A few Moths this morning but a gorgeous sunrise & sunset.

Thursday 12th November 2026.

A very cold start to the day as I walked the dogs past Highland Road Cemetery this morning. It was good to see the Redwing passing overhead.

A very cold but bright and sunny start to the day and looks good for the rest of the day too with wall-to-wall blue sky and bright sunshine. Temperatures, however, will not get into double figures and most likely be around 5 degrees in the light northerly wind. Tonight is set to be the coldest night of the Autumn with a frost looking extremely likely tomorrow morning.

My early morning walk with the dogs this morning produced at least 12 Redwing flying over with flocks of five and four and three individuals flying over. There was a Redwing movement last night when I put the dogs out in the garden before bedtime.

My Moth Box:

One of two Golden Twin-spots this morning in my Moth Box.

I knew it was going to be a cold night, but I did take a gamble by putting the Moth Box on overnight and though the numbers were small, it paid off with a whopping 4 Moths! Two Golden Twin-spots, a species I know a lot of Moth-ers would love to get in their garden, were present again in my Moth Box on the egg trays. Just one Double-striped Pug and a Light Brown Apple Moth (Epiphyas postvittana) to round off a very low number of Moths. But its better than nothing at all!

 

MACRO MOTHS	MICRO MOTHS
Golden Twin-spot x2	Light Brown Apple Moth x1
Double-striped Pug x1

 

The only other insect present was a female Syrphus Hoverfly species (above) sitting on the lid of the Box. While checking the Moths, I did hear at least two Redwing flying over, but failed to see the birds but I had better luck when I took the dogs for their early morning walk.

 

Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth:

A very bright sunny day in Pembroke Road, but cold.

Despite being a very sunny day, with not a single cloud in the sky, it was mostly the usual birds that were seen; not that I am complaining, for they are all so interesting to watch, whether it’s the Wood Pigeons landing in the Holm Oaks trying to balance on the outmost branches to pick off the Acorns or the Blue and Great Tits flying around in the Sycamore Trees.

Again, the Jays were very busy flying back and forth and picking off the Acorns along with the Wood Pigeons, but a lot more gainly I might add. But it was in the afternoon when I heard the familiar sound of calling Long-tailed Tits; but how many would show today. They flew from tree to tree, but I could not get an accurate count until they eventually flew across the road, and I managed to get a total of 10 birds in all!

Meet 'Tim' the Spider. It has been here at the same spot for the past two weeks.

'Tim' the Garden Spider was still present and I can say that he finally caught his meal for the week, which should last him some time; though he is going to feel it tonight as a frost is forecast for tomorrow!

The birds seen or heard today included the following:

• Herring Gull
• Wood Pigeon
• Feral Pigeon
• Jay (2+)
• Magpie
• Carrion Crow
• Pied Wagtail (2)
• Blue Tit
• Great Tit
• Long-tailed Tit (10)
• Blackbird
• Starling
• Robin (heard)

In Hampshire today:

The adult winter Franklin's Gull in Winchester. Photo by Andy Tew.

The adult winter Franklin’s Gull was yet again, staying faithful to the same field but it did wander off to several other nearby places to give the arriving birders a bit of a chase. Earlier today, local Hill Head birder and fellow ‘Lazee Birder’ Mark Francis saw a flock of 4 Whooper Swans flying low east past Hill Head while at nearby Solent Breezes, the 17 Greater White-fronted Geese were still present and the Water Pipit was on Titchfield Haven again.

A Great Grey Shrike was present at Longwater Lawn, near Lyndhurst and hopefully will overwinter here. A Bittern was seen from the Heron Hide at Testwood Lakes. This cold weather could bring many more Bitterns to the area, hopefully.

Another photo of the Franklin's Gull. Photo by Andy Tew.

Southsea Beach and Canoe Lake:

A stunning sunset late this afternoon.

As part of staying fit for both me and the dogs, I am taking the dogs for a much longer walk than usual and so I took them by Canoe Lake and then onto Eastney Esplanade up to the Coffee Cup and back home. I didn’t really see anything out of the ordinary, but as I have written earlier, even the common birds grab my attention.

Above, a flotilla of Mute Swans on the Canoe Lake and below, a Herring Gull by the Mute Swans.

Above, a Mute Swan sailing along and flanked by Gulls and below, a distant flock of Goldfinch flew west.

There was a good number of Mute Swans elegantly swimming on Canoe Lake and several Herring and Black-headed Gulls were scrounging for food from those feeding the Swans!

Above, another photo of the flock of Goldfinch and below, a pair of Pied Wagtails on the beach.

Above, a male Pied Wagtail on the beach was one of at least eight birds present and below, Southsea beach looking east.

The walk along Eastney Esplanade was pleasant enough, but it was getting colder as the sun was dropping behind the Isle of Wight which made a spectacular sunset. At least 8 Pied Wagtails were on the beach as I neared the Coffee Cup and showed well at times and to the north, a flock of Goldfinch flew past looking for somewhere to roost. The dogs got a good walk on the beach on the way back as we admired the gorgeous sunset and then home.