I took Scruff for a nice easy stroll around Highland Road Cemetery late morning, enjoying the bright Autumn sunshine and I was pleasantly surprised at how many insects were on the wing. 15 species of birds were either seen or heard during the hour we were there including good numbers of Chiffchaffs and at least four Jays were also seen flying from tree to tree. I was soon regretting taking my fleece with me as the temperature easily climbed into the 70’s for there was very little wind to cool things down. Above, one of many Red Admirals in the Cemy this morning.
These Herring Gulls were in a big squabble on the rooftops opposite the Cemy, causing onlookers to stop in their tracks.
The Chiffchaffs were quite entertaining as at least 5 possibly 6 birds were flitting around the trees close to the Mausoleum. A rather disturbing scene, which stopped a couple of dog-walkers in the tracks, was two Herring Gulls having a fight (see photos) on a rooftop. One would not let go of the other one's neck! A few Meadow Pipits flew high over, heading south, which represented the only bit of migration going on.
Chiffchaffs (top photo) were in good numbers around the Mausoleum and several Collared Doves (bottom photo) flew off from the Chestnut Tree's over on the east side.
The only butterflies on the wing this morning were nectaring Red Admirals which were enjoying the flowering Ivy Plants and several Small White’s that were seen flying over the Cemy. I even found a few moths on the wing and included a Box Tree Moth and a Vapourer moth: the latter spinning around in the air as per usual but not landing. Hoverflies were also enjoying the flowering Ivy (both Myathropa florea and Eristalis tenax) and this in turn attracted plenty of Garden Spiders to build their webs to trap the insects.
Hoverflies were in large numbers today, making the most of the sunshine and flowering Ivy including Myathropa florea (bottom photo) and Eristalis tenax (top photo).
As per usual with the Cemetery, there is always something to look at here and something will always capture my attention as I slowly make my way around the footpath. Though the Council have given the grass a good mowing, it still looks and feels very Autumnal now with lots of leaves on the ground and more falling all the time. It will not be long when the Winter Thrushes will begin to stop over and even roost here. For now, more migrant birds are coming in and hopefully, the Yellow-browed Warbler might make a return visit as per previous years.
There were few plants on show within the Cemy today, but Smooth Hawks-beard plants (top photo) were common while a sprig of Michaelmas Daisies were on show by one grave. Yarrow, Smooth Sow-thistle, Lady Bedstraw (bottom photo) and a few Cats ears were found too.
There was a good sea-watch off Sandy Point, Hayling Island this morning by Andy J. He notched up a Balearic Shearwater (six off Selsey Bill this morning also), a Red-throated Diver, Guillemot and an Arctic Skua! The Glossy Ibis is still at its usual haunt at Nore Barn, going into its 2nd full week into its stay and still pulling in the birders. No big rarities on the south coast just yet, but watch this space as I am sure they are on their way. I have been reading the Birding Iceland site on Facebook and some of the American rarities that have been arriving there of late are quite staggering. One UK birder has just come back from there and notched up Buff-bellied Pipit, American Redstart, Red-eyed Vireo and Semipalmated Sandpiper along with White-winged Scoter, Harlequin Duck, Gyr Falcon and both Barnacle and Pink-footed Geese. Becky and I had the pleasure of going to Iceland a few years back during the month of February. Truly a superb place, but we failed to see the Aurora borealis. Sob!
Garden Spiders (Araneus diadematus) also known as Cross Spider were also abundant with webs literally everywhere where there was bushes. I watched one poor Hoverfly land in one web, manage to escape only to fall in another and perish!
A fairly bright start to the morning though a lot of cloud cover soon rolled in, but it was pretty mild with very little wind. Again, a reasonably nice haul of moths for this time of year and included my first Feathered Ranunculus (above)of the season along with several Lunar Underwing and L-album Wainscot. The only migrant birds flying over while I was checking the moth box were Meadow Pipits again, but apart from the noisy Herring Gulls, all was quiet.
Above, one of many Willow Beauty's this morning along side a Lunar Underwing moth.
Yesterday, I was too busy helping my daughter move into her new house in nearby Drayton. It was here that I spotted an interesting raptor flying low overhead being pursued by a couple of Carrion Crows and as it got nearer, I could clearly see it was a Honey-buzzard! That was a total surprise as I clearly noted the long straight tail and its long head, completely different from a Common Buzzard. I honestly thought I had missed this species this year, so that was a real bonus and puts me currently on 189 species for the year.
This superb juvenile Purple Heron was gracing the fields behind the North Wall at Pagham Harbour, though quite elusive at times, but, luckily, local birder Sarah Russell managed to grab some distant photos of the bird.
The Purple Heron over Pagham Harbour was being quite elusive during the day, but a Birding friend, Sarah Russell managed to not only see the bird at dusk, but also managed to grab a few decent photos of the bird (see photos). Birding pal Geoff Farwell took a stroll around Beacon Hill in the morning where he saw the following: 6+ Chiffchaffs, 2 Blackcaps, Marsh Tit, 30 Stock Dove, 2 Red Kite & Common Buzzard along with a passage of Swallows.
The following moths were noted this morning:
Moths recorded this morning included this morning:
The month is quickly drawing to a close but the moths keep on coming in my garden, thankfully, albeit mostly Box Tree Moths. However, I was in for a nice surprise when I discovered a superb Clancy’s Rustic moth (above) on one of the trays: a species that I have only ever seen once before all the time I have been into moths. A few Lunar Underwings and a scattering of other species maintained my interest as I got to work in recording the moths.
It was a grey overcast start to the morning and having a nice lay in, I was not surprised to find quite a few Box Tree Moths in and around the box. Overhead, a Meadow Pipit was the only bird of note flying over while checking the box. A rooftop Starling nearby gave a very good Tree Pipit impression and had me staring skywards. Photo above, some of the moths present in my box this morning.
I am hoping to go birding sometime today although my daughter is moving house and I said I would help her which should be sometime soon today. I have put Andy on alert that it probably will be sometimes this afternoon we shall go out and find another ‘year-tick’. There has been a juvenile Purple Heron near the village of Pagham seen again this morning but it is quite elusive and only shows flight views at present, but it is tempting to take a trip over there. Currently, there is ‘panic buying’ of petrol that is blighting the UK’s roads and here on the south coast is no exception. It was ridiculous yesterday and annoyingly, I do need to get fuel. Photo above, the two Lunar Underwings.
The moths seen this morning included the following species:
The Church of St Mary the Virgin, Apuldram, near Chichester. There was plenty of wildlife within the Cemetery to keep me entertained while the Funeral service took place.
There were no moths to look at first thing this morning as I gave the moth box a rest and a nice little sleep-in for me. Annoyingly, I had to pay another visit to Curry’s to rescue my Blog again and the nice young man, Roo, who spent a considerable amount of time on my Laptop, trying to unravel what Blogger is all about! I have to say, it is a bloody minefield at times and if it wasn’t for Roo, I think I could have given up. I came away happy that my Laptop was behaving again but £10 lighter due to the fact that my new Laptop does not take the SD card from my Camera and therefore I had to buy a bit of kit to install into the Computer to transfer the images!
On a positive note, I was working over a place called Apuldram, near Chichester, this morning and on such a beautifully warm morning, all went very well. Of course, I was keeping an eye out on the local nature in the Churchyard and came across a few interesting sightings. Both Great Spotted and Green Woodpecker were heard but not seen, as was a calling Buzzard, while all around, Common Darter dragonflies were abundant, landing quite close to sunbathe in the warm sunshine (see photo).
Speckled Wood butterflies were dancing over the graves along with a few Red Admirals, as I pointed out a Harlequin Ladybird to my work colleagues. They all know that I am into nature and sometimes have them spellbound while holding something interesting! I used to do some birding down this area which is quite close to Chichester Harbour where in the Winter, both Whimbrel and Little Stint used to overwinter, however, it is a favoured area for those Wildfowlers, which I detest. Other sightings today involved several Common Buzzards flying low over the A27 and also a few over the M275 and probably now the most common bird of prey in the UK.
This male Bearded Tit was photographed by birding pal, Richard Tucker at Farlington Marshes yesterday.
On Farlington Marshes today, a pair of Curlew Sandpipers were on the main Lake and the Glossy Ibis was still present at Nore Barn. A Great White Egret was present at Posbrook Floods, near Titchfield and another on Blashford Lakes today as well. Birding pal, Geoff Farwell texted me to say he had a Canary-shouldered Thorn by his moth trap last night along with a Box Tree Moth, Willow Beauty and a Square-spot Rustic as even his moth numbers have diminished.
It looks as though my new blog is up and running on the internet due to a superb young lad who works in Curry’s, Anchorage Park. My computer crashed on me last night (ouch!) and so I paid a visit to Curry’s to see if I could get it fixed, but to no avail and therefore I decided to opt to buy a new Laptop instead. OK, I am not a computer whizz kid and my computer skills are limited, but am a quick learner and this young lad, late this afternoon, really helped me negotiate the computer with ease, although typing on this new keyboard will take getting used to.
A very pale Lesser Yellow Underwing.
My moth box came up with the goods this morning when I found my 3rd ever Dewick’s Plusia (top photo) perched nicely behind the moth box on the white sheet. I quickly ‘potted’ the moth and took it indoors to get a better photo of it later in the evening along with an interesting moth that was eventually confirmed as a Lesser Yellow Underwing, a rather pale individual that was quite worn.
This morning, the following moths were present:
Box Tree Moth 7
Dewick’s Plusia 1
Garden Carpet 1
Light Emerald 1
L-album Wainscot 1
Lesser Yellow Underwing 1
Willow Beauty 1
Common Plume 2
Light Brown Apple Moth 1
Brown House Moth 1
Tachystola acroxantha 1
OK, not a great deal of moths, but it certainly is getting cooler at night and unless we get a very late heatwave, I fully expect the moth numbers to dwindle, but there is still time to get more species under my belt this year. Giant House Spiders are now on the prowl and one individual was on the brick wall opposite the box with a further two more seen at my Fratton Branch today. Both Cellar Spiders and False Black Widows are certainly on the increase in and around my house, but simply find them fascinating.
I was busy working on the Ambulance today and how my work colleague puts up with me is a mystery as I was pointing out all the birds I was looking at including Jays, several Common Buzzards and at least one Kestrel. We spotted a pair of young Foxes this morning at the back of our Fareham branch as we woke them from a nice snooze in the morning sunshine.
A Box Tree Moth and a Light Emerald.
Yesterday, I was working over Warblington Cemetery and I was somewhat surprised at how many birder’s were making their way to see the Glossy Ibis that was still present at Nore Barn. Even my work colleagues were asking what were they looking for. While there, in a gorgeous blue sky, a couple of Common Buzzards soared overhead; a female Sparrowhawk also was seen flying over being chased by several Crows and several flocks of Meadow Pipits and Swallows flew by also. A Southern Hawker buzzed around a tall Yew Tree by the Church. In the afternoon, I had work to do over The Oaks Crematorium and making my way to the main entrance, I pointed out a flock of 5 Yellow Wagtails going over to another work colleague.
After meeting Andy Fisher’s nephew, Richard, last Saturday morning, Andy and myself are going to join his Whatsapp group page, the 'Lazee Birders' ,which should be really interesting for the future. Hopefully, some interesting bird sightings are on the horizon.
A very grey and dark
start to the day with the weather forecast predicting heavy rain
coming in this afternoon. Of course, I put the moth box on overnight
and there was a reasonable number of moths to look at with a total of
52 moths of 15 species. The pick of the bunch was my 3rd
Dusky Thorn of the year and quite a smart individual too. The most
numerous species were the Willow Beauty's with 10 present today. The
following moths were present this morning:
4 Pale Mottled Willow
10 Willow Beauty
7 Box Tree Moth
1 Cypress Pug
6 Double-stripe Pug
6 Lesser Yellow Underwing
2 Lime-speck Pug
1 Small Dusty Wave
1 Square-spot Rustic
7 Large Yellow Underwing
1 Setaceous Hebrew Character
1 Brimstone Moth
1 Dusky Thorn
2 Tachystola acroxantha
2 Common Plume
Above, two photos of the Dusky Thorn moth and bottom photo, the Cypress Pug.
There was very little
visible migration overhead, though a pair of Meadow Pipits did fly
over heading west. Yesterday evening, a Willowchiff was calling
somewhere in the gardens, but very little else, but I will always
keep my eyes open as the Autumn progresses. I got a text from birding
pal Geoff Farwell who was birding at Broughton Down near Stockbridge,
north Hampshire. He said he had a 'cracking' Goshawk over along with
8 Buzzards, 2 Red Kites, 2 Raven, Woodlark, 8+ Blackcap and 4+
Chiffchaffs along with several Chalk-hill Blue butterflies. I am
hoping to take Scruff for a walk later this morning to my local
patch, Highland Road Cemetery. So, watch this space.
Highland Road Cemetery looking north from the southern end.
The rain finally fell
this morning around 11am, but before that, I managed a nice walk
around Highland Road Cemetery with Scruff. Though looking quite dark
in the south, the heavy cloud cover did not put me off and it was
quite mild with very little wind. There were a few dog walkers
present this morning, which is to be expected on a Sunday, but all
were polite as they passed us by.
Top photo: though only Robin I saw this morning, though a few were heard singing about the Cemy. Botom photo: A female Drone Fly perched on a bush beside the footpath.
There was quite a few
Chiffchaffs around the Cemetery, with the area near the Holm Oaks
being popular with at least 7 birds in that particular area, along
with at least 6 Long-tailed Tits. The latter species are not very
common here and I think I have only seen them just three times since
I have been coming here. Still, always a pleasure to see as they
flick their way though the branches, trailing their long tail. At
least 3 more Chiffchaffs were seen in the southern half of the Cemy,
but I am sure there were probably a lot more. Sadly, no other
warblers and to be honest, sightings of any bird was at a premium.
Top photo: Collared Doves are a common occurrence within the Cemetery and can roost in large numbers in the winter here. Bottom photo: one of the many Chiffchaffs present this morning.
I eventually had 15
species of bird on my walk, though most were actually only heard,
including Wren, Great Tit and a few others. I was hoping for a bit of
visible migration overhead, but the sky was virtually empty, bar a
few Starlings and Gulls flying over. Nothing of note was perched on
any of the gravestones, but I was more than surprised when I saw a
grave getting ready for a funeral next week as Burials here are
extremely rare as the Cemetery is full.
Top photo: next weeks funeral preparation in the Cemetery, which is rare here as the place is full. Bottom photo: Fleabane growing on one of the graves on the east side, adding a splash of colour.
Because it was cloudy,
there were very few Hoverflies about this morning and no butterflies
were on the wing at all. A female Drone fly was noted perched on a
small bush and good numbers of the Syrphus species hoverfly were on
the wing in various areas of the Cemy, but were quite difficult to
photograph as they were quite skittish. A lot of Squirrels were down
to ground level, busy stocking up with acorns and seeds to store away
for Winter, especially around the Holm Oaks area. All the usual
plants were noted, though I did find a rather large Prickly
Sow-thistle growing in one of the graves. I am looking to take
another trip over to the Cemy this afternoon as my ever demanding
granddaughter wants to ride her bike around there. Ho hum!
Top photo: a scarce bird in this Cemetery, the Long-tailed Tit, which I counted at least 6 birds. Bottom photo: Honey Fungus making a return with this individual growing under one of the tall Beech Trees.
Locally, a Spoonbill is
on Titchfield Haven and the one on Medmerry RSPB Reserve is still
present along with the nearby Osprey. A Merlin was also reported
there this morning. Returning Brent Geese have been seen passing
Selsey Bill this morning, so it should not be long before they arrive
in Langstone Harbour. Finally, the Glossy Ibis is still visiting its
favoured field at Nore Barn today.
I took Isabelle for a
ride on her bike around the Cemetery late this afternoon and seeing
it closes now at 7pm, we had less than an hour for her to enjoy
cycling along the footpaths. For me personally, I got to see a Great
Spotted Woodpecker briefly, flying from one tree to another and even
the Jays were heard calling, both species being absent earlier today.
Isabelle particularly enjoyed watching a Squirrel high up in a Horse
Chestnut tree, munching off the prickly shell off a Chestnut. A Migrant Hawker dragonfly made a brief appearance along the footpath near the Holm Oaks and even Isabelle managed to see it as it disappeared between the bushes. The
'yellow weather' warning issued by the Met Office turned out to be
miss-information yet again as bright sunshine shone over the Cemy as
we made our way home.
It was another cracking
days birding where Andy and I went to both Nore Barn, near Emsworth
to view the Glossy Ibis and then on to Medmerry RSPB Reserve where we
had a very good variety of birds on a very warm beautiful day. We
even met up with Andy's nephew, Richard and his mates at the Ibis
site. Not only was the day full of birds, but plenty of insects
around to keep me entertained throughout the day. I even picked up
three 'year-ticks' to add to my growing year list that now stands at
188 species for the year.
Top photo: My first Lunar Underwing of the year. Bottom photo: a smart Common Marbled Carpet.
Again, my day kicked off
with the moths and having got up at the ridiculous hour of 4am (once
I am awake, I am awake and therefore I have to get up!), 6.30am
eventually arrived and armed with a cup of coffee, I got busy. Among
the 48 moths of 16 species (well down from earlier this week), I had
my first Lunar Underwing of the year, a typical Autumn species that
will be a lot more common in the weeks ahead. My first Common Marbled
Carpet of the Autumn was also present and the most numerous moth was
the Box Tree Moths with 15 present.
The Glossy Ibis from Nore Barn this morning.
Over at 'Cowplain Marsh',
Andy's moth box attracted a small total of just 10 moths of 7
species, with nothing new of note, though a Cypress Pug was probably
the pick of the bunch. As usual, his garden always attracts a few
notable birds and a Chiffchaff was skulking about at the back of his
garden and a female Sparrowhawk flying over upset the local
Starlings. A pair of Swallows flew fast heading south, while a
Bullfinch could be heard calling somewhere in nearby gardens.
Earlier, before arriving at Andy's house, I treated myself to a
coffee from the local Tesco shop and walking back to the car, a
Goldcrest was heard calling and then seen flying out of the tree.
A couple more photos of the Glossy Ibis this morning including it being chased by a Carrion Crow.
We parked up at the
Church car park in Warblington, grabbed the scope and birding gear
and made our way east along the main footpath. It was a long walk to
the Ibis site where Andy had seen it yesterday, but as we passed a
large corn field, there was plenty to look at. There was a large
flock of House Sparrows in the adjacent Hedgerow and a few
Willowchiffs flew in and out of the vegetation. We then came to the
Nore Barn Woods and took the footpath south to the harbour where we
met up with Andy's nephew Richard and his two chums. The guys had
already had eyes on the Glossy Ibis, which unlike yesterday where it
was in the field to our north, it was on the salt-marsh preening with
a Little Egret in attendance. Still, though the view was not superb
and the light was particularly poor for photography, I did manage to
reel off several reasonable photos including a flight shot as the
bird eventually flew off and landed in fields well to the north.
Top photo: the Osprey flying off towards Langstone Harbour as viewed from Nore Barn. Bottom photo: one of Richard's friends optical equipment , the BTX Swarovski. Its an incredible piece of kit with a healthy price tag too!
Though the bird never
reappeared for us again, we had a good chat about the birding world.
One of Richards mates was sporting the new BTX Swarovski eyepiece,
which is like a pair of binoculars that attach to the scope itself. I
looked through it myself and the image I got through this bit of
amazing equipment was staggering to say the least. With the strong
sunlight in front of us, the Ibis was difficult to get a decent look
at it, let alone photographing the bird, but looking through this bit
of kit, it was like looking through a window!
Top photo: Andy sporting his new hairstyle. Bottom photo: two Hoverfly species taking a liking on this Fleabane: Drone Fly (left) and Thick-legged Hovefly.
Richard picked out an
Osprey flying over the harbour, though the bird eventually headed off
towards Langstone Harbour to the west; but a great sighting
nonetheless. A few Yellow Wagtails and Meadow Pipits passed by and a
male Kestrel hovered over the field behind us. A good many dog
walkers passed us by, enquiring of what we were looking at and after
around an hour or so, we all made our way back to our respective
vehicles.
Top photo: Tufted Vetch growing sporadically along the footpath, adding an additional splash of colour in the bright Autumn sunshine. Bottom photo: a male Common Darter dragonfly, which were abundant on our walk and good food for the Hobbies here today.
Ruff was on my radar and
with one being seen at Medmerry RSPB Reserve yesterday, along with a
Spoonbill; that was to be our next destination. Fortunately, the
traffic was fairly light as we neared Chichester and it didn't take
long to get to the small car park at the Reserve around 11am. We took
our time as we checked out the fields and sky for anything of note.
Though it was quiet at first , with just a few Chiffchaffs noted,
nearing the Stilt Pools it began to get a lot busier. On the way
there, good numbers of both Common Darter and Migrant Hawker
dragonflies were seen and butterflies including large numbers of
Small White's, with smaller numbers of Common Blue's, Red Admirals
and Large White's.Garden Spiders were literally everywhere with
their webs in the Gorse and wild flowers present along the footpath
included Ragwort, Tufted Vetch and Fleabane, which attracted many
Bees, Butterflies and Hoverflies (the European Drone Fly Erastalis
arbustoram and Syritta pipiens or Thick-legged Hoverfly).
Top photo: butterflies were abundant too with Small White butterflies literally everywhere. Bottom photo: a few Common Blue's were noted.
Nearing the Stilt Pools,
a kind fellow birder pointed out a couple of Hobbies flying high over
the fields and though we thought we had 'dipped' on them, one
eventually showed well high overhead. Later, on the return journey,
we watched a Hobby chasing the dragonflies over the fields opposite
Marsh Barn, which was most entertaining. Thanks to that chap, we
would of missed the Hobby, but it was going to be a very good day for
raptors. We had a Sparrowhawk earlier at Andy's house and
Kestrels here at this site went above and beyond. Viewing the
salt-marsh to the east, I counted no less than SEVEN Kestrels
hovering/hunting over the fields there; arguably the most I have ever
seen in one sweep of the binoculars. Incredible! Another birder who
passed us (one of the regular Selsey Boys) pointed out a distant
Osprey to us, perched in distant dead trees roughly a mile away; our second one of the day. If I
didn't have a scope, we would of struggled to see the bird.
Top photo: my first ever Cattle Egret at this location. Bottom photo: the adult Spoonbill preening/sleeping on the Stilt Pools. This constitutes are best view of this species this year after the distant one in Pagham Harbour earlier this year.
As we neared the packed
Stilt Pools, a very small wader took off from the pools and headed of
fast east over the fields; presumably the Little Stint that was seen
earlier today. The Spoonbill was still present, busy preening itself
and then going back to sleep again. The whole area was packed with
Geese, which were mostly Canada Geese, with a few Grey Lags and
Egyptian Geese thrown in. Incidentally, there were quite of few of
the Canada Geese of the much smaller sub-species Lesser Canada Goose
and I was wondering if the Selsey guys are aware of this?
Top photo: the Stilt Pools. Bottom photo: both Wigeon and Teal are increasing in numbers among the Geese and Gulls on the pools.
There were quite a few
Egrets present with at least four Cattle Egrets and around 6 Little
Egrets present. Ten years ago, the thought of seeing so many Cattle
Egrets simply beggars belief. How things have changed with this
Global Warming! Checking the islands thoroughly, I eventually found
the Ruff slowly walking around one of the small islands – my second
'year-tick' of the day. I was well pleased with this and it was also joined by a Common Snipe, a lone Dunlin, around a dozen or so
Black-tailed Godwit plus good numbers of Lapwing. Both Swallows and
Sand Martins were skimming low over the fields and pools and more
Meadow Pipits also went through. I find the only 'down side' to this
superb site is the seating arrangements. In the infinite wisdom, the
RSPB Management have put two benches more or less side by side and
after a long walk to the Stilt Pools to the car park, one could do
with many more seats along the main path? Surely, the very wealthy
RSPB could afford such minor discretion's?
Both photos of the White Stork circling overhead and found by my compatriot, Andy.
As we were making our way
back, Andy said that he had an 'itching' that a rare bird would be
found soon and incredibly, it came true. He spotted a soaring White
Stork circling high overhead, which was no doubt one of the Knepp
Estate birds that have been wandering around (It was seen over Selsey
earlier in the day making its way to this reserve). Fortunately for
us, the Stork put on a good show overhead as we pointed it out to
passers by and I even managed to grab some film footage of the bird.
That was my 3rd 'year-tick' of the day and although
classed as an introduced bird, one could say the same about the Isle
of Wight White-tailed Eagles?
Film footage of the White Stork over Medmerry this morning.
To round off the raptor
sightings, I found a Common Buzzard perched on a distant bush to
simply round off a superb mornings birding. Annoyingly, I was
absolutely desperate to use a loo and so went into the local shops to
find one where I belted into a pub loo at breakneck speed. There, we
sat outside and enjoyed a pint while watching the world go by and
watching a Swallow head south and a Red Admiral butterfly head west.
Just goes to show, there is always something to look at wherever you
are.
Finally, I am back with a
new Blog, having replaced the Financial Birder with Financial Birder
2 due to the fact that my Blog domain is about to close. Yes, I am really disappointed, but
I was even more disappointed with the lack of help from various
Computer companies in the Portsmouth area. The only one I have faith in were Curry's, who
helped me considerably and I would like to give my thanks to those
guys. I just need to transfer my old blog details over to this domain and fingers crossed, it might happen.
Below, my first Red Underwing moth of the year. This species is one of our largest moths and although you cannot see the actual red under the wing, trust me, when it flies, it is simply stunning. The moth has been hanging around the Flower Bay at Portchester Crematorium for at least three days.
Now, please be patient
with me as I am new to the layout on this Blog and there will be a few changes on the layout while I get to grips on
what I can and cannot add to it. Should be interesting. So for now, I
have uploaded a few photos of some of the best moths I have seen this
week which were either in my garden or Portchester Crematorium and fingers
crossed, I hope to get film footage on here as well as some quality
photos, plus the mind-numbing ramblings of this old man!
Below, Straw Underwing moths are also typical for this time of year, but I rarely get into double figures of this species. This Autumn, I have been lucky in seeing up to two so far in my moth box and another at Portchester Crematorium this week.
Out and about at work
today, my first port of call was to Rose Green, near Bognor Regis and
then off to Chichester Crematorium. Not a great deal seen, but I was
keeping an eye out for the 32+ White Storks that took off yesterday
from the Knepp Estate in West Sussex and then today, returning back
through Hampshire and last seen circling Clanfield! A White Stork had
been seen perched on a Radio Mast behind Farlington Marshes early
this morning and later on this afternoon, but I failed to see it
twice! The Glossy Ibis was still present in the fields to the east of
Warblington Cemetery of which Andy got to see it yesterday on his day
off. I hope to see the bird tomorrow if all goes well.
It is always appreciated when I get to see a rare moth and Autumn can play its part when immigrant moths from Europe arrive unexpectedly on our shores. Dewick's Plusia moths (below) are a regular immigrant, but I have only ever seen one and that was about 3 years ago, so to find one at Portchester Crematorium this week was a real bonus. Gratefully confirmed by Hampshire Moth Recorder, Mike Wall, as this species, I was so happy to add this to my ever growing year list, which currently stands at 203 species for the year.
Below, I put on my blog
some film footage of the juvenile Red-backed Shrike that frequented
Pagham Harbour last week, staying for approximately 9 days and
showing exceptionally well to the appreciating Birders and onlookers.
Arguably, this had to be the best view of this species as as juvenile
I have seen in the UK, for they are normally distant and flighty
birds.
