SE Nature Notes for w/e Sep 26th

6 October 2011

Portsmouth & Portsdown

Two red-breasted mergansers were near the RSPB Islands in Langstone Harbour on 19th. On the same day 55 Brent geese were in the middle of the harbour at midday.

Milton Common has been a good site to see migrants again this week including wheatears, 21 siskin, 3 grey wagtails and a yellow wagtail. A male gadwall was on one of the ponds on 24th. On 20th a sparrowhawk flew along the paved paths by the D Day Museum. There were 30 bearded tits at Farlington Marshes on 23rd. A white wagtail was seen on the reserve this week. Also on 23rd a redpoll and siskins flew over Southsea with other migrants. A little owl was seen at Fort Cumberland on 24th. A single swift was feeding with swallows and house martins north of Fort Widley on 24th. A Cosham garden has had a pied flycatcher and like other sites lots of chiffchaffs and black caps.

On 24th the same garden had a humming bird hawkmoth and on 25th a peregrine and sparrowhawk interacting overhead. Ivy broomrape (right) in the garden has had 65 spikes over recent weeks. Six red admirals were seen in a Southsea garden on 24th. Corn parsley was found on the Saltmarsh Lane Hayling Island wetland on 24th.

Birds seen at Farlington on 25th included a common tern, osprey, wheatear, stonechat, 35 Brent geese, a snipe and 14 bearded tits.

Havant, Hayling & Emsworth

A jack snipe was photographed on an Emsworth garden patio on 19th. A dor beetle was found on an Emsworth path on 19th. A guillemot was in Hayling Bay on 21st. A spoonbill flew west from Pilsey Island over Hayling on 22nd. Three whinchats and 2 stonechats were on the Langstone South Moors on 22nd. There were 32 shelducks on the shore between Emsworth and Langstone this week. The Thorney Island cattle egret was still there on 23rd when it roosted by the Little Deeps with 144 little egrets. A little tern and 57 Brent geese were off the south of the island, 17 golden plovers were off Marker Point where a quail was heard on the same day. A hare was seen from the western sea wall this week.

Fungi seen in the Havant/Emsworth area this week include fairy ring champignons, Agaricus bisporus, slippery jack, amethyst deceiver, Inocybe geophylla, Boletus erythropus, brown rollrim, Russula aeruginea and blackening waxcaps.