Some nice, fine Autumn weather

Yesterday, a visit to TH started with a group of Eider, fourteen strong, from the 'seawatch bench' with a couple of noisy Sandwich Terns calling from the beach.

IC told me of the trapped and ringed Yellow-browed Bunting at Abbotsbury; doesn't seem as if it was seen again - not that twitching ANYTHING out of county is on the cards.

Meonshore was full of local photographers commenting on the much reduced water levels and struggling to get pictures of the two Little Stints, two Grey Plovers, two Common Sandpipers, single Curlew Sandpiper and three Glossy Ibises. Snipe, hunkered down, numbered about ten, mostly on the usual island.

Although distant, it was nice to see two Hobbies hunting well to the north against a background of high and distant hirundines which typically disappeared as they dispersed higher.

A lone Reed Warbler flew in front of the hide and later a single Water Rail was on the muddy margins of the river at low water.

And finally a Clouded Yellow barrelled southwards.

Today, locally just White spp butterflies, Speckled Woods, Common Darters and Migrant Hawkers with the first local Cetti's Warbler for some time calling from the scrub adjacent to the bus-stop.

Mostly sparse!!

Today, a brief visit to Chichester, where despite very nice conditions, little insect activity in the gardens. A Large White on Verbena bonariensis and a very fresh Small Copper, presumably third gen, below plus a Green Shieldbug in the wildlife garden which, after small scale re-landscaping, seems to hold less insects!!

Just a few inbound and invisible calling Meadow Pipits and Grey Wagtail over rooftops. A couple of days ago a single Raven was at home gronking away from the top of the conifer.

In the Community Orchard just calling Chiffchaff.

Yesterday was an early start for an 07:30 meet up with CP at GWH and the last moth session of the year. Probably not worth getting out of bed for, being sunny but cold although less windy than overnight. A tatty Scarce Bordered Straw was new but the Barred Sallows uptaking moisture from the moss on the picnic table were nice to watch as were very fresh specimens of L-album Wainscot and Angle Shades. An ichneumon, later identified as Eutanyacra crispatoria, was the only notable by- catch. A few pictures below. Back home by 09:20

Saturday morning at home had a typically small moth catch (30/18) but a second Golden Twin-spot made it worthwhile and, unsurprisingly, Lunar Underwing and Clancy's Rustic were NfY. Probably only one or two more sessions in the next couple of weeks assuming still, dry and moonless nights.

Pictures to follow.

Wednesday 10th

Monday saw a short visit to Chi for a lunch with M and P.  The cathedral's insect patch had a nice looking plant for both ground cover and late-season pollinator interest, namely Ceratostigma plumbaginoides and Mark provided some further plant suggestions.

Tuesday, after chores and a coffee in the QECP cafe, saw me checking out the 'butterfly slope' where a nice male Redstart, presumably 1cy, showed well but briefly before being chased off by a Robin. 'Tacking' nearby alerted to two male Blackcaps, although I'm sure more would be present. Calling Bullfinches (2), Goldcrests (3) and Firecrest(1) also. Curiously no Chiffchaffs seen or heard. Just two Common Darters along the tarmac and no odonota on the pond.

Wednesday, after shopping and in windy and showery weather, saw nil from the castle and seafront but nice to see the Bistort, popular with a variety of hoverflies, other diptera and bees back in the summer, was keeping lots of Common Wasps busy even in poor weather.

Hopefully, tomorrow will see a morning at TH.

And summer is over ... just like that!!

The last few days of August have seen a return to more typical autumn weather with heavy rain last night and more forecast for the days ahead according to the forecast.

August has been mostly birdless, although at Arundel the breeding Cattle Egrets and Little Egrets, semi-resident Great White Egrets, Marsh Harrier and Peregrine families plus the Sand Martin colony have provided some entertainment.

Titchfield has been lacking anything of note and Farlington produced a few new-for-years (Osprey, Yellow Wagtail, Whinchat and Clouded Yellows) on an RSPB walk with Paul but distant or fleeting views only.

Pulborough again was birdless on Wednesday (26th) with extensive work on the south Brooks and little water on the north Brooks and just a single Green Sandpiper on the limited mud. About 200+ Swallows and ten or more House Martin's were the only other recorded birds. A nice female Adder (shown to a couple of visitors) was easily the highlight of the day - and quite possibly my last Adder of the year.

The previous visit here on the 12th had a distant Wood Sandpiper and one of the adult eagles crossed the A29 in front of me south of the river.

Moths have been thin on the ground with a 'kicked-up' Vestal (possibly  a lifer) on Hayling on the way to the paddocks - with a long chat to KC whilst failing to find the Pied Flycatcher.

At home the best moths have been:-

Swallow Prominent, Maiden's Blush, Large Thorn, Ringed Chinamark, Acleris variegana, Lyonetia clarkella, Portland Ribbon Wave, Palpita vitrealis, Clay Triple-lines, Acrobasis tumidana and a Copper Underwing spp.

Sadly, I was up too late for the August moth session at GWH and they had a decent catch too! Hopefully there's one final session this year, next month.

A brief walk around the top half of Iping on the 22nd with KM, after a nice fry-up brunch at Aylings, produced little until a Hornet Robberfly carrying a Sarcophaga spp popped up. Pretty chuffed to see this, only my second of this declining species with the last one being almost exactly eighteen years ago! Shame I made a dog's breakfast of getting a photo.

Second half of July

Local

All three Reed Warblers stopped singing two weeks ago so presumably all departed and no obvious sign of successful breeding. Young, unfledged Moorhens are still surviving.

On a couple of days single Swallows increased to five, ten and more, twittering away and hunting at ground level but no sound of Swifts here in the last week. 

On the 29th a very noisy female Tufted Duck with three tiny young was 'alarming' to a fox with its head under the wire just feet away - the dopey Mallards all swam nearer for a closer look!!

One or two calling Willow Warblers were hiding in thick scrub.

The Essex Skippers are all 'done and dusted' leaving just a few very tatty Meadow Browns, a few whites and still plenty of Gatekeepers- it seems to have been a good year for them. Singles of Small Copper, Holly Blue and this Painted Lady, below.

Three species of Grasshopper within a few yards namely, Lesser Marsh, Field and Meadow.

The only dragonfly left to appear here is Migrant Hawker which I'm sure will pop up in the next week or two. The small pond has Southern Hawker and a few paired, ovipositing Common Darters. One or two blue damselflies here might be Common rather than Azure based on last year but I'll need to take bins or a bigger camera lens to check.

Astata Boops appeared on the pond's fence and more recently both Volucella inanis and Volucella zonaria are to be seen on Hemp Agrimony and Eristalinus sepulchralis has been on umbellifers on a couple of occasions. 

The Ragwort, splendidly covered in a variety of inverts two weeks ago, has now gone to seed and 'butterfly alley' is feeling empty until next spring. A few soldier beetles and Eriothrix rufomaculata are all that's left. Unlike elsewhere, where umbellifers are very numerous and productive there's little left here with any nectar value.

Moth trapping has been slow and either TOO hot or not worth doing with overnight wind and rain but Toadlax Brocade and a new micro, Duponchelia fovealis plus a few Jersey Tigers make it worthwhile.

Chichester Community Orchard

The first Common Damselfly and Volucella inanis of the year.

Titchfield Haven

Flight only views of Norfolk Hawker was the only notable sighting from the reserve.

Two Green Sandpipers, one Common and two returning Turnstones were the best of the waders but singles of Arctic and Roseate Tern were too elusive for those of us on site.

Pulborough

A virtually blank visit, mostly a catch-up with PW, but also handicapped by no water on the south brooks and disturbance on the north brooks; passerines now almost totally silent. Roe Deer the only thing in my notes.

Iping Common

Late breakfast plus a couple of purchases at Aylings prior to a short walk out along the top path. Four singing Yellowhammers, two perched up nicely, were the only birds and not a single Silver-studded Blue.

The scrub around the carpark produced the most insects with Nyctia halterata the best.

Too hot and dry.... for me!

Local stuff.

First Essex Skippers, Black-tailed Skimmer and Common Darter of the year plus this beetle confirmed as Paropisterna selmani (Tasmanian Eucalyptus Beetle).

GWH Plant Fair  (14th June)

Little on offer today, just this Cheilosia illustrata and a few Common Spotted and Pyramidal Orchids.

Iping Common (13th June)

Thyridanthrax fenestratus. Plenty of these in company of Ammophila sand wasps - possibly pubescens

A bee casualty of Cerceris rybiensis and one of many (hundreds) Silver-studded Blues, predominantly males.

Nice to hear Tree Pipits, Woodlarks, Yellowhammers and Dartford Warblers with great views of one male of the latter which came in close and perched up. A single Spotted Flycatcher was my best bird of the morning; sad how they've declined so far.

Lunch at Aylings and back out for another hour on the common where it was now too hot to enjoy. Distant kites, buzzards and Swallows were it on the 'aerialist' front.

Local bugs

 

(Chichester BPGx3, Eristalinus sepulchralis, Heteromyza spp, maybe commixta or rotundicornis, Treble Lines, Oligia app, Hydropsyche spp, Cantharis rustica, Nematoda nitidula, Closterotomus trivialis, Epistrophe diaphana)

Long awaited tick

Up early(ish) to check the moth trap and a decent amount of noisy Med Gulls overhead enjoying invisible inverts.

A few moths were on the fence and I popped off a few pictures before dealing with the electrics. Having hoped for this day for some years I was really chuffed to find the first moth on the top-most eggbox was a pristine Striped Hawkmoth!! Not just a first for the garden or trap but a full blown lifer!! This more than made up for a small amount of the usual suspects. Much later in the day, having been out and about, I doubled checked my camera before clearing the card only to find the first picture of the day was another lifer, albeit the far less spectacular and commoner Buttoned Snout.

Social media has had plenty of Striped Hawkmoth pictures in recent days but the rural farwest or Portland Bill seems a much better bet than a strip of concrete in urban Portsmouth.

Took advantage of the last day on my GWH membership and was pleased to bump into CP who showed me some really nice photos of recent moths there including Shears, a species I've never seen.

A stroll around the grounds in very fine weather wasn't exactly heaving with bugs but at least provided some new-for-years; Meadow Brown, Small Heath, Chrysotoxum cautum, Chrysotoxum bicinctum, Yellow Shell, Painted Lady and lots of White Helleborine.

Birds were typically thin with just a few Swifts, displaying Buzzards and two, heard-only Firecrests. 

P.S. A Rusty Dot Pearl in the trap was another potential immigrant.

Post-chore walk

All three Reed Warblers still singing strongly but invisible since they arrived. The swans have managed to keep their last cygnet.... so far.

A Swallow zipped over- I'm guessing if it's a local breeder then it must be on the golf course, allotments or stables.

A soaring Sparrowhawk was the first for a while but no clues as where it might be nesting.

Unphotographed inverts included Broad-bodied Chaser and what was probably a Black-tailed Skimmer, Nettle-tap Moth, yet more Fairy-ring Longhorns, Salticus scenicus and a few hovers.

Below Broad Centurion, Amblyteles armatorius, Swollen-thighed Beetle, spiderlings, Osmia caerulescens, Lackey Moth caterpillars and Megachile spp.

Just random local stuff

The weather has deteriorated over the past few days and today, Tuesday, looks to be a write-off.  The WSBW get-together at Farlington was wisely cancelled. 

Just a few localminverts below.

(Xysticus spp spider, Harlequin Ladybird, Pseudovadonia livida, Holly Blue, Eumerus spp, Macrophya rufipes, Waved Umber)

Local today

Awake at 4am as usual and rather wished I'd put the moth trap out as tonight has a decent amount of rain in the forecast. At first light Med Gulls were heading overhead calling and a hour or two later a fox was in and out of the gardens.

A local walk found three Reed Warblers singing with the assumed departed bird adjacent to the library singing strongly again.  The swans are now down to a single cygnet and on the island four tea-plate sized terrapins were basking.

Last week Yellow-legged Mining Bees were still excavating in the compacted soil in the six-a-side goal mouths with their parasite Nomada fucata in attendance; today just the N.fucata was seen. 

The Water Mint in the pond is coming along but just one male Broad-bodied Chaser hunkering down out of the breeze and no other Odonata. Numerous Swollen-thighed Beetles and a few Broad Centurions plus a single Eristalinus sepulchralis were the only obvious insects mostly on Ox-eyes.

A single Agapeta hamana, my first this year was seen.

No photos.

After last week's tick, a dip

Fairly early arrival (for me!!) at Pulborough hoping for the Temminck's Stint but, despite myself and others looking, no sign today and no later reports on social media. One of the drake Garganeys was still on show although not nearly as close as the last two visits. Apart from two LRPs, three Ringed Plovers and a single Black'wit it was pretty quiet with recently seen Hobbies also a no-show.

Decamped to WWT for coffee and lunch. Caught up with Alex and Mike but everyone was struggling to find anything of interest. The male Peregrine on its usual perch, the male Marsh Harrier and the very red-legged Great White Egret were about it.

Andrena minutula group seen and a Sharp-angled Carpet sat up on a leaf but soon fluttered away.

This Common Spotted Orchid was one of four popping out.

(Phania funesta, Lindenius albilabris, faded Small Copper, Malachite Beetle, Dolichovespula media)

May 16th At last!! A twitch.

I was just  planning for a non-birding day when a glance at my phone saw that MF (who else?) had found a Hudsonian Godwit at Titchfield on the scrapes. Moments later I was in the car heading over and arriving and parking on Cliff Road where I met up with DW. We collected tickets from the temporary office and strode rather purposefully (!!) to MSH. I was surprised on arrival to find the hide empty but the godwit flock was wheeling  around and picking-up the distinctive underwing colour of the Hud'wit took just a few seconds. Unsurprisingly, others started to arrive but the bird soon flipped over into North Scrape so we all decamped to the next hide where MR was policing entries. Needless to say quite a few were ticketless but paid up. The hide was crammed and after a while I went back to MSH which was still quiet. The godwit flock popped back into South Scrape where the bird came closer and was in much better light.

Elsewhere three Spoonbils were on the ffying pan before I got there and again after I'd left. Not sure if they'd gone in between times or else were sleeping and invisible behind the now very high vegetation.

This small  Southern Marsh Orchid was my first of the year.

Two Male Eiders were close inshore with this one polishing off a crab were nice to watch.

NB Depending on source the Hud'wit appears to be the eighth for UK and needless to say a first for the reserve and county. For me my only sighting was of a single bird  in 1982 at some pools near Point Pelee in Canada with AH and KT.

Hud'wit in flight above courtesy Mark Francis

(Eider with crab, Southern Marsh Orchid, Broad-bodied Chaser, paired and egg-laying Azure and Large Red Damselflies)