadow Pipits, Siskins, Skylark, Linnets and a few Pied Wagtails went over and most of the usual species were seen or heard today. It was still overcast, but that was my advantage as I could easily pick out the migrating flocks overhead. A small flock of Black-headed Gulls were on Governors Green and at least one Pied Wagtail was on the Bowling Green.

Harlequin Ladybird. This individual was on the Bushes in Pembroke Road this afternoon. Apparently, huge swarms of them have been noticed in the UK.

This afternoon, as expected, all was very quiet again, though I did see my first Great Black-backed Gull for the day list here.

My Garden, Southsea:

As mentioned earlier, I spent just 15 minutes in my back garden from 9am to 9.15am and had a memorable time watching what was passing overhead. It kicked off with a large flock of 13 House Martins flying west, though if they didn’t call, it would have been Hirdundine sp. A small flock of Crossbills headed south (that's two days running I have had this species!) along with two flocks of Linnets, 7 and 4 in total. Two large flocks of Siskins flew west consisting of 16 and 11 birds. Two Lesser Redpolls were first heard and then seen flying north and a flock of 7 Skylarks then went west. Finally, a small flock of 3 ‘alba’ Wagtails flew low west.

If I didn't have to be somewhere at 9.30am, I would have easily hung around the garden for a lot longer to watch this incredible spectacle. As I made my way down my road, a Grey Wagtail then flew over!