Lots of migrants

The calm and warm conditions continue and last night was muggy and cloudy resulting in my best night for moth migrants since we moved here.

It's not just insects on the move either- large number of hirundines have appeared in the Lane and there have been up to 30 Yellow Wagtails feeding in the fields around our garden and a couple of Tree Pipits flying around too. 

Due to work commitments I haven't been able to get out beyond the garden and lane but there seems to be lots going on around here anyway. 

200-250 mixed House Martins, Sand Martins and Barn Swallows (and also a single Swift been around). Simply wonderful to have this iconic sight of staging hirundines on the wires literally in our front garden

The House Martins were actually landing in the poplar trees and gleaning insects from the leaves 

Another Beautiful Marbled (above) , two Porter's Rustics (below) and Olive-tree Pearl (below that) were the highlights of a good moth migrant night which also included L-album Wainscot, Four-spotted Footman, Radford's Flame Shoulder, 9 Portland Ribbon Wave, 2 Dark Sword Grass, 2 Silver-Y, 5 Rusty-dot Pearl, 6 Rush Veneer and 3 Angles Shades

The second Porter's Rustic was a bit more tatty. Apparantely some of the Porter's Rustics in this influx could possibly have been Aethis lepigone, a species I have encountered in Bulgaria HERE. Had a quick look at how to seperate them and not easy by looks of it- presumably gen dent. 

Large Thorn (above) was a lifer and Campion (below) was a first for the garden. Garden year list now on 349. 

Gorse Groundling, Mirificarma mulinella- as far as I can remember this is a lifer. Thanks to Stephen Palmer for the identification. 

A steady trickle

There's been a steady trickle of migrants this week following the stormy conditions. Across the peninsula there are numerous Redstarts (4-5), Whinchats (4-5), Wheatears (15-20), Spotted Flycatchers (7-8) and a few Tree Pipits. On Monday I checked out Ferry and Mill Lane Marsh and later went for a walk with the boys on the Pagham to Medmerry cycle path. Highlights included the juvenile Curlew Sandpiper and a Spotted Redshank on Ferry and 2 Greenshank, 6 Snipe, 4 Green Sandpiper, a few Blackwits and Water Rails on Mill Lane Marsh and we had a nice male Redstart, Whinchat, Stonechats and a couple of Cattle Egrets along the cycle path. Ebird lists HERE and HERE. 

Yesterday evening (the weather was warm and sunny with a southerly airflow) there was notable influx of hirundines over the garden with 95 House Martins, 45 Sand Martins, 35 Swallows and a single Swift. There were also about 15 Yellow Wagtails flying around and it looked like they were getting on the sheep fields. Ebird list HERE.

On the moth front there were around 250 of 60 last night including quite a few common migrants, 2 Dark Sword Grass, 6 Rush Veneer, 1 Rusty-dot Pearl, 9 European Corn Borer, 6 Angle Shades and 5 White-points. The first Spindle Knot-horn for the garden takes the garden list to 343.

Male Redstart

Hirundines on the garden wires

Roe Deer in the field opposite the house 

Yellow Belle- a NFG and also possibly a moth lifer.  I stringed this for a Powdered Pearl at first (it was in with a group of European Corn Borers so I started looking in the Crambids for an id), still getting my eye in on the expectants round here. 

European Pepper Moth, Duponchelia fovealis- classified as an adventive/ scarce immigrant in the literature, this species is regular in the garden with one or two on many nights

Pinion-streaked Snout 

Old Lady

A Phyllonorycter sp. Maybe one of the acer feeding species HERE

Stormy Weekend

Storm Lilian (Ex-Ernesto) intensified here on Friday before giving way to heavy rain for most of Saturday. Unfortunately only one Balearic Shearwater was the result of the storm and I didn't see that, the only bird of note I had was another Kittiwake past the bill. In the aftermath of the storm there seems to be a few passerines concentrated on the Peninsula with Spot Flys, Redstarts, Whinchat and Wheatears recorded yesterday afternoon and this morning. The Osprey is still around and I've yet to bump into that too. As it's the last week of the summer holiday it's going to be difficult to get time in the field but looking forward to the extra free time and birding time once the boys start their new school next week.  

A check of Mill Lane Marsh over the weekend revealed the Wood Sandpiper, Greenshank, Green Sandpiper, two Blackwits and a couple of Water Rail but most of the waders had been blown off the more exposed Ferry Pool.

There was a late Swift over the garden yesterday evening and a Willow Warbler. The hirundine flock that has been gathering on the lane wires seem to have gone now with just a single House Martin and a couple of Barn Swallows left. There's a roost flight of Pied Wagtails that go over the garden with several tens of birds and there was a single Yellow Wagtail over too. 

Unsurprisingly the moth trap has been pretty quiet, the twin-actinic blew over on Friday night and there were more storm dislodged wasps in the traps this morning than moths. Despite the low numbers of moths there has been a few migrants including Pearly Underwing, Scarce Bordered Straw and Rusty-dot Pearls.  

In between the wind and rain we've used the time to get on with the house and garden project. Jimmy has finished the raised beds and the electrics were completed in the week for the garden office. I spent the last couple of days setting up the nature library in the garden office. Still need to finish painting the garden office and there is the exhausting task of filling up the raised beds. 

Juv Kittiwake battling against Ex-Ernesto 

Pearly Underwing- the first one for the garden. Garden moth list is now on 341. 

Smoky-barred Marble, Lobesia absciana, NFG

Jimmy and Holly with Garden Office up and the raised beds going in 

Jacob 'helping' out with the raised beds

The garden office library work in progress 

Ex-hurricane Ernesto Day One

The remnants of Hurricane Ernesto (Storm Lilian) swept back across the Atlantic and arrived here today with near gale force southwest winds and rain. I was hopeful for some seabirds off Selsey Bill but despite a morning and afternoon session I didn't get much. Highlights included a juv Kittiwake, 70+ Gannet, 4 Knot and a single Guillemot/Razorbill. There was a large feeding flock of gulls and terns just offshore early morning including about 35 Meds and 30 Sandwich Terns with a few Common Terns. Elsewhere along the south coast there were Balearic and Sooty Shearwaters off Isle of Wight and Dungeness. 

Local birders Ian and Andrew informed me that Selsey Bill tends to be better for seabirds in the aftermath of a storm so I'll be back tomorrow. Fingers crossed.

As I drove out the drive this morning I had a Redstart darting along the hedge and later in the day a Pintail was circling the neighbours waterfowl pond (which is covered by a net but ducks take a while to work that out). I stopped at Ferry Pool on the way back from the Bill in the afternoon as the Semipalmated Sandpiper was still there with 11 Dunlin, 2 Ringed Plover and the first juvenile Curlew Sandpiper I've seen this autumn. Ebird list HERE. 

Not much in the moth trap in these southwest winds and I didn't put the lights on last night due to rain and wind and won't do tonight either. 

Juvenile and adult Med Gull off the Bill 

Juv Curlew Sandpiper (4th from right), adult Semipalmated Sandpiper (highest bird on mid left) and Dunlins flying round Ferry Pool 

100 species weekend

Kojak and I finally managed to get a 100 species over the weekend locally (birding in between funfairs and family stuff). Included in the weekend new ticks on Sunday were Kingfisher on Mill Lane Pond, Wood Sandpiper and Water Rail on Mill Lane Marsh (also 4 Green Sand, Greenshank and 2 Blackwit there) and Marsh Harrier. There was Osprey and a couple of Pied Flycatchers around too which we unfortunately failed to connect with. 

Once the kids go back to school Kojak is planning on visiting again so we can attempt a proper big day on the Peninsula with no distractions. 

I had a quick look at Church Norton and Ferry this morning. List of migrants HERE. The Semipalmated Sandpiper remains loyal to Ferry Pool and there was a nice little selection of common migrants around. 

Juvenile Wood Sandpiper 

Adult Spotted Redshank

Tree Pipit- had four of these on Sunday with three in the trees at Church Norton and one at Mill Lane Marsh.  There are huge numbers of these moving across the country at the moment with nearly 200 going through a site in Herefordshire yesterday and an incredible 926 going over North Queensferry in Fife this morning. Seems like a north and west bias for the migration route of these.  Portland has been getting a few tens too. Back at Church Norton there were a few Yellow Wagtails around too with nearly 50 flying over on Sunday evening, other birds have also been seen going into roost at the Breach Pool reedbed. 

Blackwits on Ferry- a juvenile was also on Ferry this morning- the first one I've noticed this autumn

Highlight of the moth trap over last couple of evenings was this Clifden Nonpariel. Garden moth list now on 341. 

Just a few migrants including this fresh Dark Sword Grass. Also another Scarce Bordered Straw, Four spotted Footman and other common migrants. 

Another Dotted Border Wave (above) and Rosy Wave (below). 220824 update- these waves with a dotted border are causing some local controversy which led the local CMR to contact Mark Parsons who think they could be Satin Waves despite the dotted border. 

Kojak and Jacob at Church Norton 

Pagham Big Day- sort of

Kojak came down to stay with us this weekend so we decided to see how many species we could see around Pagham Harbour in a day. We started early (after doing the moths) had a long lunch break at Billy's on the Beach with the family and then had to get back early evening for a BBQ so it wasn't any sort of hardcore all-dayer but we still managed 90 species. Gleaning other records from the Selsey Blog there were at least 105 species on the Peninsula today. Our main Ebird list HERE (we added 5 species later at Selsey Bill and Church Norton). 

Highlights for us were the Semipalmated Sandpiper and Little Stint duo on Ferry (21 species of wader in total), Spotted Redshank, six Knot and 2 Barwit, 4 Greenshank, Yellow-legged Gull, Tree Pipit overhead on East Side, 2 Spotted Flycatchers at Church Norton, a couple of Wheatears, Great Egret and Cattle Egrets.

There were also 4 Common Seal in the harbour (including a young one), there's a few Roe Deer around, and I had mustelid (a Stoat I think) near the visitors centre yesterday. 

A few moth migrants in the trap last night including Olive-tree Pearl, Portland Ribbon Wave, Silver-Y, Diamond-back Moth, another European Pepper Moth and we had Yellow-legged Clearwing (to the Orange-tailed Clearwing lure) yesterday and a Hummingbird Hawkmoth was flying round Church Norton this evening too. A Fleabane Pearl, Anania crocealis also in the trap last night was a first for the garden.

Spotted Flycatcher

Great Egret and Grey Heron

Cattle Egret 

Male Yellow-legged Clearwing

Fleabane Pearl, Anania crocealis- new for garden 

Yesterday's Vestal - the first one for the garden

Latest Portuguese Rarities Committee Report

The latest PRC report has been published today which includes records from the Azores for 2021 and 2022.  Report HERE.

As a member of the committee my contribution was to help collate and validate the records for the Azores as part as our Azores Wildlife project that we have been running for nearly 25 years now HERE.

Congratulations to all the observers and rarities committee team for great work. 

CLICK HERE

Semipalmated Sandpiper and Little Stint

Nice to see the adult Semipalmated Sandpiper alongside an adult Little Stint this morning on Ferry Pool. A bit distant but a nice little comparison. 

Ebird list of migrants from this morning in Ferry and the Discovery scrub HERE

Quite a bit of rain last night so I only put the twin actinic light out- the first Vestal for the garden, a couple of Portland Ribbon Wave, Dark Sword Grass, Silver-Y, Rush Veneer, Vagrant Piercers, Reed Dagger and a few White-points so still a few migrants around. 

A few more migrants

I got up early and did Church Norton yesterday morning in the hope of more passerine migrants in the relatively calm and cloudy conditions which seemed good but unfortunately it was very quiet. Other local birders managed to do better with a few new Whinchats and Wheatear and the first Balearic Shearwaters off the bill. 

The Semipalmated Sandpiper is still around on Ferry Pool. 

The moth trap has been better for migrants my end with my first Scarce Bordered Straw for the garden yesterday and my first Beautiful Marbled  this morning. 

Not sure what's going on over the garden here but I seem to be getting the odd wader regularly flying over presumably between Pagham and Chichester Harbour. Yesterday I had two Curlews and another Green Sandpiper. 

Sandwich Terns and juvenile Med Gulls

Green Sandpiper 

Semipalmated Sandpiper still out on Ferry 

Beautiful Marbled 

Scarce Bordered Straw

Four-spotted Footman. A couple of these, also had about 9 Silver-Y, up to five Dark Sword Grass,  a couple each of Rusty-dot Pearl, Rush Veneer, White-point and singles of Angle Shades so quite a nice little selection of migrants overall.

Frosted Orange- a NFG, now on 325 species (unverified) 

Bulrush Wainscot - these seem to be appearing in the trap quite regularly here. Also Brown-veined and Twin-spotted have been regular which were new for me when I got here