Lower numbers of Moths this morning and a trip over to the Cemy.

 Sunday 21st June 2026

The sleepy Vixen in the Cemy this morning.

The heatwave has finally arrived and temperatures early this morning were on the rise. It was around 16 degrees centigrade when I crawled out of bed, bleary eyed, to check on the Moth Box. A House Sparrow has taken a liking for my Moths, I noticed, but I think the vast majority were still around the Moth Box when I started checking the outside egg trays. As soon as I turned off the light, several shot off into the garden and one large Moth looked very interesting. Bugger!

I took the dogs for a walk around Highland Road Cemetery this morning, as early as possible, due to the rising heat; but I think our Ted was struggling a bit with the heat; but there was plenty to see over there again. Plus, the dogs got to meet some friendly other dogs too. 

My Moth Box:

This Grey Knot-horn micro Moth was my first for the year.

There was a 41% drop in Moth numbers compared to yesterday, with just 50 moths of 26 species recorded this morning, though as mentioned, several flew out as soon as I turned off the light. There was only one moth that was new for the year, the micro moth Grey Knot-horn ( Acrobasis advenella), which is an annual Moth to my garden.

Above, a Dun-bar Moth was sharing an egg tray with a Large Yellow Underwing and below, a Nutmeg Moth.

Notable moths this morning included a Dun-bar, Nutmeg (possibly the same one as yesterday) and 2 Clancy’s Rustics. My second Bird-cherry Moth of the year was present in one of the egg trays. The Moths recorded this morning included the following:

MACRO MOTHS	MICRO MOTHS
White Ermine x6	Large Pale Masoner x1
Willow Beauty x1	Brown House Moth x1
Dun-bar x1	Box Tree Moth x2
Large Yellow Underwing x1	Bird-cherry Ermine x1
Pale Mottled Willow x1	Grey Knot-horn * x1
Common Emerald x5	Codling Moth x1
Bright-line Brown-eye x1	Common Plume x1
Dark Arches 1	Blushed Knot-horn x1
Common Pug x1
Lackey x3
Lime-speck Pug x3
Uncertain x1
Riband Wave x9
Nutmeg x1
Green Pug x1
Heart & Dart x1
L-album Wainscot x2
Clancy’s Rustic x2

Insects attracted to my Moth Box overnight included a Buff-tailed Bumblebee, 2 Harlequin Ladybirds and a Lacewing. 

 

Highland Road Cemetery, Southsea: 

The Vixen eventually moved on after being disturbed by dog-walkers.

As per usual, all the expected birds were present and correct though not many to take a photo of! It was certainly getting warm at 9am within the Cemy as I stripped off my fleece and then slowly walked anticlockwise around my local patch. A young Starling was calling consistently within the large conifer within the south-west corner of the Cemy and its parent wasn't too far away, perched on a rooftop with a beak full of food.

Above, the adult Starling waiting for me to pass so it can feed its nearby youngster and below, a juvenile Blackbird being fed by its parent.

Above, a male Blackbird perched on a gravestone and below, I found a clump of Bittersweet Nightshade growing in the south-west corner.

A couple of Blackbirds were seen perched on the gravestones and a few family flocks of Blue Tits were seen flying over the site. Overhead, there was a good number of Swifts screaming across the blue sky, but there was virtually no wind whatsoever and some of the birds just skimmed the treetops in search of flying insects.

Above, this Blackbird was keeping a close watch on us as we walked past and below, one of the many Swifts screaming overhead.

There were many Butterflies on the wing today of which this Painted Lady (above) was one of them, but the Meadow Browns (below) were easily the most numerous species here in the Cemy today.

Butterflies were on the wing and that included a large number of Meadow Browns seen. Most were simply just a few centimeters above the grass, but it was difficult to actually find one stationary (though I did eventually). A Painted Lady butterfly was seen perched on the grass and a few Large Whites were on the wing. A Fox vixen was sitting in the sunshine by some bushes near the Mausoleum, but moved on when some dog-walkers passed by; though she did look a bit sleepy in the sunshine, with her eyes closed. It's always good to see the Fox here. I am a passionate supporter of Foxes and I am hoping this disgusting act of Trail Hunting from dedicated Foxhunters will be fully banned at last from our ever so slow Government. We shall see.

Yesterday's Roseate Tern on Titchfield Haven was confronted by an Oystercatcher. Photo by Steve Laycock.