Nature Notes for week ending 29th Aug
1 September 2011
HAVANT, HAYLING & EMSWORTH
The cattle egret and an osprey have been seen throughout the week at the north of Thorney Island. Two marsh harriers were over the Deeps on Thursday, while a covey of around 15 grey partridges were nearby on Saturday. Two ospreys have been fishing in Langstone Harbour. A bat survey along the River Ems on Friday revealed common and soprano pipistrelles plus a few Daubenton’s bats were heard.
At Stansted Park, a female redstart was in the South Park last Thursday morning and two small leverets were disturbed by grass cutting work. One of two migrating whinchats was caught in a spectacular attack by a sparrowhawk at Hayling Island on Saturday. Birds seen from Northney included wheatear, redstart, kingfisher, yellow wagtail, whinchat and spotted flycatcher, while bar-tailed godwit, knot, greenshank and curlew sandpiper were offshore. On Wednesday, both spotted and pied flycatchers were spied in the pastures there.
An estimated 170 grey plover were roosting on a shingle bar at the Kench on Friday, while 450 oystercatchers were there on Thursday.
Devilsbit scabious has started to flower at Southmoor, later than its flowering at Havant Thicket. 50 redshank, a few gadwall, dabchicks and a family of long-tailed tits were seen on Southmoor on Monday. A kingfisher and a brown rollrim toadstool were noticed along the Brockhampton stream.
Relatively few butterflies have been reported locally this week, the exceptions being fresh painted ladies from Emsworth and Thorney, plus red admiral, large white and holly blue from an Emsworth garden. Blue tits were observed eating emerging leaf miner moths on a horse chestnut tree in Havant.
WATERLOOVILLE & SOUTH DOWNS
On Saturday a dead common pipistrelle bat was found hanging from a door post at Lovedean.
PORTSMOUTH & PORTSDOWN
Large numbers of swallows were roosting at Farlington Marshes on Monday. At least 10 yellow wagtails were with the cattle in the pastures. Wigeon, green sandpiper and four bearded tits were also seen. The Milton reclamation area held an impressive list of birds on Monday, including swallow, sand martin, great spotted woodpecker, osprey, reed warbler, whitethroat, sedge warbler, blackcap, garden warbler, and shoveler.
There was a grasshopper warbler at Ford Widley on Monday. Ploughman’s spikenard was flowering there on Wednesday. Wheatears and a female redstart were in the Highland Road cemetery on Tuesday.
GOSPORT & FAREHAM
On Sunday, a garden warbler was feeding in garden apple trees at Stubbington. A hobby, reed warbler, lesser whitethroat, whinchat and wheatear were seen nearby. On the same day, Dartford warbler, tree creeper, nuthatch, swift, house martin and wheatear were recorded at Browndown. A gannet was sighted close inshore from Stokes Bay, where sparrowhawk, sand martin, whitethoat and lesser whitethroat were also spotted. A peregrine was described as ‘playing with the swallows’ near Fareham on Saturday. Notable birds at Titchfield Haven included ruff, little stint and grasshopper warbler. A raven, a juvenile water rail and an osprey were among the birds reported
from Titchfield Haven on Thursday.
