More unsettled weather here in the south.

Wednesday 10th June 2026.

The dark clouds rolled in this afternoon on my second shift in Pembroke Road. Then the heavy rain came!

Three days in a row now! Sunshine in the morning and then heavy showers in the afternoon yet again. Not only that, that cold westerly wind in the morning is starting to make me think, have we had our Summer?! Seriously, what on earth is happening to our weather? It’s June for F*** sake!

I did not put the Moth Box on overnight due to the fact I wanted a bit of a lay in and also it was going to be a clear dry night, but it will be on tonight. It was busy in Pembroke Road again with the traffic, but I still got a reasonable bird species total, the highest this week so far. Some excitement in Hampshire yesterday late afternoon when a fellow ‘Lazee Birder’ posted a photo of a (second summer?) Bonaparte’s Gull off Sandy Point, Hayling Island; but it seems it was only seen by the finder, though there was a good photo of the bird. Despite a few ‘Lazee’s’ trying to find the bird, there was no further sign, but a large Gull congregation off Sandy Point held Gannet, Fulmar and a Kittiwake among the Gulls.

Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth:

I was surprised we never had any thunder and lightning as it got quite dark when the clouds rolled in this afternoon.

I picked up a total of 15 bird species from my two shifts today here at Pembroke Road and this time nearly all the usual species were either seen or heard today. Sadly, no House Sparrows were calling from the Bowling Green hedgerows, which was probably due to the Groundsman working on the Green. Though when they stopped, it didn't take long for the pair of Pied Wagtails to start chasing insects on the short turf.

Bird of the day had to go to the Jays and though they were showing well at times and quite vocal too in the two roadside Sycamore trees, I don't think the local breeding Blue Tits took too kindly with them here. The Blue Tits were giving off their alarm calls all the time the Jays were present. There has been no more activity this week with the nesting Wrens and so I can only conclude that the nest has been deserted or the chicks have fledged. I suspect the former.

Above, after one in my Moth Box recently, I found this Green Immigrant Leaf Beetle crawling on the bushes by where I  stand. Below, the colourful stand of Field Poppies on the opposite side of the road.

A few Buff-tailed Bumblebees were flying around the roadside gardens and on the opposite side of Pembroke Road, where the alleyway is located, a couple of Red-tailed Bumblebees were seen nectaring on the purple flowering Hebe plants. There was a good cluster of Field Poppies by the entrance of the alleyway. I always check the vegetation where I stand and I found my second Green Immigrant Leaf Weevil of the year, running around on the leaves of the bushes.  

In Hampshire today:

There was no further sign of the Bonaparte’s Gull today, though a pair of Arctic Skua’s flew past east at Sandy Point late afternoon. Sadly, little else to report, though I heard a singing Common Whitethroat off Kingsley Road, near Milton Common around midday.

Above and below, Razorbills.

Above and below, Puffins.

Above, Guillemot and below, a 'Bridled' Guillemot.

Above and below, Gannets.

Above, Matt & Emma Parkes took a trip to Bempton Cliffs RSPB last Sunday. These were just a few of the photos that Emma Parkes took.