A very busy morning.

Tuesday 15th April 2025.

This Harbour Seal was seen swimming just off the shoreline at Southsea seafront this morning.

A rather busy morning during this Easter Break with not only the Moth Box to look at, but another ‘Sea-watch’ from Southsea seafront and then walking the dogs around Highland Road Cemetery. We had some overnight rain (at last!) and I thought it was going to be showery this morning, hence the sea-watch from Southsea Castle, but it was dry and bright when I arrived, although the cloud did come in and then a mixture of sun and cloud. It remained mild too throughout my sea-watch but the sea was very calm as I was in for another very slow morning. The Cemetery wasn't too bad either with plenty of plants now coming through and even though I could not find any migrant birds, there was still quite a lot of birdlife going on within there.

The Moth Box:

This Nut-tree Tussock moth was my first of the year which was found last night.

Last night, while checking the Moth Box before I retired to bed, I found my first Nut-tree Tussock moth of the year perched behind the Box upon the white sheet. I quickly potted the moth and kept it indoors overnight so I could get a better photo in the morning.

Above, one of three Shuttle-shaped Darts. Below, an early Lychnis moth.

Above, another first for the year, a Ruddy Streak.

This morning, after releasing the Nut-tree Tussock, I checked my Moth Box and the surrounding area thoroughly and found three more moths that were new for the year: 3 Shuttle-shaped Darts, a Lychnis and the micro moth Ruddy Streak. Very good. No other moths were found but a Linnet flew high overhead and headed north.

Southsea seafront;

This Sandwich Tern had just caught a fish near the shoreline.

As mentioned earlier, the sea was flat calm and a very light north-easterly wind (apparently) going across the Solent. I got a seat in my usual shelter (that was also being used by some homeless person on the opposite side of the window!), set up scope and poured myself a coffee from my flask. Then down to business. Yes, it was very slow again and at times, I thought I was going to give up, but something popped up flying over the Solent to keep me interested for a little longer. On the way back to the car, I found a lot of Ragged Robin plants growing by the edge of the Promenade, which is unusual here. I put in a two and a half hour shift here from 7am and notched up the following:

• Common Scoter; a flock of 5 birds, 4 drakes and a female, flew distantly east over the Solent. Seen almost as soon as I arrived but proved to be a false dawn for a big movement today.

• Med Gulls: Though singles and pairs did pass through quite regularly, there were some larger flocks going through that included a flock of 4 and 5 birds respectively. When they are in big groups, it's always worth taking a look through the scope at them even though they are probably heading towards their stronghold in Langstone Harbour.

• Sandwich Tern: Many were fishing up and down the shoreline and also over the Solent, but possible migrating flocks were heading east including flocks of 5 and 6 going east.

• Common Tern: Just the one bird seen all morning that went westbound across the Solent.

• Shag: Just the one bird heading west this morning.

Above, a Cormorant about to land just offshore and below, a record photo of the adult Kittiwake flying east over the Solent.

Above, the only Swallow seen this morning coming in off the sea and below, the only waders to be seen this morning, three Oystercatchers.

• Kittiwake: Two single adult birds flew eastbound. That is the 3rd and 4th sighting of this species seen so far on my sea-watches this year.

• Yellow Wagtail: one flew in from the sea heading north. Again heard first as it flew off overhead.

• Linnet: A flock of 4 flew in off the sea heading north. 

• Swallow: just the one bird seen coming in off the sea and then headed off north over the beach.

• Oystercatcher: the only waders seen all morning here with three birds flying together heading east low over the water.

Sandwich Tern heading east along the shoreline.

Highland Road Cemetery, Southsea:

This flock of seven Med Gulls flying over the Cemy was quite exceptional.

The weather remained mild and bright when I took the dogs for their morning walk around the Cemetery. It's starting to look a lot greener here in the Cemy with many trees having leaves now and more and more plants starting to appear in flower. The likes of Smooth Sow-thistle, Nipplewort, Bulbous Buttercup, Common Groundsel and Daisies all starting to bloom abundantly and I even found several clumps of Cuckoo Flower growing over on the east side of the Cemetery.

Above, Spanish Bluebells are always a welcome flower here. Below, Common Groundsel also flowering in large clumps are always good for insects.

Above, Nipplewort and below, Bulbous Buttercup.

No migrant birds seen within the Cemetery this morning despite a good search for them, but a few birds of note seen on my walk around the site. The Green Woodpecker was heard distantly somewhere within the Cemy and then seen flying away from me near the Holm Oak tree clump. A flock of 6 Mediterranean Gulls flew over heading north, the most I have seen here in one flock for many a year.

Above, the white creamy 'spikes' of Horse Chestnut flowers now growing and below, a large Smooth Sow-thistle plant.

Above, a bedragged Robin looked as though it had just had a bath and below, Cuckoo Flowers.

The birds seen or heard within the Cemy today included the following:

• Blackbird
• House Sparrow
• Starling
• Wren
• Robin
• Great Tit
• Blue Tit
• Black-headed Gull
• Herring Gull
• Mediterranean Gull
• Carrion Crow
• Magpie
• Feral Pigeon
• Wood Pigeon
• Collared Dove
• Goldfinch
• Greenfinch

 

Above, not only the white 'spikes' of Horse Chestnut were showing but also the red ones too. Below, a flock of Herring Gulls within the Cemy. More than likely, someone had been throwing bread out for them!

Blair's Mocha moth added to year list.

Monday 14th April 2025.

A much cooler day today with cloudy weather and the possibility of a good movement off Southsea seafront today, with a south-easterly wind and a moderate wind blowing. Yes, I should be ‘sea-watching’ but I had too much other stuff to do today. Rain is forecast later today and I do hope so for many reasons. The ground is dry everywhere and after last night's fires over the Browndown area in southern Gosport (vandals or natural who knows?) but it will certainly affect the local Dartford Warbler population and also the Adders there. Thankfully, the quick action of the Fire Brigade got there before there could be some serious damage there.

On a positive note, I had a few moths (literally!) in my Moth Box overnight and a few notable bird records mixed in too.

The Moth Box:

My first Blair's Mocha moth of the year and a very early one too.

It was cold again overnight as I checked my Moth Box early this morning. The bad news was there was only TWO moths in total, but the good news was that one of them was my first Blair’s Mocha of the year and probably the earliest one I have ever had in my garden. It was actually within the Moth Box too, something of rare treat for hardly anything that has been actually in the Moth Box of late. The only other moth was a Common Plume sat on the kitchen wall nearby, but I failed to find any other moths present around the Moth Box.

While checking the Moth Box, a Yellow Wagtail flew over but was heard only and not seen against the blue sky. After breakfast, I took my dogs for a walk around the block and I heard a Willow Warbler singing from Highland Road Cemetery as I passed St. Margaret's Church. Apart from that, a busy day doing my usual household chores for a Monday.

Matt & Emma Parkes took a trip to Pulborough RSPB Reserve yesterday and photographed this superb adult White-tailed Eagle.

Fairly quiet in Hampshire today, but over in West Sussex; TWO Hoopoes near the North Wall at Pagham Harbour today. I would be tempted to go but I think the A27 is still shut due to a stupid crash just past Emsworth. The 1st winter Least Sandpiper is STILL present for its umpteenth day on the Stilt Pool at Medmerry RSPB Reserve. Will it ever fly east into Hampshire?  

My ropey film footage taken from my mobile phone of a drake Mandarin on the Pond at Keydell Nurseries, Horndean, yesterday morning.

Yellow Wagtail & Fulmar from Southsea Seafront.

 Sunday 13th April 2025.

Immature Herring Gulls on the foreshore in front of my Shelter.

It was back to the Southsea seafront for yet another ‘sea-watch’ and it looked promising with an overcast sky and showers overnight. I arrived at my usual time of 6.30am to 8.30am and almost immediately, I was onto my first Yellow Wagtail of the year. The cloud eventually disappeared leaving behind a very sunny morning and thankfully, there were a few birds of note coming through the Solent that included yet another ‘year-tick’, a Fulmar. About 10 yrs ago, I used to see these quite regularly on a Spring seawatch; but they are hard to come by of late and only seen on a windy day during the Autumn now.

Here is a summary of this morning's sightings on my ‘sea-watch’:

• Yellow Wagtail: Single bird flew in calling and then headed off north high. Similar to last year and many years before, I always seem to get at least one of this species from Southsea. Other than that, they are a regular species on Autumn passage here on the South coast.

• Common Tern: Just the one bird seen flying powerfully westbound. Hopefully, it will not be long before we get the large flocks moving eastbound.

• Sandwich Tern: Always entertaining, at least 10 birds seen this morning that included fishing birds plunging into the sea to catch a small fish. Most were just fishing back and forth though a few distant birds were heading east.

• Mediterranean Gull:  I had two large flocks containing 9 birds each heading some distance out westbound and another 4 birds going west. I could hear several birds which must have been quite high up in the bright sky.

Above, you can just see the two Whimbrel in the top right hand corner in this photo and below, the large flock of Brent Geese headed by a Wigeon of all things heading east.

Above, three photos of the Sandwich Terns. At least these flew a lot closer to the shoreline.

• Whimbrel: Four birds were recorded this morning where the first bird noted was heard high up but I failed to see the bird. Two birds together headed west and another east through the Solent.

• Brent Goose: Three separate flock went through eastbound containing 2,6 and a large flock of 19 birds that contained a Wigeon leading the way!

• Common Scoter: a flock of 6 flew distantly eastbound low over the sea but among them was a much smaller duck but too far out to ascertain its ID. Possibly a Garganey? They have a habit of mixing it with Scoter.

• Shag: Just the one adult through heading low over the water westbound.

• Gannet: an immature bird slowly making its way through the Solent heading east. This was the first immature bird I have seen this year and my third Gannet of the year.

• Linnet: One bird flew in off the sea and headed strongly northbound and two and three birds headed west over the beach.

• Fulmar: As mentioned in the summary above, the bird was heading low over the water westbound and seemed to get a bit of hassle from a couple of Herring Gulls when first seen. It then got free of the birds and sped low over the water and out of view.

All in all, not a bad ‘sea-watch’ during those two hours. After AJ’s Serin sighting earlier this week at Sandy Point, another was found by fellow ‘Lazee’ Mark Francis by the Toilet Block at Hill Head. Sadly, like the Hayling bird, it did not linger for those making their way there, which is so typical of this species. Maybe I might have one next week from the Southsea seafront? At Fishlake Meadows this morning, two Grasshopper Warblers were reported and a Little Tern was seen off the seawall at Farlington Marshes. Birding pals Matt & Emma Parkes were at Pulborough Brooks in West Sussex and saw their first Hobby of the year and good views of the Nightingales . The White-tailed Eagle also showed well.

Above, this brightly coloured liner was making its way out from Portsmouth Harbour and below, there is always some idiot climbing the rocks here despite signs to stay off them.

Back at home, I saw my first Holly Blue butterfly of the year in my garden.

This morning's Serin at Hill Head. Photo by Mark Francis.

A great trip to Fishlake and Whiteley.

Saturday 12th April 2025.

Me and the guys were off to Fishlake Meadows today in search of more migrant birds and also to meet up with Emma & Matt again at this superb Reserve. The weather was fine again, though it did get a little cloudy in the afternoon, but when the sun came out, it most certainly got a lot warmer. After Fishlake Meadows, we were a bit stuck on where to go next, so I made a suggestion in trying Whiteley Pastures for Nightingales. But before this took place, there were the Moth Boxes to check.

The Moth Boxes:

Above, Sulphur Tubic and below, a Hebrew Character.

Bloxworth Snout.

My Moth Box held absolutely bugger all early this morning, which was really disappointing; but last night, there were two Bloxworth Snouts by the Moth Box, but both had gone by the morning. Emma and Matt’s Moth Box also held no moths, so I was up to Andy’s Moth Box to save the day. There was one moth, a Hebrew Character within one of the egg boxes, but a micro moth fluttered past which, after I caught it in one of the pots, was identified as a Sulphur Tubic (Esperia sulphurella), my first of the year.  

Fishlake Meadows, Romsey:

A pair of Gadwall avoiding being lunch to a female Marsh Harrier.

As soon as we arrived at the site, the site was alive with bird song and it didn't take long to catch up with our first Sedge Warblers of the year. There were probably 10-20 birds out there on the reserve and some showed very well indeed and some were already doing their display flight. Other Warblers included large numbers of Cetti’s Warbler, Chiffchaff and Blackcaps (we watched one group of Blackcaps, 4 males and a female in one location!). There were smaller numbers of Willow Warblers and a Common Whitethroat was found near where the pathway heads west; Andy’s first of the year. We did hear several Reed Warblers, but all were deep within the reedbeds.

Above, the female Marsh Harrier passing a pair of Gadwall and below, the Cetti's Warblers were in good voice and showy too!

Above, a Cetti's Warbler and below, a male Blackcap. Both species showed very well here today. 

A female Marsh Harrier quartered the reserve several times and other raptors seen included  two Sparrowhawks, a Kestrel and numerous Common Buzzards high over the reserve. Two Red Kites drifted over and showed well, but sadly no sign of any Hobbies today. A Kingfisher showed well, though a little distant, perched by a dead tree until flying off over the reedbeds. From the Viewing Platform where we had lunch, the wildfowl present on the water included Gadwall, Mallard, Teal and a pair of Pintail and at least 8 Grey Lag Geese. A few Water Rails were heard calling from the reedbeds, but too deep within them to get a sighting.

Above, a male Blackcap by the main footpath and below, one of the many Sedge Warblers seen today.

Above, the female Marsh Harrier flew in front of us again and below, you can just make out a Kingfisher perched in this photo.

We took a walk on the north trail leading to some open fields that used to be flooded. A Green Sandpiper was reported there recently, but no sign today. We did find a couple of Grey Lag Geese and both Sedge Warbler and Chiffchaff were seen along the path. Other sightings here included a brief sighting of a Bullfinch flying from the pathway back into the bushes and at least three Willow Warblers in the nearby trees. A Raven was circling high overhead and then flew off west and a Kestrel was hunting over to the west of the reserve. A male Stonechat was seen in the field between the bushes to the north and then there were all the butterflies and insects we saw today here.

Above, a Sedge Warbler taking flight low over the reeds and below, Cuckoo Pint plants next to the footpath.

Above, my second Common Whitethroat of the year and below, this Cetti's Warbler was peeking out between the vegetation by the Canal.

Above, a friendly Robin wanting food from Andy! Below, my first Green-veined White butterfly of the year.

Above, a Large Red Damselfly and below, a dead Common Shrew.

Above, my first Small Tortoiseshell butterfly of the year and below, a preening male Reed Bunting by the Canal Path.

Above, a Common Buzzard perched high on a pylon.

Butterflies seen on the wing included my first Orange Tip, Green-veined White and Small Tortoiseshell and many Brimstone, Peacock and Speckled Woods on the wing. At least two Large Red Damselflies were seen and we even found a dead Common Shrew on the footpath. With places like this, there is always something to look at, no matter what time of the year and with such good company. It was good to meet up with Andy Tew along the Canal Path as well.

Whiteley Pastures:

Either side of the footpath, the Nightingales would sing.

Our final port of call was to be Whiteley Pastures for the Nightingales where one was reported earlier this week. We were in luck because we heard at least three birds singing deep within cover and a supporting cast of Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs to keep us entertained. It got a bit warmer in the afternoon as we were now down to our t-shirts and there was a variety of insects to be seen including Brimstone, Peacock, Small White and Speckled Wood butterflies and Emma pointed out the Bee Flies on the main footpath. 

Above, there were a good many Bee Flies on the main footpath and below, a Brimstone butterfly on a Dandelion.

Above, Lesser Celandine flowers around the base of this Silver Birch close to a stream.

We will be back probably at the end of the month or the beginning of May for the Nightjars and Woodcock which we saw here last year. In Hampshire today, yesterday's Night Heron was shown just once today early in the morning by one lucky observer. A male Whinchat was by Hayling Oyster Beds, a flock of 8 Little Gulls flew past Brownwich, however, 45 Little Gulls were seen passing Hayling Island from Gunner Point along with a Little Tern.

This Sedge Warbler was one of many, but just listen to the surrounding birds while filming the Warbler.