Highest bird species total for the week in Old Portsmouth.

Friday 2^nd October 2026.

Above, an Olive-tree Pearl and a Rusty-dot Pearl; both typical Autumn moths.

There was no rain overnight though it remained clear and bright first thing in the morning. A very light southerly wind blew into Southsea and with such calm conditions, I wasn’t at all surprised to see a lot of ‘Visible Migration’ going on overhead, both over my garden and over Old Portsmouth.

The Moth Box was on again overnight and though again, no new species added to my year list, there was plenty there to keep me entertained, including a few insects. A Warbler species was seen and heard in my garden, but I struggled to put a name to it due to the odd call and very brief view, but it was most certainly not a Chiffchaff!

My Moth Box:

Another Small Mottled Willow was present again this morning. It has been a memorable year for this supposedly rare moth.

Up to 45 moths of 11 species were recorded this morning though a large percentage of these were Light Brown Apple Moths again, with at least 28 counted. A Small Mottled Willow was present again and my first Plumed Fan-foot for October was sat under one of the Rain guards.

Above, one of two Narrow-winged Grey moths this morning and below, a Lunar Underwing.

Two Narrow-winged Grey’s (Eudonia angustia) were the first of their species for several months in my garden. The following Moths were present in my garden this morning:

 

MACRO MOTHS	MICRO MOTHS
Plumed Fan-foot x1	Olive-tree Pearl x1
Lesser Yellow Underwing x1	Light Brown Apple Moth x28
Large Yellow Underwing x1	Rusty-dot Pearl x4
Lunar Underwing x1	Narrow-winged Grey x2
Small Mottled Willow x1
L-album Wainscot x1
Double-striped Pug x3

 

Visible migration was strong this morning with several flocks of Meadow Pipits flying over during the 30 minutes while I was checking the Moth Box. Up to 3 Grey Wagtails went over plus 2 Pied Wagtails. A lone Goldfinch was heard flying over, but no sightings of the bird.

What was intriguing was a ‘Phyllosc’ species of Warbler that arrived at my garden. It was the call that alerted me to the bird of which I was not familiar with. Sadly, the light when I saw the bird, wasn’t very good but I could ascertain it was very pale underneath, but I could not get any head pattern on the bird. I do not think it was a Common Chiffchaff judging by the underparts and call but will remain a mystery. I shall check on YouTube the various possible rare migrants later today to see if the call jogs the memory. The said bird flew off strongly northbound.

A Twin-spot Centurian was inside the Moth Box.

Other insects attracted to my Moth Box this morning included a Twin-spot Centurian (Sargus bipunctatis), a species of Soldier Fly and at least two Crane Flies.

 

Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth:

Governor's Green this morning. You can just see some of the many Wood Pigeons on the grass. Over a hundred birds were counted.

Another bright and sunny start to the first shift in Old Portsmouth again with near wall to wall blue sky, though there was a lot of cloud sitting over the Isle of Wight. It was easily the best day of the week for bird species here with a whopping 18 species seen during my hour here.

Birds of note this morning included a pair of Jays that dropped in around 9.25am and flew between the Sycamore Trees on the main road. There was just one Pied Wagtail on the Bowling Green though a couple more were heard flying over. A single Grey Wagtail was also seen flying high overhead heading south, but a flock of 15 Skylarks heading high south were my first here of the Autumn.

The Great Spotted Woodpecker put in a fine appearance by flying firstly from one of the Sycamore trees and into the house opposite garden. Then it flew out of one of the trees by the Bowling Green and back into one of the Sycamore trees. I did hear it earlier on in the week and hopefully, will be a regular feature during this Autumn. A few flocks of Meadow Pipits flew over and to round things off this morning, a big count of 100+ Wood Pigeons were grazing on Governor’s Green.

One of two Firebugs found on one of the Hibiscus Bushes.

Unfortunately, it was very quiet again on my second shift here in Old Portsmouth and the only notable sighting was a couple of Firebugs (Pyrrhocoris apteris) on the Hibiscus Bushes.

The bird species seen or heard today included the following:

• Magpie
• Carrion Crow
• Jay
• Herring Gull
• Great Black-backed Gull
• Great Tit
• Blue Tit
• Chiffchaff
• Pied Wagtail
• Grey Wagtail
• Skylark (flock of 15)
• Dunnock
• Wren
• Meadow Pipit
• Robin
• Wood Pigeon
• Feral Pigeon
• Great Spotted Woodpecker

Cowplain Marsh News:

Up to 40 bird species were recorded within or over Cowplain Marsh in September (Andy’s back garden) and that included 2 Chiffchaff on the last day of the month that had a silver ring on its left leg. This month, a total of 30 bird species recorded so far of which both Great Spotted Woodpecker and Nuthatch were recorded daily on the Fat Balls. On Monday, a Common Gull was a year tick for the Reserve and a male Sparrowhawk was also seen. Today, early this evening, up to 6 Swallows and 5 House Martins were seen overhead.