Some good Moths & plenty of 'Vis Mig' overhead.

Wednesday 14th October 2026.

This female Common Darter was on my garden fence this afternoon.

A cold but sunny morning with a ‘wall-to-wall’ blue sky above though temperatures were into single figures here in Southsea. I really didn’t expect too many Moth to be present after putting my Moth Box on overnight, but I was pleasantly surprised not only with the numbers but also the variety.

'Visible Migration' was near constant this morning while I was checking the Moth Box, with a good variety going over that included another Reed Bunting heading westbound. Finches were certainly on the move with several Siskins, Goldfinches, Chaffinches and Linnets all going over in small numbers.

Several small flocks of Meadow Pipits could be heard flying over and a count of 3 Pied Wagtails and 2 Grey Wagtails were heard to fly over. Finally, a Skylark was heard flying over but too high to get a view of the bird. More ‘vis mig’ was going on at Pembroke Road this morning.

My Moth Box:

This Small Mottled Willow was a good find in the Moth Box.

A very good and unexpected total of 71 moths of 15 species were recorded this morning though 60% of these were Light Brown Apple Moths (Epiphyas postvittana) both inside and outside the Moth Box. My first Red-lined Quaker for my garden this year was just inside the Moth Box, and other notable moths included a Bloxworth Snout sat on the fence panel near the Box.

Above, my first Red-lined Quaker in my garden this year. Below, I have had an excellent year for Golden Twin-spots.

Migrant moths were still coming through with a Small Mottled Willow, White-point and a single Golden Twin-spot present as well as up to 8 Rusty-dot Pearls (Udea ferrugalis) recorded.

Above, a Bloxworth Snout and below, a White-point.

The Moths recorded this morning included the following:

MACRO MOTHS	MICRO MOTHS
Red-lined Quaker x1	Light Brown Apple Moth x43
Double-striped Pug x2	Common Plume x2
Bloxworth Snout x1	Rusty-dot Pearl x8
Feathered Ranunculus x4	Tree-mallow Tortrix x1
Small Mottled Willow x1
Large Yellow Underwing x2
L-album Wainscot x2
Lesser Yellow Underwing x1
Lunar Underwing x1
White-point x1
Golden Twin-spot x1

 

Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth:

A very bright but cold start to the day in Old Portsmouth.

Up to 15 bird species were recorded this morning on my first shift and that included my first Finches going over this month. A flock of 3 Chaffinches were seen flying high overhead heading west and another landed in the nearby Sycamore Trees, giving off its familiar ‘pink’ call note. A male Greenfinch flew out of the trees by the Bowling Green and headed off north.

Both Jay and Magpies came in and landed in the trees opposite.

Up to 4 Jays were seen flying around the trees and sometimes showing very well sat in the top branches. A count of at least 18 Magpies was seen this morning and that included one flock of twelve birds flying west over Governor’s Green and then landing on the Garrison Church and another 6 birds in the trees by the Bowling Green! The Wood Pigeon flock on Governor’s Green numbered at least 30+ birds.

I was sure I heard both Chiffchaff and Meadow Pipit, but the noise of the traffic masked the calls and so I could not be 100% sure.

The following bird species were recorded this morning:

• Wood Pigeon
• Feral Pigeon
• Carrion Crow
• Magpie
• Jay (4)
• Starling
• Great Tit
• Blue Tit
• Herring Gull
• Black-headed Gull
• Wren
• Blackbird
• Robin
• Chaffinch (4)
• Greenfinch

 

Another photo of the female Common Darter in my garden today.

Around 1.30pm, back in my garden where it was bright and sunny still, a female Common Darter dragonfly landed on my garden fence. I rushed into the house to grab my camera where, thankfully, the dragonfly was still present and I managed to get a few snaps of this lovely insect.

In Hampshire today:

The two White-tailed Eagles on Blashford Lakes today. Photo by Andy Tew.

A quick round up of todays sightings here in Hampshire kicked off with probably up to 4 Ring Ouzels at Leaden Hall in the New Forest. I thought I had a good total of Chaffinches overhead in my garden, but a massive 926 flew over Tweseldown, nr Fleet and 451 over St. Catherine’s Hill, Winchester. I am still waiting for my first Redwing of the year whereas 70 went over this site! A Ruff was with Black-tailed Godwits at Cams Bay, Fareham and another at Alresford Pond. The two White-tailed Eagles were on Blashford Lakes today along with a Little Gull in front of the Tern Hide.

The Little Gull in front of the Tern Hide, Ibsley Water, today. Photo by Andy Tew.