A new 'Patch tick' this morning.

Sunday 27^th September 2026.

The flock of Canada Geese flying south over the Cemy.

The damn cold continues as I spent most of the night downstairs sleeping with the dogs! I had the Moth Box on overnight and I started to wish I didn’t bother as it was such a poor turn out. A fairly bright start to the day with a breezy southerly wind blowing over the garden. I wanted to give the dogs a good walk this morning seeing they didn’t get one last night and so took them for a good stroll around Highland Road Cemetery.

My Moth Box:

One of 3 Double-striped Pugs this morning.

I was rather disappointed with the number and variety of Moths this morning with nothing new for the year either. Earlier this week, I was getting around 50-60 moths but just 15 moths of 6 species was hardly anything to write about. On a positive note, we are only a stone’s throw away from October and moth numbers do decline. I read on Hants Moths Facebook that someone got their first Black Rustic, which really is a true sign of late Autumn.

A Box Tree Moth was under the lid of the Box.

The Moths present this morning included the following:

MACRO BOX	MICRO BOX
Double-striped Pug x3	Light Brown Apple Moth x7
Small Dusty Wave x1	Rusty-dot Pearl x2
Large Yellow Underwing x1	Box Tree Moth x1

 

Highland Road Cemetery, Southsea:

The view of the south-west corner of the Cemetery.

Arriving at the Cemetery around 8am, I wasn’t at all surprised to see several dog-walkers already there and a few familiar faces (and dogs). It was quite bright overhead with plenty of high cloud, though the early morning wind had dropped, it was still quite mild as the high pressure over the south coast continues. There is talk of rain heading this way, but not this morning it seems.

Above, one of the Horse-chestnut Trees now turning brown and below, a couple of Ivy Bee's nectaring on the flowering Ivy.

A total of 18 species were recorded during the hour I was there and apart from the usual birds, there were few surprises in store. I have been recording wildlife, including the birds here on my ‘local patch’ for at least 17 years, but it was the first time I have ever seen a flock of Canada Geese fly over the site; my 82^nd bird species recorded here at Highland Road Cemetery. The birds were heard calling as they flew south over the Cemetery.

Above, Common Knapweed still in bloom and below, a Great Tit picking at a seed.

A couple of Goldcrests were heard this morning here and one was actually seen flying out of the Monkey Puzzle tree in the south-west corner of the site. A few Chiffchaffs were also calling at the site, but there were no sightings of the birds today.  A small flock of five Swallows flew south low over the trees and a Meadow Pipit was heard calling high over, but again, no sighting of the bird.

The Honey Fungus was still growing where the old Beech Tree once stood and below, looking east from the south-west corner.

As I was leaving the Cemetery, I heard the Jays calling within the trees but they remained hidden unlike the many Magpies and Wood Pigeons seen this morning.

The following bird species were recorded there this morning:

• Goldcrest
• Swallow
• Meadow Pipit
• Chiffchaff
• Blackbird
• Wood Pigeon
• Feral Pigeon
• Herring Gull
• Black-headed Gull
• Starling
• Wren
• Robin
• Blue Tit
• Great Tit
• Magpie
• Jay
• Carrion Crow
• Canada Geese