A couple of new Moths for the year.

 Friday 8th May 2026.

I found this Nut-tree Tussock moth in nearby Highland Road this morning.

It was overcast at 6am this morning while I checked my Moth Box and from 7.30am, the rain had arrived and remained till at least 10am. I'm not complaining as it saved me a job in watering my new plants I have planted recently, but the Moth numbers were much lower than yesterday and even the birds within Pembroke Road were thin on the ground today. A south-easterly wind was blowing through the Solent and it was left to the guys checking out Stokes Bay who came up with an Arctic Skua, a single Gannet and up to 19 Little Terns!

My Moth Box:

My first White-point of the year.

There were just 13 moths of 11 species recorded in my garden this morning, but I did have my first White-point of the year. Other notable moths included a Turnip Moth and a Treble-lines. Later in the day, I found my first Nut-tree Tussock of the year which was perched on a wall along Highland Road. The following moths were recorded this morning:

Turnip Moth.

MACRO MOTHS	MICRO MOTHS
White-point * x1	Ruddy Streak x1
Bright-line Brown-eye x1	Light Brown Apple Moth x1
Double-striped Pug x2	White-shouldered House Moth x1
Vine’s Rustic x2
Treble-lines x1
Pale Mottled Willow x1
Turnip Moth x1
Shuttle-shaped Dart x1

My second Treble-lines of the year.

Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth:

There was a Snail-fest this morning in the rain on my first shift.

It was a wet start to the day for my first shift with persistent rain, but it was still quite mild. However, it was the complete opposite in the afternoon with bright sunshine and warm too with temperatures up to around 18 degrees! Only 11 bird species were recorded today and probably the best sightings were the three Gull species: Great Black-backed, Black-headed and Herring Gull. The Pied Wagtail was back on the Bowling Green this afternoon, despite people playing their game there. On my second shift, both Small White and Holly Blue butterflies landed just a few feet away from where I stood.

In Hampshire today:

Easily, the bird of the day within Hampshire must be the Red-footed Falcon seen hawking over Kings Chase in Romsey. There is a small influx in the UK currently, so eyes peeled over the weekend! Apart from the Stokes Bay sightings, up to 8 Hobbies were over Fishlake Meadows today and earlier this morning, a Guillemot was seen off Weston Shore, along with 2 Common Sandpipers, a Great Northern Diver and a Kittiwake.