The Moths back into treble figures.

 

Friday 17th July 2026.

My second Dewick's Plusea moth for the year and week!

Possibly the last day of this current heatwave today (phew!) as cooler air is set to hit the UK over the weekend. Early this morning, it was back to a three-figure count of Moths in and around the Moth Box. Thankfully, it was also a cooler night and so I slept comfortably only to get up at 5am again!

The birds in Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth, were quiet again though I did get into double-figures again with the bird species, but nothing out of the blue today. Another clear blue sky overhead and the temperature wasn’t too bad this morning although it will be getting a lot hotter this afternoon.

I noticed on the BBC1 News this morning that there is a Great Butterfly Count going on today. I have already had a Holly Blue in my garden this morning and no doubt there will be more throughout the day.

 

My Moth Box:

One of three Turnip Moths today.

I virtually doubled my Moth total from yesterday with up to 116 moths of 41 species recorded this morning. Though nothing new for the year, there was plenty of migrant Moths present this morning including my second Dewick’s Plusea of the year. Up to 6 Golden Twin-spots, 2 Small Mottled Willows, 3 Turnip Moths, a Silver Y and 9 Rusty-dot Pearls were here this morning, despite a very light northerly wind.

Some of the interesting Moths present in and around my Moth Box this morning included from top to bottom: Buff Ermine, Elephant Hawk-moth, Nutmeg and Least Carpet.

Another Elephant Hawk-moth was in the trap and my second Nutmeg moth was perched on top of the rain guard. Clay, Dun-bar, Least Carpet and Rustic were all notable moths, and the micros didn’t disappoint either with a Cypress Gelechia, more Willow Ermine’s, 2 Tree-mallow Tortrix and 2 Fulvous Pearl’s among the many moths present today. The Moths present this morning included the following:

 

MACRO MOTHS	MICRO MOTHS
Golden Twin-spot x6	Light Brown Apple Moth x14
Dewick’s Plusea x1	Cypress Gelechia x1
Silver Y x1	Bee Moth x1
Small Mottled Willow x2	Bird-cherry Ermine x7
Nutmeg * x1	Willow Ermine x6
Turnip Moth x3	Hampshire Dowd x5
Double-striped Pug x8	Common Plume x1
Lime-speck Pug x3	Fulvous Pearl x2
Bright-line Brown-eye x1	Elderberry Pearl x1
Blair’s Mocha x1	Garden Grey x1
Buff Ermine x2	Common Masoner x10
Common Rustic x2	Tree Mallow Tortrix x2
Elephant Hawk-moth x1	Garden Grass-veneer x4
Small Dusty Wave x2	Large Pale Masoner x1
Rustic x1	Rusty-dot Pearl x9
Clay x1	Mother of Pearl x2
Dun-bar x1	Codling Moth x1
Least Carpet x2	Apple Leaf Miner x4
	Grey Knot-horn x2
	Carnation Tortrix x1
	Mint Moth x1

 

Other insects seen in the Moth Trap this morning included several Lacewings and a couple of Harlequin Ladybirds. Overhead, along with the usual Swifts, up to four Swallows flew high northwards.

Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth:

At least 10 Carnation Tortrix moths were fluttering around in the front gardens within Pembroke Road.

Up to twelve bird species were recorded in Pembroke Road today across both shifts, with the adult Lesser Black-backed Gull again the highlight. This afternoon, it was feeding on a flying-ant eruption on the Bowling Green, joined by around eight Herring Gulls. The feast was short-lived, however, when two bowlers flushed them from the green. The gulls soon reappeared on the short, yellow grass of Governor’s Green, where they continued searching for more flying ants.

Up to four Swifts were seen this morning, flying low over the road and houses, while the usual birds were either heard or seen.

There were a good number of Carnation Tortrix moths fluttering about on and over the plants within the roadside gardens. I counted at least ten of them and some sat nicely on the Hibiscus Plants and Windows.

My Garden:

This lunchtime, the Swifts were now gathering up in large numbers and one big flock easily totalled at least 30+ birds all screeching away over the rooftops. I could hear their wing beats as they sped low overhead. Over the past few days, I have been cleaning my patio within the back garden, and I seemed to be flushing a lot of my Moths I released from my Moth Box this morning including a very smart Mother of Pearl moth. Late news from last evening; a female Common Darter dragonfly landed briefly in the back of the garden but did not linger. However, a Red Admiral spent a good 20 minutes in the back of my garden before flying off to roost.

In Hampshire today:

The Pectoral Sandpiper on Fishtail Lagoon, Pennington Marshes. Photo by Steve Laycock.

Waders are now appearing more regularly on their return migration. At Pennington Marshes today, a Pectoral Sandpiper was found, while a Wood Sandpiper was reported at Farlington Marshes. At Titchfield Haven, up to four Common Sandpipers were on the reserve, along with a Great White Egret and a Common Snipe. Offshore, a flock of nine Common Scoters was seen in the Solent. The Night Heron was again reported early this morning at Miller’s Pond, Southampton, while a report of another individual in Clanfield appears to be erroneous.

Pectoral Sandpiper on Fishtail Lagoon, Pennington Marshes. Photo by Steve Laycock.