Easterlies

Been two or three days of an easterly airflow with a north east brisk wind and overcast skies turning round to a south easterly yesterday afternoon with a breezy sunny day today. Drift migrants and scarce migrants have started appearing on the east coast, seabirds have been blown into the Thames and there has been heavy hirundine passage on the south coast (e.g. 2000 Swallows an hour through Portland) and its been good for seabirds too (a Sooty Shearwater was the highlight locally). It also seems to have been good for moth migrants on the south coast (which seems a bit odd during a brisk northeasterly).

My dad visited on Friday, Steve and Trish are visiting today and as it's the last few days of summer holiday I've been swerving in some birding in between Normanising. Highlights have included good hirundine numbers over the fields towards Medmerry (must have been easily 1000 hawking yesterday evening, mainly Sand Martins), a Greenshank over the garden on Friday, daily Yellow Wagtails over the garden (15 last night) and a visit to Ferry Pool and Church Norton yesterday evening produced 55 species in 3 hours including a juv Merlin, my first autumn Wigeons and 4 nice Wheatears along the spit. Ebird list HERE. Apart from the Redstart last week I'm not seeing Flycatchers and chats on the estate or around the garden even though they have been widely seen across the Peninsula - seems to be really good round here for hirundines and wagtails but seems like other habitats/areas nearby are preferred for other migrants. 

On the moth migrant front, last night was the best with male and female Gem (NFG), 4 Delicate, 4 Olive-tree Pearl, 1 Pearly Underwing, 5 Rush Veneer, 2 Rusty-dot Pearl, 4 Dark Sword Grass, 1 Diamond-back moth, 6 Angle Shades, 5 Portland Ribbon Wave, 1 Radford's Flame Shoulder and 4 Dark Spectacle were also presumably migrants. A Scarce-bordered Straw among other common migrants on previous nights was the only additional migrant species to last nights haul. The first Centre-barred Sallow of the year heralds in the autumn. In addition to the migrants there was overall a good selection of species for early September with approx 250 of 76 species. Garden moth list is now on 354 (not all verified). 

Adult male Wheatear (above and below) 

First-winter/female Wheatear

Adult male Wheatear

Juvenile Stonechat 

Wigeon out in the harbour- winter is coming 

Centre-barred Sallow- autumn is here 

I went for Chamomile Conch, Cochylidia implicitana ?

Pearly Underwing

Male Gem 

Dark Spectacle- four of these last nights suggests they might be migrants (not had many here before)

Family trips this week included a visit to Marwell Zoo (a really good zoo with species like Okapi, Addax, Long-nosed Potoroo, Visayan warty pig, Red River Hog, Bokiboky, White-faced Saki and Snow and Clouded Leopards) and Arundel Wetland Centre (Ebird list HERE). Also had this Pike in one of the rifes (above).  We had our first Common frog in the new pond and there are also Giant Diving Beetles, smaller water beetles and whirly beetles presumably feeding on the mosquito larvae which has appeared too. Almost finished filling up the new raised beds and after we clear out the loft on Wednesday from the Old Beddington Obs the Library/Garden Office should be complete. Garden bird feeders have been up for a while but we added a tall feeding platform (reduced from £300 to £30 because the 'house' was broken which was handy as we only wanted the platform anyway) today to try and attract kestrels and owls. Looking forward to planting out the garden this winter (about an acre) in order to create some migrant habitat. 

Spent this afternoon at Church Norton beach , Steve got the boat out and did a bit of fishing but not much biting (just a small Sea Bass and a Mackerel that got away). About 20 Sandwich Tern, 5 Common Tern and some Sand Martins and Swallows moving west while we were there. By about three o'clock the winds had reorientated to a southerly/ south westerly which could be good for moth migrants tonight.