Pagham Harbour - 10th September

I headed to Pagham this morning for a Red-backed Shrike that had been present in the Halsey's Farm and North Wall area since 5th September. After school drop-off I arrived on site at 08:40 and parked at the end of Church Lane and walked out onto the seawall. I was midway along the wall when the heavens opened and I got soaked. In the fields to the north of the seawall Yellow Wagtail and Cattle Egret accompanied the grazing cows - the latter having bred locally this year. I reached the end of the seawall where the shrike has been frequenting but it was still raining and I was not especially hopeful of seeing the bird immediately. I 'pished' in the bushes and saw Sedge Warbler and Reed Warbler and roving flocks of tit produced Lesser Whitethroat and Garden Warbler. Eventually the sun began to break and bird activity began to increase, I wandered away from the shrike viewing spot  to see if it could be seen from a different angle but soon, the three gathered birders began waving and it was evident that the shrike was back in its usual spot. I short but fast walk and I was watching the first winter Red-backed Shrike back in its favoured spot and showing well. It was evidently hunting dragonflies and it was not long before it caught a male Migrant Hawker which was quickly consumed. It was time to head back to the car. My eBird checklist for the morning can be seen here.

On my return back west to Romsey I stopped briefly at the paddocks at Northey on Hayling Island where Pied Flycatcher have been seen recently, this is supposedly one of the most reliable autumn sites for the species in Hampshire but I had no luck in a very quick look. My eBird checklist can be seen here.

First winter Red-backed Shrike - Pagham Harbour

First winter Red-backed Shrike - Pagham Harbour

Greenshank, this juvenile bird has a noticeably short bill which is evidently still growing - Pagham Harbour

Shetland - 4th and 5th October

It was my final full day on Shetland and I awoke to a dreary day with rain and a north-east wind. After a brief scan too sea at Scord I headed to Sumburgh Head and birded the farm area. Numbers of migrants had dropped off considerably from yesterday with a substantial fall in Blackcap, Goldcrest and Robin numbers. Barnacle Goose flocks were heading south and a large flock of around 175 birds roamed the Fitfull Head and Sumburgh area, a single albino amongst their ranks. The Little Bunting from yesterday was still around the farm but was rather flighty. The Great Grey Shrike was still in the boulder field at Grutness and showed a little better than yesterday's rather fleeting view. My eBird lists can be viewed here and here.

Barnacle Goose flock over Fitfull Head - Sumburgh, Mainland Shetland

Great Grey Shrike - Grutness, Sumburgh, Mainland Shetland

I then headed a short way north to Toab where a 1st winter Bluethroat showed occasionally but a little distantly in a potato field near to the post office. Also in this field were four Brambling and a Siskin. My eBird checklist can be viewed here.

Bluethroat - Toab, Sumburgh, Mainland Shetland

I then headed a short way north again to North Town close to Exnaboe. Here a lovely Red-breasted Flycatcher showed well in a garden, calling frequently and occasionally being chased by Robin's. My eBird checklist can be videwed here.

Red-backed Shrike - North Town, Exnaboe, Mainland Shetland

With little else being in the south of the mainland I headed up to Asta, just to the west of Lerwick for an Olive-backed Pipit that had been showing well in the Sycamore's around the village. This is a superb area that I had not visited before but am sure to head back to. After a little searching I located the pipit feeding in the leaf litter below the Sycamore's and spent a ten minutes with the bird before it flew, seemingly a short way south, and could not be relocated. My eBird checklist can be viewed here.

Olive-backed Pipit - Asta, Mainland Shetland

Olive-backed Pipit - Asta, Mainland Shetland

Olive-backed Pipit - Asta, Mainland Shetland

I then headed back south with the intention of doing some general birding but decided to call in on the Red-backed Shrike at Boddam which eventually showed fairly well as the rain began to fall. I wandered to the derelict cottage at the summit of the hill north of Boddam and in the garden here were a Blue Tit (scarce on Shetland), Yellow-browed Warbler and an Olive-backed Pipit. My eBird checklist can be viewed here.

Red-backed Shrike - Boddam, Mainland Shetland

I then birded Leebitten and Sandwick but saw relatively little, the highlights being two Red-throated Diver and six Swallow at Sandwick. My eBird checklists can be viewed here and here.

On my final day I only had an hour or so before needing to get my 10:10 flight back to London. I birded Grutness and saw relatively little, the Great Grey Shrike was still present and I had good views of a lovely male Siskin. And that was it, time to head back to Hampshire after a fantastic trip to Shetland. My final eBird checklist can be viewed here.

Siskin- Grutness, Sumburgh, Mainland Shetland

Various Things- May to July 2019

For Sarah and I it has been a frantic late spring and early part of the summer, the completion of the sale of our business has taken over our lives and between dealing with this and trying to keep on top of work there has been little or no time to get out and about. Here, in summary, are a few things I have done this year between late May and late July.

A stay at our cottage in the Cotswolds for a weekend allowed me a rare moment of moth trapping. There was nothing exceptional in the trap in the morning but the following were of interest.

Treble Lines showing variation in the markings - Cowley, Cheltenham

Purple Bar, a common and widespread species that feeds on Bedstraws - Cowley, Cheltenham

White-spotted Pinion  - Cowley, Cheltenham

Yellow-barred Brindle, a localised species feeding on species such as Holly, Ivy and Privet - Cowley, Cheltenham

Small Elepant Hawk-moth - Cowley, Cheltenham

Green Silver-lines - Cowley, Cheltenham

Gold Spot - Cowley, Cheltenham

Miller - Cowley, Cheltenham

Poplar Hawk-moth - Cowley, Cheltenham

Yellow Shell - Cowley, Cheltenham

June was a very wet and windy month and so curtailed most of my invertebrate survey work and I popped down to Pennington Marsh on a couple of occasions in windy and often wet conditions.

Shelduck brood and an incubating Avocet - Pennington Marsh

Shelduck chicks - Pennington Marsh

Avocet and Little Ringed Plover - Pennington Marsh

Avocet and chicks - Pennington Marsh

Well grown Avocet chick taken on the same day as the above image reflecting the extended breeding period of the species - Pennington Marsh

Little Ringed Plover - Pennington Marsh

Juvenile Sand Martin resting from the winds and rains - Pennington Marsh

Juvenile Sand Martin - Pennington Marsh

Redshank - Pennington Marsh

Redshank - Pennington Marsh

Hunting Little Egret - Pennington Marsh

Returning and non-breeding Black-tailed Godwit - Pennington Marsh

Much of my summer work has been dominated by invertebrate surveys with Adam Wright along the A358 in Taunton, Portsmouth Water sites in Hampshire and West Sussex and along the A417 in Gloucestershire. Here are a few images of some of the more interesting species we have recorded.

The Marsh Fly (a Snail-killing Fly) Coremacera marginata - Portsdown hill, Fareham

During the late June and July I recorded Downland Villa at two sites three sites in the Cotswolds and one near to Droxford in Hampshire. This previously very rare species has been making a comeback in recent years with a series of sites being found in the Cotswolds and southwards into Dorset and Hampshire.

The hoverfly Parhelophilus frutetorum - Taunton

White-legged Damselfly - Taunton

The spider Misumena vatia with prey and the beetle Oedemera nobilis, the spider has captured the fly on hogweed and the beetle is perched on the back of the spider - Taunton

The Click-beetle Agrypus murinus - Near to Arundel

The Nationally Scarce bee Osmia bicolor - Birdlip, Gloucestershire

The Nationally Scarce bee Hylaeus signatus - Portsdown Hill, Hampshire

Female Red-backed Shrike self-found during an invertebrate survey at Birdlip, Gloucestershire on 26th June. There have been five records of this species in Gloucestershire since 1971 all of which have been day birds.

Common Broomrape - Portsdown Hill, Hampshire

Lizard Orchid at a site near to Arundel, West Sussex

Lizard Orchid at a site near to Arundel, West Sussex

Lizard Orchid at a site near to Arundel, West Sussex

Fly Orchid at a site near to Arundel, West Sussex

Bee Orchid at a site near to Arundel, West Sussex

Bee Orchid at a site near to Arundel, West Sussex

Bee Orchid at a site near to Arundel, West Sussex

Common Spotted Orchid at a site near to Arundel, West Sussex

Pyramidal Orchid at a site near to Arundel, West Sussex

A short trip to Noar Hill Nature Reserve near to Selbourne in Hampshire on 24th June produced a few nice orchid species.

Common Twayblade - Noar Hill NNR, Hampshire

Common Fragrant Orchid - Noar Hill NNR, Hampshire

Common Fragrant Orchid - Noar Hill NNR, Hampshire

White form of Common Fragrant Orchid - Noar Hill NNR, Hampshire

Musk Orchid - Noar Hill NNR, Hampshire

Musk Orchid - Noar Hill NNR, Hampshire

After much searching I eventually found a single Frog Orchid 

- Noar Hill NNR, Hampshire

The Nationally Scarce plant Dragon's-teeth - Noar Hill NNR, Hampshire

Knapweed Broomrape - Noar Hill NNR, Hampshire

I recorded a few of the Horsefly Chrysops caecutiens in my garden - Romsey, Hampshire

This year I eventually managed to get around to buying a set of Clearwing pheromone lures and while a took them to a few sites with me, surprisingly, my moderately urban garden in Romsey produced the greatest range of species most of which are new for me.

Red-belted Clearwing - Romsey, Hampshire

Red-tipped Clearwing - Romsey, Hampshire

A peak count of 11 Orange-tailed Clearwing - Romsey, Hampshire

Orange-tailed Clearwing - Romsey, Hampshire

Yellow-legged Clearwing - Romsey, Hampshire

Yellow-legged Clearwing - Romsey, Hampshire