Photogenic fungi...

Mostly birdless barring 500 (ish) martins (no obvious Swallows), heard only Kingfisher and Yellow Wagtail. The edges of the lichen heath butting up to trees and scrubs held the most insects but still little on a breezy, totally overcast day; a couple of Colletes spp, Eupeodes latifasciatus, Dasysyrphus albiostratus, Syrphus spp, Episyrphus balteatus, Eristalis tenax, Melanostoma spp; Small Copper and Small Heath.

Not able to find the Autumn Ladies Tresses despite RC's best efforts so either going blind or (hopefully) misinterpreted directions!!

Fuligo septica ( a plasmodial slime mould, sometimes known as troll butter) and Coprinellus micaceus group above - both beside the main path

A brief pre-dental half-hour at QE produced a few new looking Small Coppers, three blues all so badly worn they could have been anything(!!) and three Firecrests in a mixed flock including two which were singing well and one of which responded strongly to my pishing, giving nice binocular-less views.

Post-dental, a walk around Farlington in a strong westerly breeze over high-tide produced a few birds, notably waders on the lake. Estimates here were 500 Redshanks, 300 Black-tailed Godwits, 125 Black-bellied Plovers, twenty Dunlins, three Snipe, three Knot and twenty Pintail, some here below. On the deeps a fine juvenile Spotted Redshank was snoozing, some more Dunlin and twenty Ringed Plovers. Also, difficult to count, but about 50 roosting Little Egrets. The Osprey was on its usual North Binness perch giving rather better scope views than previously from Broadmarsh. Insectwise just Migrant Hawkers, this male Leafcutter bee and a few fresh Small Coppers, Small Heaths and Common Blues in more sheltered area.

On the last leg this Whichat and a nearby Wheatear were pretty much the only passerines other than M'ipit and Swallow.

And earlier no Deaths-head Hawkmoth for me, just the usual stuff, although six L-album Wainscots was as many as the rest of the summer's total.

'I' marks the spot...

Yesterday, off to the bank for another tedious session which resulted in more confusion but nice weather lightened the mood and three Buzzards were over the main road en route At the garden centre one or two invisible Tree Pipits went over as did a few Swallows, and a sunbathing Painted Lady was the first I've come across for a few weeks.  With various hovers in amongst the plants I rather wished I'd brought the camera and macro!! At Bosham, prior to a light lunch, two more Buzzards were circling up into the blue and causing a local Kestrel to go a-kek-kekking.

Today was another TH Temminck's twitch, this time successful, but typically as far from any hide as possible. Still Ruff, Greenshank and three or four each of Common and Green Sandpipers A nice Whinchat perched up at the north end for a few minutes, two Ravens were playfully soaring to the west with  Sparrowhawk for company and 150+ mixed hirundines were off to the north, mostly very high.

Highlight of the day were the first Ivy Bees near the roadside viewpoint.

Black Poplar feeding frenzy

The trap had just 25/14 with two fresh L-album Wainscots the best, one here above in egg box ; plus some more Box-tree Moths.

A shortish stint at Pulborough with Pete (Carey, Gary T, Celia etc) produced a smart, juvenile Marsh Harrier and a single Whinchat on the South Brooks, just one Platycheirus rosarum but precious few other hovers. With so little on offer,  a post-lunch jaunt to WWT  was a better option.

Typically lots of strimming noise throughout and the deafening sound of the Sand Martin lure with up to 50+ birds being attracted, although non were using the perches.  A Kingfisher appeared very close in the Little Crake 'cutting' and it or others were heard around the site; the Ramsar hide was 'staked out' with Kingfisher togs so didn't stay there long. A distant Red Kite, a female Peregrine and a flyby Mandarin were best-of-the-rest.

The as yet unstrimmed edges held plenty of Water Mint etc which in itself attracted lots of Heliphilus pendulus plus a few hybridus, three Rhingia campestris and mostly Common Carder Bees. Rather surprised not to encounter any Volucellas.

Finally, the Black Poplar area was smothered in passerines as it has been in previous early Septembers with lots of tits, Chiffchaffs, a couple of Willow Warblers, two Reed Warblers a Garden Warbler and two Cettis one of which was almost close enough to touch. Sadly, the best of the light was gone and the still well-leaved trees made photography pretty much impossible.

On packing up a nice chat with Claire who I've not seen in a while.

On the bright side the HA have finally repaired all the westbound A27 so no more dodging potholes at 70mph!!

Yesterday at TH was pretty fruitless being 'Temminck's- less' with the bird, unsurprisingly, reappearing briefly just before closing and then again today. No chance to revisit 'til Friday at the earliest. Singles of Ruff and Greenshank and Turnstones up to 70+.

Today was an Ivy Bee day at PHP but sadly none found just the Colletes spp above being one of very few. The Ivy was either insectless or swarming with Vespulas. A few Tachina fera (as above) and this Small Copper was about it; the 'insect-alley', as per last year, has been cleared ready for this weekend's SotH event.

A family of Egyptian Geese have five goslings about a week old, similar to this time last year and a dozen Cormorants were showing three coarse fisherman how it's done😀. A few calling and one or two singing Chiffchaffs, a single Swallow and barely double figures of House Martin.

Finally, a brief stop at Broadmarsh produced lots of Curlews feeding at the low tide and the expected Osprey perched up on North Binness.

A long time coming..

Chinese Character, the 'bird dropping moth' is fairly common but seems to have avoided me at both sites over the 26 months of trapping and also at Blashford over the years; I guess the last would have been at Pulborough some years back. Evergestis limbata is much less widely spread but presumably here from original populations on Hayling or thereabouts. Both NfG/T.

Otherwise nothing special although yet another dark Box-tree Moth - an Essex trapper tweeted a catch of 154 of these recently!!  This Small Dusty Wave was doing a good job of blending in to the garage wall.

Birdwise TD did well locally with Hoopoe yesterday and Wryneck this morning; I should really make the effort to get out early😁😁

Locally, the change in vegetation i.e removal of Buddleia, the swamping of Water Mint and lack of umbellifers and Hemp Agrimony meant that today's Volucella zonaria was the first this year here. Plenty of Migrant Hawkers over the reeds and odd ones being blown over into the garden. The real telltale sign of autumn is the exponential increase in spiders/webs.

First day of meteorological Autumn..

... was gloriously blue and quiet and with just the right amount of light headwind to promote a mass of eastbound hirundines, mostly Swallows. Apparently two Marsh Harriers were present but not seen by me. Wader numbers have increased with 150+ godwits, Turnstones up to 40+ in the harbour, ten Snipe, three each of Green (one below) and Common Sandpipers and the single Ruff. Canada Geese were everywhere, certainly in excess of 350. Sadly, little else, still no Ivy Bees, just Eristalis horticola of interest on the hover front and the typical three species of Odonata, Southern Hawker and Common Darter being here below.