It's back at Durlston Head for Puffins.

Sunday 22nd June 2024.

One of the superb views from the viewpoint. A Fulmar gracefully sailing by the cliffs with Guillemots loafing on the sea below. Beautiful.

So, it was back to Dulston Head, near Swanage, for our annual trip to see the Puffins near Dancing Ledge and also take in the wealth of wildlife and scenery this magnificent place had to offer. However, apart from John Goodall and myself, there was a change of guys with us today that included John’s daughter, Louise, who kindly did the driving to and from today. Matt and Emma Parkes joined us today, of which we met them at Durlston Head. And what a day! The weather was near perfect with light winds, plenty of sunshine and occasional high clouds. The only downside today was that I got a very bad case of cramp at the top of my left leg, but hey, you have to ‘suffer for your art’ sometimes!

Above, a large raft of Guillemots and Razorbills were on the sea below the Viewpoint. Below, a pair of Ravens flew past the Viewpoint.

Above, one of the Ravens and below, the view from the Viewpoint. Stunning.

Above, Jackdaws were abundant along the cliffs. Five species of Corvid were seen here today.

I could easily write chapter and verse again but what we saw today and as I said to Emma, that I could easily just stand all day from one of the viewing areas looking down on the Auks and Fulmars. Just magical. So I am going to let my photos do most of the talking or it could be dark outside by the time I finish writing this. 

Above, there were plenty of interesting insects to look at including this Hairy Shieldbug. Below, Kestrels were seen throughout the day including this showy bird by the cliffs.

Above, the top of the Lighthouse shows just above all these Kidney Vetch flowers. Below, we have Emma, Matt, Louise and John making their way up on one of the many inclines along the coastal path.

Above, we believe we saw this Rock Pipit on both our journey there and back today. Meadow Pipits were abundant too with many displaying male birds seen. 

What I will say is that the local Peregrines performed superbly for us and put on a hunting display either chasing a group of Racing Pigeons high overhead or just sailing by the cliff edge close to where we stood. While having our lunch by the usual cove (where Lolo Williams sat with another birder on this year's Springwatch), we were lucky this time with a Puffin sitting on the sea and we only had to wait about 15 minutes for the bird to magically pop out of nowhere! Emma grabbed some amazing photos of the bird and mine, though distant, were not too bad either. We saw 39 species of birds on our trip here, two species of Orchid (my first Bee Orchid of the year and thousands of Pyramidal Orchids) among the throng of beautiful plants as far as the eye could see along the footpaths. We did have a good laugh at one local chaps pronunciation of Pyramidal which sounded like Piraemdial!!!! 

Above, Stonechats were still in good numbers here throughout our walk. This male stood out beautifully on the wall.

Above and below, this female Peregrine gave us a superb flypast by the cliffs.

Above, we found this Roe Deer grazing on one of the slopes and below, though a quiet day for 'Blue' butterflies, we found several Common Blue's around.

Of the Butterflies, sadly, there wasn't the greatest of variety this time round with just six species seen (we had 17 species on one trip here in the past!) though three of which were new for the year, Marbled White, Meadow Brown, Large Skipper and Lulworth Skipper plus Common Blue and Small Skipper. Two moths species were picked up also with singles of both Yellow Shell (new for the year) and a Silver Y. Sadly, no Hummingbird Hawk-moths today, a species we regularly seen here on previous trips. Other notable insects seen today included and completely unexpected was a Golden-ringed Dragonfly up on the walk back along the top fields. Yes, I have seen them in good numbers in the New Forest, but never have I seen one here. I know Norfolk Hawker dragonflies have expanded their range considerably, but a Golden-ringed here?

Above, both Soldier Beetles and a Nursery Spider share a Wild Carrot plant. Below, one of thousands of Pyramidal Orchids we encountered today.

Above, good numbers of Linnet were seen today here and below, one of several Large Skipper butterflies seen.

Above, I had to take a photograph of this Wild Carrot plant. I've never seen anything like it! Below, finally, our star bird, the Puffin. We dipped on seeing these last year and so to find one in just 15 minutes within the Cove where we had lunch, was terrific. It spent a good 20 minutes just sitting on the sea before flying off back to the cliffs.

Above, the infamous Face rock within the Cove! Below, the only Yellowhammer seen today, a fine male bird that showed very well as we climbed the 'Dreaded Hill'!

Above, one of the spectacular views at Durlston Head and below, I finally found my first Bee Orchid of the year which was growing in the top fields.

Above, a most unexpected find was this Golden-ringed Dragonfly. Annoyingly, it would not settle long enough for a decent photo, so a flight shot would have to do. Below, Guillemots resting on the cliff edge. 

Above, we even found a small group of Razorbills on the cliffs and below, an adult Shag having a good splash on the sea below the cliffs.

Above and below, just watching these beautiful Fulmars was scintillating.

Above, Matt found this Fulmar resting in the Cliffs and below, within the Durlston Centre, this deceased Death's-head Hawk-moth was on display with a Snake skin. I have yet to see a live Death's-head, but maybe one day?

I won't go on about my cramp I got while walking up the ‘dreaded hill’ near the Dancing Ledge, but that was sheer bloody agony and probably due to not drinking enough fluids on my walk. Yes, I had my fleece on mostly on the way to the Puffins and probably sweated buckets. So, lots of fluids next year I think! Once again, a fantastic trip here with fantastic sightings and the company I kept today were superb. We even finished off with an ice cream and cold drink by the restaurant, reflecting on a wonderful day.  

The 'star bird' today, the Puffin. Thankfully, this is one of six birds that is apparently present here at Durston Head.

Probably lowest moth numbers for June ever?

Thursday 20th June 2024.

Heart & Dart.

I was up very early this morning as I ventured into the garden at 4.45am hoping for a decent haul of moths before the Sparrows had their breakfast! However, we are now in the last third of the month and all I got were 10 moths in total (I found a few more later) and one in the kitchen! As mentioned earlier in the week, this year has been very disappointing with the moth numbers and I don't think it's the Bats over my garden in the evening keeping the numbers down. All relatively common stuff today of which I rescued a Beautiful Plume from a spider's web and the White-shouldered House Moth was on the ceiling within my kitchen. The only other insect of note was a Harlequin Ladybird on one of the egg trays.

• Heart & Dart
• White Ermine 2
• Bright-line Brown-eye
• Ruddy Streak
• Blushed Knot-horn
• Brown House Moth
• Barred Marble
• Beautiful Plume 2
• White-shouldered House Moth

Harlequin Ladybird.

Yesterday, I got up to 16 species for the day at Pembroke Road that included the usual four species of Gull again. A pair of Sparrowhawks were displaying high over my house yesterday afternoon; the first time I have seen them this week. It didn't take long for me to check the moth box with that low number of moths and so I took the dogs for a walk around the block at 5.15am. The ever hungry Herring Gull chicks on the rooftops were calling endlessly and I was pleased to see Swifts (about 8 birds) swooping low over the road checking out the nest boxes in our road. How many will use them is anyone's guess, but let's hope it's a good year. Another Swift Box is being installed further up the road this Sunday.

Sedge Warbler on the Canal Path, Titchfield. Photo by Emma Parkes.

Fairly quiet at the moment in Hampshire although it seems a few ‘Lazee’s’ are ‘ticking off’ the Ruddy Shelduck on Petersfield Pond. A genuine wild bird is anyone's guess, but a very smart individual though and in this lovely sunshine, it's definitely worth taking a photo or two of this smart bird. I shall be going to Durston Head in Dorset this Saturday for my annual Puffin quest. We failed to see them last year so hopefully, we might have better luck this time. The weather is looking very good for the weekend and so should be a very good day out as per usual there.

This Wood Warbler was in the New Forest recently. They are becoming very scarce in the Forest lately. Photo by Rob Porter.

Above, one of the young Herring Gulls on a roof in my road. At least three nests can be seen while I am walking my dogs.

Worrying times? Where's all the insects?

Tuesday 18th June 2024.

One of several Garden Grass-veneers this morning.

I was reading this morning on the Hants Moths Facebook page regarding how low the numbers of not only Moths, but also Butterflies and many other insects there are this year. The Met Office is telling us that our Spring was one of the warmest ever (??????), though I like to know where exactly. I was sitting in my garden this morning, after checking my moth box and pleased with the Buddleia in bloom now in my garden, though I have not seen a single Butterfly and hardly any Bees on them yet! This is most certainly worrying for the birds, for someone said, what on earth are the parent birds feeding their youngsters?

Up to 3 Dark Arches were present.

There were 29 moths of 17 species recorded this morning, which is currently about average this month; however, I was checking on this time last year and there was nearly double this number of moths. The very wet winter did not help earlier although there is talk of the summer months getting a lot hotter. We shall see. There was nothing new this morning in or around the Moth Box, though there were a lot more Garden Grass-veneer’s present and a Green Oak Tortrix was my first for my garden this year.

Yellow Oak Tortrix.

• Willow Beauty 4
• Setaceous Hebrew Character
• Lime-speck Pug
• White Ermine
• Buff Ermine
• Heart & Dart 3
• Dark Arches 3
• Pale Mottled Willow
• Blushed Knot-horn
• Yellow Oak Tortrix
• Ruddy Streak
• Apple Leaf Miner
• Garden Grass-veneer 5
• Common Plume 2
• Barred Marble
• Box-tree Moth
• Green Oak Tortrix

The Red-necked Phalarope on Farlington Marshes. Photo by Andy Friend.

On last Sunday evening, it was a choice between watching the England football team or head off down Farlington Marshes to see a juicy Red-necked Phalarope on the Deeps. A few birders went for the wader and some lovely photos were taken. The bird kindly returned to the same area yesterday where many birders, including Andy Fisher, caught up with this stunning wader. Maybe I should have gone down there last night, but to be honest, I had more chores to do, including giving the garden a good watering! If I went for everything that turned up in Hampshire, I would be among the leaders of Hampshire Listers; but I was more than happy watching the Swifts overhead. I did see a Common Buzzard circling very high over Portsmouth yesterday afternoon, which is always nice to see.

The Ruddy Shelduck that has been residing on Petersfield Lake. Photo by Emma Parkes.

I recorded 17 species of birds at Pembroke Road, Old Portsmouth, today , which was arguably the highest total I have had here for quite a few weeks. Though nothing exceptional, there were four species of Gull again (at least 6 Med Gulls, Great Black-backed, Herring and Black-headed Gull) and at least 6 Swifts. All the usual species were seen including singing Wren and Dunnock that were heard only and at least 2 Pied Wagtails on the Bowling Green even though there was someone playing Bowls at the time! The weather was fine this morning, but it did get a lot more overcast in the afternoon with a few drops of rain, but nothing came of it. 

Above, a Bar-tailed Godwit in Langstone Harbour. Below, a Bee Orchid on Portsdown Hill. Photos by Emma Parkes.

It was fairly quiet in Hampshire today and sadly, no sign of yesterday’s Red-necked Phalarope on Farlington Marshes. However, a Wood Sandpiper was reported on Fishtail Lagoon, Pennington Marshes this afternoon. Over my Southsea garden, at least a dozen Swifts are getting quite active over my road and hopefully, more will be using the Swift boxes put up for them in my street. So far, I know of three boxes being used and another Swift Box will be put up hopefully this weekend when someone contacted me over the weekend wanting one of my Swift Boxes to be installed. Good news.

This Little Tern was at Normandy Marshes. Photo by Ollie Crabbe.

A Kittiwake brings me up to 200 species for the year.

Saturday 16th June 2024.

Common and Sandwich Terns within Pagham Harbour along with a lone Little Egret. These were seen off Church Norton from the comfort of the benches looking east over the harbour.

‘Lazee’s’ birding in West Sussex for the day? Surely unthinkable! But when there was simply nothing to go for to add to our Hampshire year list and a Wood Sandpiper was in nearby West Sussex, residing for most of the week on Sidlesham Ferry Pool; we simply had to go. The weather most certainly played its part today with heavy rain coming in early this morning, but again, the day was going to be starting with the Moths. I was going to get one unexpected ‘year-tick’ today, which was all I needed to grab my 200th bird species in the UK for the year, but not a species I was expecting at the start of the day.

Buff-tip moth.

Dark Spectacle moth.

My first Italian Bark Moth of the year this morning.

The Moth Boxes:

Sadly, I did not beat the House Sparrows this morning as at least four birds flew off from around my Moth Box around 5.15am when I entered the garden. After last nights strong winds and rain, moth numbers were very low this morning, with just 7 moths of 7 species; though it did include my second Buff-tip in my Moth Box this year and another newbie for the year, the attractive ‘micro’ moth, Italian Bark Moth (Metalampra italica). This species was first recorded in the UK only as far back as 2003 and was not seen out of Italy till then. Now they are seen in several south coast localities. I get them virtually annually in my moth box.

The few moths present in my garden today included the following:

• Buff-tip
• Uncertain
• Dark Spectacle
• Vine’s Rustic
• White Ermine
• Italian Bark Moth (NEW FOR YEAR)
• Ruddy Streak

Though dry and sunny when I was checking my Moth Box, when I made my way to Geoff’s house in Drayton, the sky darkened and the rain came in. So much for light rain predicted on one of my weather Apps on my phone as it bucketed down when I arrived at Geoff’s. Checking Andy’s Moth Box was no different with yet another low number of moths present that included the following:

• Heart & Dart
• Early Grey (deceased)
• Large Yellow Underwing
• Common Marbled Carpet

By now, the rain was still falling and after breaking the news to Andy that we were going to West Sussex, he accepted the decision and off we went to the Ferry Pool in West Sussex! A strong blustery south-westerly was blowing hard all the way there and little did we know, there was a good movement of Manx Shearwaters going past Selsey Bill at the time along with several Arctic Skua’s. I found out later that a close Manx Shearwater was seen flying very close this morning off Hill Head; seen and photographed by fellow ‘Lazee’ Mark Francis (see photo below).

Above, there was a small group of Redshank present on the Ferry Pool and below, we counted 15 Avocets on the Ferry Pool along with several juvenile birds. A Black-headed Gull and a male Pied Wagtail is also in this photo.

Above, twelve fluffy Shelduck chicks were counted at the back of the Ferry Pool. 

Sidlesham Ferry Pool, West Sussex.

On arrival at the car park at the Pagham Harbour Centre, the rain was lashing down and so we took a drive into Selsey to grab some brunch, of which Andy kindly paid for mine. Good man! We made our way back to the Car Park and though it was still spitting with rain, we made our way to the excellent Hide overlooking the Ferry Pool. Despite spending a good hour here, there was no sign of the Wood Sandpiper. The damn bird had been here most of the week including up to yesterday evening and now it had flown! Bloody typical! In its wake, we found at least three Little Ringed Plovers, 14 Avocets (including at least four juveniles), a dozen or so Redshank and several Shelduck, including one parent bird with 12 fluffy youngsters. Good numbers of Pied Wagtails were on the edge of the Pool and a lone Common Buzzard was seen flying north over the area with prey in its talons. During that hour, the sunshine had finally arrived.

Above, a pair of Shelducks were quite close to the main road and below, our first Blue-tailed Damselfly of the year.

Above, the diminutive 22-spotted Ladybird on a Teasel leaf.

On the way back to the car, we took a quick look at the big Pond, which held our first Blue-tailed Damselfly of the year. A few Pond Skaters were flitting about on the water and I was sure I had a Newt species popping up to the surface to grab some air then swim down to the bottom again. A tiny 22-spotted Ladybird was found on the plants by the Pond, shining bright yellow with its black spots. Within the Information Centre, we found a TV monitor focusing on a nearby nest box where several young Kestrels were inside. Apparently, the Volunteer present told us that one of the adults had eaten one of the young and fed it to the rest! We saw this on Springwatch recently and so I was not too surprised. After a good look at their merchandise on sale (they wanted a packet of biscuits for £5 for Christ’s sake!).

Above, the Kestrel nest box complete with youngsters by the Info Centre and below, a Speckled Wood butterfly by the harbour.

Above, one of several Oystercatchers around the harbour and below, a Common Tern taking flight over the harbour.

Selsey Bill, West Sussex.

It was bright sunshine when we pulled into the ‘pothole fest’ car park at the bottom of Grafton Road. However, it was so windy here that the only shelter we had was by the seawall at the edge of the large garden. We spent the next hour here and with the scope, I picked up my first Kittiwake of the year flying fast westbound. Sadly, it was a scope view only and as the guys had no scope therefore only myself saw the bird, which, incidentally turned out to be my 200th species of the year! Yay! Other notable sightings included two Gannets, an adult and juvenile, a couple of Common Terns and at least 5 Sandwich Terns. I suppose if we had more time, we just might have picked up a Manx Shearwater, but all the best action happened earlier today it seemed.

Above, a Common Tern flying over Pagham Harbour, seen from Church Norton. Below, a pair of Ringed Plovers within the harbour.

Above, some Terns taking flight within the harbour with a few Shelduck on the mudflats. Below, Geoff identified this plant for me as Sea Beet.

Church Norton, West Sussex

To be honest, where we stood at Selsey Bill was not comfortable and the light was getting worse with the sun reflecting off the sea. What next? Church Norton was our next destination and rom here, we had lunch and from the seats overlooking the harbour. Our final hour was spent here, enjoying a selection of Terns and waders on show at low tide. I think the American Golden Plover had long gone, but it still didn't hurt to check now and then. Scanning the harbour thoroughly, the waders seen included several Oystercatchers, about 8 Ringed Plovers and a smart summer plumage Dunlin were seen along with a single Curlew. At least 4 Sandwich and 4 Common Terns were resting near the concrete blocks and a Little Tern briefly joined them, though mostly fishing in the small channel nearby. Behind us, both Green Woodpecker and Chiffchaff were heard as Geoff went on to check the local plant life here by the benches  that included Sea Purslane, Sea Beet and Sea Plantain. Even nymph Lesser Marsh Grasshoppers were hopping about our feet when we checked out the plants, which all added  to the superb nature of this superb reserve.

The close-in Manx Shearwater that flew past Hill Head today. Photo by Mark Francis.