To Autumn by John Keats

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness

Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun

Conspiring with him how to load and bless

With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eves run;

To bend with apples the moss'd cottage-trees,

And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;

To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells

With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,

And still more, later flowers for the bees,

Until they think warm days will never cease,

For Summer has o'er-brimm'd their clammy cells.

Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store?

Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find

Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,

Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind;

Or on a half-reap'd furrow sound asleep,

Drows'd with the fume of poppies, while thy hook

Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers:

And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep

Steady thy laden head across a brook;

Or by a cider-press, with patient look,

Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours.

Where are the songs of Spring? Ay, where are they?

Think not of them, thou hast thy music too,–

While barred clouds bloom the soft-dying day,

And touch the stubble-plains with rosy hue;

Then in a wailful choir the small gnats mourn

Among the river sallows, borne aloft

Or sinking as the light wind lives or dies;

And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;

Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft

The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft;

And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.

Another 'curate's egg' type of day...

...at Blashford where a juvenile Peregrine was circling over Ibsley Water on arrival before drifting off eastwards. News of an Osprey at Kingfisher Lake didn't materialise into a Tern Hide flyover sadly. Plenty of the usual geese and fish-eaters here but just one Common Sandpiper and Walter who had earlier been on Ivy Lake. Later, scanning produced two redhead Goosanders and a surprise in the form of two Cattle Egrets (a site tick I think) which appeared out of thin air and promptly vanished mid-conversation twenty minutes later.

On Ivy Lake a brief visit by one Kingfisher was to the one perch where photography is defeated by light all day; and it scarpered 'tout-suite'.
In the distance, one or possibly two Hobbies put on a great flying display.

Insectwise the heather held a single Dasysyrphus tricinctus and the pond area a female Volucella zonaria plus Xylota segnis; pretty much no other hovers, no Colletes etc but three hunting Hornets and, obviously at this time of year, loads of Migrant Hawkers.

Three tatty Brown Argus and a fresh Comma were the best of the butterflies

The home moth trap held this smart Yellow Shell and Blashford's traps just this Angle Shades and Pebble Hooktip.

Finally, the Red Arrows sped eastwards returning after a display session at Bournemouth.

Off to check the fence line...

... a euphemism for... err.... checking for Spot Flys on a fence post!!
On the reserve a stint spp, presumed Little, but distant in company of a Dunlin and six Black-tailed Godwits plus several Green Sandpipers and at least eight Snipe. Three or four Buzzards and three Kestrels kept thing on their toes.

A mixed flock near Little Hanger held Blackcap, Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Garden Warbler and a few Chiffs in amongst tits and Treecrepers.

Highlight at Westmead was a cracking Hobby chasing dragonflies.

With things a bit thin this  Corizus hyoscyami in the courtyard was the ONLY photo-op!!

A very still, windless but mostly overcast day with wasps outnumbering everything else especially on umbellifers. Nothing exceptional amongst the hovers although probable multiple Cheilosia pagana were the first I've seen for a while and a couple of Dasysyrphus albiostratus were always good to get. This (typically unidentifiable) Sharp-tailed Bee (Coelioxys spp) was the first I've managed to photograph. These tend to parasitise Megachile spp although I didn't notice any nor indeed much other bee action; again, no  C. hederae.
This smart Small Copper (above) popped up and was gone in a flash; a supporting cast of four Holly Blues and a few Red Admirals was it for butterflies

Birdwise, three of four Whitethroats and maybe 75 mixed hirundines were about it for passerines. A typically west bound Raven was very audible.

The singles of Ruff and Common Sandpiper were elusive on far sides of the islands with the former only visible from the third hide looking south.

This Cormorant was curiously close on the 'groyne' adjacent to the river outflow and not disturbed by the large duck-feeding family group on the beach; I'm not sure I've ever seen one inside the harbour.

Earlier the moth trap didn't produce much (25/13) with a smart, fresh L-album Wainscot the best; thankfully still not caught any wasps here.

From garden Scaeva pyrastri, Marmalade Fly, Sphaerophoria spp and
Hairy Shieldbug (formerly Sloe Bug) Dolycoris baccarum (below).

Solved last week's Blashford hover mystery and, as suspected, Chalcosyrphus nemorum.

Last visit to TH produced little and just this V. inanis photographed.

Today in 10 minutes at Ivy Lake no sign of any Black Terns and just 60+ Sand Martins. Then on to the Fox for lunch with ex-colleagues; nice curry and Doom Bar and good company (photo courtesy MD). A postprandial stroll along the prom produced a wader skittering along the beach which looked like a Common Sandpiper.

Small Blood-vein

Pandemis corylana

Two days back to back with pretty much nothing; flash by Kingfisher and a single Raven at Blashford (plus a chat with Keith and Jackie) and today at TH, just juvenile Kestrel and Sparrowhawk spatting, a single Greenshank, four Swifts and under 200 Common Terns. Still no Ivy Bees, although it was pretty cool today. Three Holly Blues were the best of the butterflies.

Wryneck on a post....

... the classic sign of early Autumn but sadly, and unsurprisingly, absent from Pulborough today where no water, no birds and precious few insects. The Blackberries are about it for signs of Autumn although there were also a few Sloes.

The Fleabane held most of the hovers including Eristalis arbustorum, Eupeodes latifasciatus(below) and Eristalinus sepulchralis. A hunting Hornet was the best invert. Not sure what this bug, below, is. EDIT Deraeocoris ruber

Nice to catch up with CH over a coffee for the first time since March.

An Angle Shades was by far the best, freshest looking moth (out of 30 of 22) but wasn't up for posing. This Twenty-plumed was a first for me, perched up nicely on a window but jumped just before I focussed, so just this blurry eggbox shot. A couple more Box-tree Moths and Pyrausta despicata and Spectacle which were both NfG/T and just the usual fare otherwise. Quite a bit  of dew on the perspex and a few of the boxes for the first time this year. Later searching shed walls etc added another five moths including a Green Carpet only the second I've caught and new for the year here.

After yesterday's aberration, normal (yeah right!!) service was resumed today with a couple of hours at Titchfield. Rather tempted to enjoy the breakfast and OD on coffee whilst doing the cryptic crossword and watching the gazillions of Common Terns on the dropping tide; luckily Amy estimated them at 550+ which saved me attempting a count. Result!!

East side insects were few in overcast and breezy conditions although both Volucella spp were present and several Platycheirus rosarum were obvious in the grassier area.

 This juvenile Sprawk was having a scratch and this Kestrel, one of three juveniles in the air at the same time, seemed to like returning to this bush.

At Meon Shore eight Yellow Wagtails were low flyovers, Cettis and Water Rail were both in front of the hide and a Wood Sandpiper was flying around 'chiff-if-if' ing. Other waders were just a couple of Snipe and a single Avocet.

North Scrape had two Kingfishers, one here, and a couple of Greenshanks.
The 300+ Canada Geese were rather less welcome as was the much increased water levels.

Finally, this Common Darter was perched up on the Darter's Dip bench; neither Migrant nor Southern Hawkers felt like stopping.

Helophilus pendulus

Hinton Ampner, Essential Carer and Access For All..

Mum's new NT membership with additional 'carer' access made an outing to Hinton Ampner a new venture today and, whilst the weather was grey with spits and spots of rain, the gardens still looked interesting.

A new, much price-reduced cool bag doubling as a camera bag was a good purchase as was the pear chutney; I did, reluctantly, draw the line at the 'craft' Gin - maybe next time!!

A few hovers with Rhingia campestris the first for many weeks, the odd Buzzard and 'chittering ' House Martins was about it for wildlife. This wasp was looking to get hammered and bad-tempered on this rotting and fermenting apple.

Thorn in my side..

Pretty thin after a cool breezy night and foxed by this Thorn which looked obviously large; but being sleepy-headed Large Thorn didn't occur to me so thanks to FB.
A new species for trap and garden and I don't recall seeing one anywhere else over the years. This Garden Tiger was typically in the bottom layer of egg boxes. Curiously, not a single moth perched up on the trap nor surrounding walls and windows.

Decent late-season hover total..

A slightly curious day with nothing too special but just enough to keep entertained. Early arrival, and with no moth trap, a quick coffee by the pond and a check for last week's 'mysterious' hoverfly to no avail. A flyover calling Tree Pipit was followed by a calling but invisible Yellow Wagtail. Later, this Kingfisher popped up, sadly badly lit in front of ISH, so this is a pretty poor shot; later it or another was perched up in front of IVN. Interestingly, three different calling Water Rails on Silt Pond and from IVS and IVN, so maybe breeding on site??

A total of 17 species/genera of hoverfly including Dasysyrphus albiostratus and tricincta, Eristalinus sepulchralis and Chrysotoxum bicinctum was pretty good for little effort and very few individuals.

Searching for Colletes cuckoos in the 'sweeping meadow' produced a few Epiolus, probably variegatus rather than cruciger and a handful of Brown Argus, plus plenty of 'kicked-up' grass moths, probably Agriphila straminella or thereabouts.

A 'tog fest' with John, Bruce, Bill and Maurice in Tern Hide was fruitless with just two distant Ravens and nothing along the shoreline. Otherwise just the usual numbers of geese, cormorants, grebes and herons

Day in..

Nineteen of fourteen in the trap (actually, mostly on the shed and garage walls/windows) were thin pickings but Box-tree Moth was NfG/T. This dagger and a Garden Tiger were best-of-the-rest.

Rosy oh rosy...

The highlight of a flat, grey day in every sense was a Rosy Wave (nationally scarce and new for me), first on Ivor's smartphone and then 'in person' on the building wall adjacent to the security light along with a Light Emerald and Double-striped Pug.

Elsewhere the sprawk family, one above, were hassled by Magpies; no sign of any harriers and not a lot on south scrape. Probably 10-15 Turnstones.

One close and rather watchable Sedge Warbler, some heard-only Bearded Tits and maybe 25+ House Martins were it for passerines. At least two calling Water Rails.

The above Holly Blue was the best of butterflies.

Where's Wally...

.... there he is !! No problem in finding Walter for the first time this summer but the awful hide glass in fixed windows makes for a poor photo.

Elsewhere in the meadow now several Colletes succinctus but no sign of its cuckoo Epiolus cruciger. Too cool and overcast for other insects and the few Brown Argus (above) and Common Blues are all worn now. This Chrysops relictus Twin-lobed Deerfly) was the first I've seen for a while.

Birdwise the tern rafts are now all deserted, the ISH Reed Warblers are still present and two (or more) Kingfishers were active on Ivy Lake and Silt Pond with it or others calling on Dockens Water. Two or three Wigeon, presumably birds seen on previous visits, were still present.

No moths today although Silver Y and Agriphila tristella were both kicked up.

Around the pond these Southern and Migrant Hawkers were active prior to the deterioration in weather. The only hover here looked like Chalcosyrphus nemorum or Xylota abiens but wasn't giving much away; I know RC has had the latter here before.

Ibsley W had 150 martins, mostly Sand, 75 Cormorants, 50+ GCGs, 40+ Grey Herons, 50+ Mute Swan but just singles of Dunlin and Common Sandpiper and no other waders. Just a single Sprawk and two Common Buzzards.

Uneventful journey home although the typical August jam west-bound persists along the A31.

Good to catch up with H over a phone call prior to her European jaunt with the family. H2's less welcome call was fielded by M thankfully.