The male Blackcap gives himself up in my garden.

Friday 16th January 2026.

After yesterday's deluge of rain, it was nice to have a dry start to the day here in Pembroke Road.

It was a dry start to my first shift this morning at Pembroke Road and the bird species came thick and fast, but slowed by around 8.20am. But at least it was dry and relatively mild, especially after yesterday's deluge of rain that left the Bowling Green flooded in areas. I finally managed to grab some half decent photos of the Blackcap in my garden when I got home from my first shift and also the female Black Redstart put in a brief appearance.

Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth:

I managed to get up to 12 bird species this morning on my first shift here and although nothing out of the ordinary, I had around 10 species within ten minutes of my arrival. It was clear overhead, though some menacing large dark clouds were over the Solent and the Isle of Wight. Sure enough, when I got home, while checking the back gardens, a heavy shower took place!

Of the birds seen this morning, it included several skeins of Brent Geese heading east and most likely joining the large gathering of the same species on the enclosed area on Southsea Common. Sadly, you can never please everybody about conservation as some idiots on Facebook were moaning about the closed off area for the Geese. Where land is at a premium and regularly getting built on, even if it is a protected area for nature, I wish some of these ‘planks’ would simply grow up and understand what is going on! Rant over!

Both Great Tit and Blue Tit were singing within the Holm Oaks and a Robin even burst into song for a while. Good numbers of Great Black-backed Gulls were noted today with at least 6 birds flying over Governor’s Green and the nearby houses.

My Garden:

At last, the male Blackcap eventually showed himself, despite the heavy rain shower.

As mentioned, the male Blackcap finally came out of hiding and during a brief but heavy shower, the bird perched up high in the bare tree (which is favoured by the Black Redstart) and showed very well and even sang for a while! The light was poor as the rain fell, so excuse the quality of my photos. The female Black Redstart even showed herself briefly as she was seen hovering below the Yucca Tree berries in my neighbours garden. But that was the last I saw of her during my ten minutes studying mine and nearby gardens.

Another photo of the male Blackcap in my garden.