DAILY DIARY

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After the revelation that the Hawk Conservancy had removed the leg ring showing one of their Black Kites to be a captive bird before letting it escape into the wild last April (it's thought to be still flying around Hampshire) birders are asking their priests to absolve them of the crime of adding a non-wild bird to their year lists and the conservation storm troopers which shot a Peregrine in Sussex earlier this year because it was wearing the 'wrong trousers' (not made of pure Scottish Peregrine Plaid) are possibly loading their guns to get the 'illegal Kite'. Next on the list may be a female Red-footed Falcon seen several times recently in the Itchen valley - where did that come from and is it licensed to be listed?

Less controversy about the sport of Purple Emperor watching (no questions asked as to where you get your supply of rotten shrimp paste) and you don't even have to belong to an authorised clique to enjoy the current magnificent show of Silver Washed Fritillaries in the woods and Marbled Whites in grassland. This week has increased the scope for butterfly watching with the emergence of the first Chalkhill Blue (free to view) and Grayling (can you watch that with a free conscience without first undergoing the Sussex Grayling Society initiation rituals? I think they are available for free in Hampshire.) At least one Hummingbird Hawkmoth visited Langstone but the first Convolvulus Hawk chose to show itself in Dorset and a Spurge Hawk in Kent. Older naturalists such as myself will miss out on one of this week's special offers - the start of the Bush Cricket song season.

Wild Orchids may have their secret societies of worshippers but thankfully the great majority of wild flowers are open to the enjoyment of all and this week I had great enjoyment from the first sight of Marsh Woundwort and Betony and even from the subdued presence of the first Upright Hedge Parsley in shaded woodland. Commoner species making their first flowering appearances this week were Common Fleabane, Dwarf Thistle and Mugwort plus Golden Samphire (common enough round the Solent harbours but nationally rare).

The severe drought which brought death to one Mole seen by me did not prevent the growth of a clump of apparently thriving Weeping Widow toadstools. This week's mystery concerns the identity of a 'small vole' picked up on the busy footpath around Langstone pond and moved to safety - was it a baby Water Vole? We may never know ....

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Sooty Shearwater: One off Portland on June 30 was only the second on the south coast this year (first in Poole Bay on May 17)

Storm Petrel: I'm not sure if I read the entry on the Cornwall Birding werbsite correctly but it seemed to say that 300 Storm Petrels were caught and ringed off the county on the night of June 21

Bittern: One was booming every 3 to 4 minutes in the early morning of June 26 at Stodmarsh in the Kent Stour valley. Another was at Radipole (Weymouth) on June 30 and July 1

Little Bittern: One reported in the Bembridge Harbour area (IoW) on June 28 - no further news of it. Other than one in the Scillies from May 11 to 18 this is the only other one in the south of England this year

Little Egret: All eleven birds which I could see around the Langstone Pond area at low tide on June 25 were juveniles

Great White Egret: Just two definite reports this week - one at Reculver in the Thanet area of Kent on June 29 and one in the West Moors area of Dorset (not far from Ringwood) on June 30

White Stork: Three 'probable' reports - one over Amberley Wild Brooks on June 30 and two different birds on July 1, one over Arundel and the other over Romsey. I think all three were different birds heading north.

Spoonbill: One in the Brading Marsh area of the IoW on June 28

Black Swan: The single female on the River Itchen at Riverside Park in Southampton (among 50+ Mute Swans) was still (July 1) sitting on an nest with eggs 49 days after mating with a Mute Swan on May 14 (a Mute Swan's eggs would have hatched about 10 days ago)

Brent Goose: Just one seen at Farlington Marshes on June 28 (there are probably at least 9 birds summering in Langstone Harbour - 9 seen on May 19). More interestingly one was seen to fly in from the sea at Cuckmere Haven on July 1 and to continue upstream.

Shelduck: On June 25 I saw two adults with six juveniles (plus a second group of three unaccompanied juveniles) on the Budds farm Pools here in Havant and on June 30 Brian Fellows saw two adults on the Hayling Oysterbeds pools where Jason Crook had seen a new family of nine ducklings on June 28 - in addition to the family of 9 which Jason saw on the Budds Farm pools on June 22.

Black Kite: At least six reported sightings in Hampshire between May 11 and June 23 may have been of a bird which escaped from the Hawk Conservancy near Andover on Apr 27 - the Conservancy at first denied losing any birds but it eventually admitted to doing so and, even worse, removing the white leg ring (which showed it was a captive bird) before letting it go. Since that news came out there has been another probable sighting over west Fareham on June 30.

Red-footed Falcon: Four separate birders have reported sightings of a female in the Twyford/Shawford area of the Itchen Valley just south of Winchester in the last three weeks of June

Merlin: One at Radipole (Weymouth) on July 1 was the first reported in southern England since Apr 24

Water Rail: On June 28 two juveniles were seen 'jumping to catch insects' at Farlington Marshes

Ruff: Two seen at Christchurch Harbour on June 28, increasing to three there on June 29, seem to be the first birds returning south this autumn

Black-tailed Godwit: Around 100 were seen at Farlington Marshes on June 28 (with just 4 at Pulborough Brooks that day)

Green Sandpiper: Among many other reports of waders now heading south I picked out a count of 31 Green Sandpipers at Stodmarsh in the Kent Stour Valley on June 27 (there were six at the Lower Test near Southampton on June 26 and six at Pulborough Brooks on July 1)

Wood Sandpiper: Maybe the first autumn bird in southern England was at Dungeness on June 25 followed by one at Lodmoor (Weymouth) on June 26 (and 17 at one Dutch site on June 27). June 28 brought reports of one at Brading Marsh (IoW) and another at Pulborough Brooks.

Med Gulls: Chris Cockburn (Langstone RSPB warden) reports some good breeding success among those which nested on the shingle areas of the Langstone Harbour Islands this year and (while I have not yet seen local reports of juveniles away from those islands) the first juvenile arrived in Christchurch Harbour on June 29. At the Hayling Oysterbeds (where no Med Gulls have nested) some make raids on the other species nesting there and Jason has seen at least on Black-headed chick and one Common Tern chick taken by Med Gulls recently. At Rye Harbour Med Gulls regularly 'mug' Sandwich Terns and steal the food they are carrying back to their young terns.

Black-headed Gulls: The first four juveniles turned up at the Budds Farm pools on June 25. Elsewhere the first were on the north Kent shore at Swalecliffe on June 26, then at Weston on Southampton Water on June 28 with one reaching the more distant (from its nest) Peter Pond in Emsworth on June 30. Chris Cockburn gives a rough count of 5000 pairs nesting on the Langstone Harbour Islands this year but says that many of the young have been eaten by Foxes.

Herring Gull: More than 500 were 'anting' over East Dean in the Beachy Head area on June 28

Sandwich Tern: Many young in nests at Rye Harbour are going short of food as their parents are robbed by both Med and Black Headed Gulls of the food they are bringing. In Langstone Harbour these terns have only raised a few young as a result of predation by both Foxes and Gulls

Common Tern: Pairs nesting at the Hayling Oysterbeds had managed to hatch 35 young in the week ending June 31 but by July 2 Brian Fellows could only see one live chick there (which reminds me that there has been no mention of predation by rats at this site this year)

Little Tern: None have nested at the Oysterbeds but 40 pairs were reported to be nesting on the RSPB Islands on June 8 and that number may have increased since then. Currently some of the chicks are already growing their first feathers but it will probably be another month before breeding success can be determined.

Swift: The pairs which are nesting this year are already feeding young and this week there have been two reports of non-breeding birds not only flying past potential nest sites which they may use next year but actually landing to check them out - the first came from somewhere in Sussex on June 30 and the second from Emsworth on July 1 (after this years peak count of around 30 birds circling over Emsworth on June 30). So far I have not seen more than seven birds together over my home area in Havant but on June 30 Martin Hampton saw round 25 over the Bedhampton area in the west of Havant.

Robin: I have not heard Robin song since June 15. Wrens are still singing regularly and Dunnock could still be heard occasionally on June 30

Blackbird: Still singing on July 1 as were Song Thrushes

Mistle Thrush: One seen carrying food for young in Southsea on June 29 to prove they are not quite extinct in Portsmouth!

Dartford Warbler: One in the Hook/Warsash area on July 2 was the first seen there since February and so probably marks the start of post breeding dispersal.

Siskin: Several recent reports have indicated that many of these birds have ceased to be just winter visitors to much of southern England and are now widely resident and breeding. This week Martin Hampton suggests that this is now true in the Petersfield area.

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Eight species reported so far this week but nothing new

29 species mentioned in reports so far this week.

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Perennial Wall-rocket: First flower seen in Havant on June 30

Goats Rue: The blue flowered plants at the Hayling Oysterbeds carpark have probably been out as long as the white flowered plants nearby on North Common (which were flowering on June 22) but were not reported until June 30

Sweet Chestnut: This tree has also probably been in flower for a week or more but I did not see it until July 1

Upright Hedge Parsley: Just starting to flower in Staunton Country Park on July 1

Thorn Apple: Three of these plants had started to flower at Havant rail station on June 30

Marsh Woundwort: This had just started flowering at the Gipsies Plain orchid ditch site (close to where the track emerges from Hammond Land Coppice) on July 1

Betony: This also was first seen in flower at the Gipsies Plain orchid ditch near Rowlands Castle on July 1

Common Fleabane: First flowers fully open in Havant on June 25

Golden Samphire: First flowers out by the Slipper Pond in Emsworth on June 30

Mugwort: First flowers seen in Havant on June 25

Dwarf Thistle: These had started to flower at Durlston on June 30

Lesser Burdock: First flowers at the Hayling Oysterbeds on June 30

Chicory: First flowers (from wildflower seed sowing) out in Southmoor Lane at Havant on June 25

Stinking Hawk-bit: This species had become extinct in Britain but was re-introduced in 2000 at Dungeness where it is now thriviing within fencing to prevent Rabbits eating it. On July 2 a count of 1035 plants was announced.

Musk Orchid: This is now flowering at Noar Hill and probably has been for some time.

Common (Harbour) Porpoise: One found dead of unknown causes on the shore at Rye Harbour on June 28 - the RX website has a good photo of its many strangely rounded teeth

Mole: One found dead on very dry ground in the Staunton Country Park (Havant) on July 1 - see diary entry for that day below

Water Vole: Last summer I personally saw a young Water Vole in the open on brickwork at the edge of Langstone Mill Pond with many people with children and dogs only yards away from the vole (which emerged into the open more than once before retreating to safety). On June 25 this year I was again near the pond where a reliable observer told me that she had just picked up 'a small vole', which was on the path close to last year's incident, and placed it in a safer place at the foot of the Mill property fence (where Nature Notes posters are displayed). By the time I got there there was no sign of the vole .... I cannot be sure it was a Water Vole.

Common Newts: A night time visit to an unimproved meadow near Rye on June 29 found several Common Newts out in the damp grass where they could feed on a rich supply of slugs and other invertebrates to recover their strength for the coming winter after the breeding season.

Fungi: Despite the current drought I found a fresh cluster of Weeping Widow toadstools in a shady ride in the Hammonds Land Coppice woodland of Staunton Country Park in Havant on July 1. Nearby the base of the massive trunk of an old Oak tree had several fungal growths which from a distance (I could not get close) might have been early stages of some Ganoderma species (brown globular shapes each perhaps 30 cm across). With my binoculars I could see that the brown 'upper' surfaces were peppered with small triangular slits which I think were the result of the drought causing splits in the flesh of the fungus but I cannot be sure what I was looking at.

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This afternoon I visited the Staunton Country Park here in Havant and my first target was the Thicket Lawn grassland southwest of the lake. I approached this along the Middle Park Way road and then the footpath going north from High Lawn Way in the Great Copse area. This footpath I found to be rich in plants and butterflies (including my first Ringlets) but very overgrown so I spent some time with my secauteurs cutting back Brambles, Hawthorn, Willow and Oak branches though I did not clear the head high Great Willowherb and other vegetation with Tufted Vetch and Meadow Vetchling scrambling up them (among the Brambles I also found Field Rose in flower here, id confirmed by the tall central style). Looking back up the hill to the east of me I could see Sweet Chestnut in flower - my first view of this last of trees to flower each year.

Thicket Lawn had been too heavily grazed to have the flowers I was expecting but it did give me my first Small Skipper among the Meadow Browns and Marbled Whites. The meadow to the east of the thick hedge (which follows the stream overflowing from the lake and heading down into Great Copse) was much better for flowers (masses of Corky-fruited Water Dropwort) but gave me nothing noteworthy until I reached the stile taking me from the meadow into the area around the east end of the lake. Just beyond this stile, in the shadow of the trees, flies were congregating on the body of a Mole which had suffered the double whammy brought about by the heatwave (first the worms dig down well below the depth of the Mole tunnels and go into 'aestivation' - suspension of normal metabolism during the ht summer - and secondly the earth becomes too hard for the moles to dig new tunnels unless they migrate overland to damp ground. I have seen dead Moles in previous heat wave summers and I suspect the Mole being eaten by a Herring Gull (see my Summary for Week 25) had died of similar causes before the Gull found its body.

Heading across the Long Avenue and another meadow into Hammonds Land Coppice I began to see the current great show of Silver Washed Fritillaries - they were everywhere, chasing through the trees and settling on bramble flowers where you could get within a foot or so of them to admire both upper and underwing surfaces in their pristine state. Also in the shade of the trees was my first sight of Enchanters Nightshade.

At the Rowlands Castle end of the main track through the wood the show of Yellow Loosestrife was larger than ever and now extends back into the field east of the track (to check that this is the wild plant, not the cultivated Dotted Loosestrife, look for the orange edges to the calyx teeth behind the flowers of this native plant). Across the track from the Loosestrife was my first view of the equally impressive show of Marsh Woundwort in flower, and by climbing the gate into the 'orchid ditch' area I was also able to add my first sight of Betony in flower (as well as the Creeping Jenny which belongs to the same family as the Loosestrife).

Coming back into the wood I branched left from the main track and was rewarded not only with my first view of Upright Hedge Parsley just starting to flower but also the unexpected sight of a fresh cluster of Weeping Widow toadstools in the centre of the path. At the end of this path, before crossing the field of sheep to re-enter the Leigh Park Gardens) I could see, at the base of the massive trunk of an old oak tree, what I took to be young stages of some large Ganoderma type bracket.

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Noted on my way to the shops today were the first flower on the Perennial Wall-rocket that grows on the rail track east of Havant Station (close to the carpark fence immediately west of the old Signal Box) and three flowers plus an incipient 'apple' on a few Thorn Apple plants which have dared to grow in a flower bed within the station fence immediately west of the south side station buildings

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This morning's heat was one sign that we are now into high summer as I set out for a local cycle ride taking me first to Langstone Pond, where all the Egrets that I could see (eleven of them) were juveniles (presumably their parents were all away fishing - perhaps trying to encourage the young birds to follow them?). Several Swallows were skimming the pond and a pair were chasing insects in the field north of Wade Court (all seemingly part of an ongoing southward movement). I think a couple of small brown birds flying over the pond and into the reeds were Reed Warblers and I know by its song that at least one Cetti's Warbler was still present.

While at the pond a lady told me that she had just seen a 'small vole' on the path where it runs between the pond and the wooden fence of the Mill property, and that she had picked it up and placed it at the foot of the fence in the hope that it would not get trodden on. When I reached that point there was no sign of the animal and my only thought is that this could have been a repeat of an unusual incident that I did see last summer. Then a small crowd of people, children and dogs were clustered at the waters edge, feeding the ducks, when I saw a small animal come out of the pondside vegetation and start to walk towards the crowd of people along the top of the 'brick wall' which here forms the edge of the pond. It came a couple of feet along the wall to a point where it had no cover and I had a close and clear view showing me it was a baby Water Vole (definitely not a Rat or other Vole/Mouse). Eventually it realised it was exposed to danger and scampered back into cover, but it then came out at least twice more. I wonder if today's sighting could have been of a similarly 'lost' baby Water Vole either searching for its mother or having 'a great adventure'? If so it must have been younger and less wary than the one I saw to allow itself to be picked up ....

Next stop was at the south end of the north pier of the old rail bridge where my first Hummingbird Hawkmoth of the year was feeding from Viper's Bugloss. The flower show here was better than ever - highspots being the Vipers Bugloss, Centaury and Yellow-wort - but the only additions since my last visit were Traveller's Joy and Sea Plantain (down in the gully beside the embankment). From the pier I could see the Langstone Swan pair with their six cygnets in the Langbrook stream outflow, also a single adult Shelduck among the gulls and Oystercatchers. With the tide at its lowest two or three Little Terns were hovering at their usual great height and plunging down to take fish stranded in small pools by the outgoing tide.

At the end of Mill Lane I had another look at the Knotted Hedge Parsley and found it was now in flower (to see it go through the northbound gate giving access to the South Moors area and look at the foot of the concrete post supporting the streamside end of that gate). Going along the shore of the Moors I heard both Meadow Pipit and Skylark song (both rather faint!) and I had an early but vain search for Slender Hare's Ear.

At the Budds Farm Pools there was an interesting confrontation between the Swan family and the larger of the Shelduck families. Today both Swan parents were with the five cygnets, and six Shelducklings were with their two parents. At first the families were in separate pools but they unwittingly headed towards each other and when they met what I presume was the Cob Swan and the male Shelduck engaged in a prolonged 'duel' - the Swan swimming aggressively towards the Shelduck which did not attempt to fight but carefully led the Swan on a lengthy chase to give the Shelduck family time to escape (at one point the Shelduck had to fly to prevent the Swan catching it but it was careful not to fly to far and cause the Swan to give up the chase). Eventually, when the Shelduck family had got out of sight of the Swans, the male Shelduck again flew, this time to re-join its family.

A second Shelduck family consisted of just three juveniles sitting on the wall of the west pool with no sign of their parents. I also failed to see any of the Gadwalls (Jason Crook saw three families of them here last week) but I did note any apparent increase in Coot numbers to 30+ with less than half a dozen Tufted Ducks and only a couple of Little Grebes. Perhaps the most significant birds on the pools were four juvenile Black-headed Gulls, the first to be seen locally at any distance from their nests.

Heading up Southmoor Lane the wildflower seed plants had a newcomer among them in the shape of a tall Chicory plant with several of its lovely blue flowers open. The waste ground north of Penner Road had Vervain in flower as well as a single Gatekeeper (I also saw several Marbled Whites and Meadow Browns during the morning as well as many Whites, none of which would stop to allow identification!)

The ditch beside the cycleway north of the Langstone Technology Park buildings had the two plants which clinched the feeling that summer is really here - several Fleabane plants with fully open flowers and a couple of Mugwort plants which had lost the eye-catching whiteness they have before the flowers open and had acquired the dull, drab look they get when the brown flowers do open.

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This afternoon I paid another visit to Portchester Common on Portsdown in search of Basil Thyme and this time I found it along with my first Gatekeeper butterfly and Field Scabious. Among the many other delights at the east end of Portchester Common were some small examples of Common Centaury which puzzled me as they did not have the scarlet flowers of Lesser Centaury but did seem to have one diagnostic of that plant. The confusion arose because I had mis-remembered the diagnostic feature - I knew that Lesser Centaury had short flower stems while Common Centaury had flowers that were effectively sessile but my defective memory told me that I should be looking at the length of stem above the top of the calyx rather than below the bottom of the calyx, and this error made me record these plants as potentially Lesser Centaury - a record which I deleted as soon as I got home and checked my books!

I had parked immediately west of Fort Southwick and approached Portchester Common from the east, and on leaving the common I went a little downhill into the area that had never been ploughed but has recently been cleared of scrub and currently has a tremendous display of wild flowers. Here I found Vervain opening its first flowers and Ploughman's Spikenard getting ready to do so. At the east end of this lowest 'field' a path has been cut through the thick hedge along its north side and this brings you out into the area with the tarmac track leading back uphill to the main road and alongside that track I found a single Hieracium plant in flower having many sessile leaves up its stem (around 50cm tall) and a large number of flower-heads arranged in a branched 'umbellate' form. The stems were bristly (no soft hairs) and the base of the stem was lost in thick grass and brambles.

Back at the unofficial layby I had a look at the edge of the barley field on the north side of the road which had a good show of Poppies but the only thing noted here was that some of the Field Pansies had more colourful flowers than the normal cream colour. In the rough grass south of the road I found Traveller's Joy (aka Old Man's Beard) had some open flowers.

Back at home in the evening I cycled up New Lane to see if the Crown Vetch was yet in flower beside Wakeford's Way but the massive growth of this which has defeated gardeners in the grounds of the council flats which it had 'taken over' for a good many years has this time been defeated by the gardeners (watch this space - it may well have only suffered a temporary defeat). While there I cycled round the periphery of the Barton's Road playing fields finding a good show of Dyer's Greenweed at its best by the stream alongside the railway. Weasel's Snout is still flowering at the New Lane allotments though much has now gone to seed, and in the Eastern Road cemetery the Duke of Argyll's teaplant is still flowering but the past pleasures of finding wild flowers here have been suppressed by the need to find 'work for the wicked' (a definitely non-PC view of the Community Pay-back scheme in which offenders are sent out to mow grass and eradicate weeds). The attempt to make up for this loss by sowing dense plots of wild-flower seed on selected graves may be well intended but the effect is rather 'un-natural'.

As I left home on this trip at around 8pm a single Swift flew over my house and a few minutes later two were airborne together (had the male of a nesting pair called the female off the nest for a short social break?), and when I returned from the trip screams overhead caused me to look up and see a party of seven or eight birds in the air for a few minutes. From where I had stopped to watch the Swifts I could also see the first flowers on the Tree of Heaven at the corner of our road.

A short note of my only find yesterday - a small plant of Greater Celandine flowering in St Faith's churchyard in the centre of Havant.

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Signs of approaching autumn this week include the arrival of the first summer plumaged Grey Plover, the second Wheatear at coastal sites where they have not bred, and a small flock of around 30 Sand Martins flying south out to sea at Selsey. Two unanswered questions are first, why did the Spotted Flycatcher keep crashing into the Cherry Tree leaves?, and second, what were the two Barn Owls doing in the nest box that was hardly big enough to hold them on Hayling? We also have news of Storm Petrels being lured by tape recordings to a small boat off Portland Bill, and of local breeding success by Shelduck and Gadwall as well as the Little Egrets.

The first Gatekeeper butterfly was seen this week (during which a Purple Hairstreak had a small part in the BBC TV coverage of Wimbledon), and Summer Chafers are now flying but few Glow-worms have been reported so far.

Harebells, Marjoram and Squinancywort are now flowering on Portsdown, Sea Lavender and Sea Aster have started to flower on the shore, and both Frog and Fragrant Orchids are out at Noar Hill.

The only item to catch my eye on the Other Wildlife scene so far this week is news of an abundance of Natterjack Toad tadpoles at Christchurch Harbour

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Storm Petrel: Although these are normally only seen from the mainland in stormy conditions it would appear that they are not far away even in the current calm, good weather. Martin Cade, in charge of the Portland observatory, took a small boat a short distance out to sea and used a tape recording to lure 7 of these Petrels to the boat, where they were caught and ringed, on the night of June 21/22. The tape was used again on the next night, catching 4 more Petrels

Bittern: One reported at Lodmoor (Weymouth) on June 21 and one at Rye Harbour on June 23

Cattle Egret: One at the Dungeness RSPB reserve on June 19

Little Egret: Still plenty of activity at Langstone Pond on June 22 - at least two juveniles seen at the water's edge

Shelduck: When I was at the Budds Farm pools on June 20 I was pleased to see two adults and six juveniles after thinking that both breeding pairs had failed this year but the news is even better as on June 22 Jason Crook took a look at the pools and saw two families - one pair with nine ducklings and the other with three smaller ones. Also on June 22 when I was at the Hayling Oysterbeds I saw two Shelduck flying north over Bridge Lake, one of them very noticeably smaller than the other. I know there is a small size difference between the sexes but I was left with the impression that the smaller bird was a juvenile already fledged.

Gadwall: While at Budds Farm Pools on June 22 Jason Crook saw three pairs of Gadwall, each with a family of ducklings.

Eider: Andy Johnson saw three in the mouth of Chichester Harbour on June 22 and remarked that they were summering there

Red-breasted Merganser: The male and female pair which have been seen in Southampton Water on June 9 and 13 were in the Hamble estuary off Warsash on June 23

Black Kite: On June 23 Nigel Jones saw one flying low south east over the Crampmoor Fish Farm a little east of Romsey (between the railway and the road to Hursley and Winchester)

Grey Plover: Quite a few stay here through the summer (e.g. around 40 seen near the Hayling Oysterbeds on June 7) but on June 22 one was seen at the Pennington Marshes (Lymington) in full summer plumage, suggesting the first bird to return from (attempted) breeding.

Lapwing: A flock of around 40 seen at Pagham Harbour on June 18 were reported as the first to return to our part of the coast. (Christchurch Harbour had 137 back on June 16)

Black-tailed Godwit: Local reports of non-breeding birds in our area this week have been 49 at Yarmouth (IoW) on June 20, 60 at Titchfield Haven on June 20, 14 at Lymington on June 22 and maybe the same flock of 14 at the Hayling Oysterbeds on June 23

Greenshank: I have only three reports of singles on the south coast in May and two in June (all singles), the latest being one at Rye Harbour on June 23 (possibly a bird returning from breeding but could be the summering bird seen at Dungeness on May 11)

Black-headed Gull: On June 23 one juvenile was seen in Stoke Bay (adjacent to the south bund of the Hayling Oysterbeds) to show that the youngsters are now reaching the stage at which they will disperse from the gulleries where they hatched and may turn up anywhere along the harbour shores where their bright orange plumage easily separates them from the grey of the Med Gull juveniles that will also be seen soon.

Barn Owl: In June 2008 there were several sightings of one in the small triangular nest box mounted on a telgraph pole near the entrance to the North Common open space at Northney on Hayling Island. Since then a much bigger nest box has been put up elsewhere on that site but nevertheless when I was there in the afternoon of June 22 I could see not one but two Barn Owl heads within the box. I very much doubt that they are a breeding pair but I suppose they could be a couple of last year's young which have not mated this year and are still 'hanging out together'?

Swift: It seems likely that one or two pairs still have nest sites in or near the Manor Close area of Havant, bringing fairly regular sightings of between one and six birds which appear at any time of day - I suspect they come daily but I only see them on some days. On June 23 I saw 4 together and on June 24 I only saw three.

Bee-eater: One was seen on the Pennington Marshes (Lymington) on June 21 and what may have been the same bird was over Portland on June 23

Sand Martin: On June 13 Dungeness reported the 'first of the autumn' passing over (8 birds) and on June 14 a group of nine birds flew in off the sea at Worthing with three turning up at Portland on June 16. At least one was over Budds Farm Pools here in Havant on June 20 and two were seen at the mouth of Chichester Harbour on June 22 when a total of around 30 flew south out to sea from the Selsey West Fields area.

Wheatear: The first departing bird was reported on the north coast of the Isle of Wight on June 12 and the second was at the Selsey West Fields on June 18

Mistle Thrush: One passing over Sandy Point on Hayling on June 22 was an unexpected rarity there.

Spotted Flycatcher: A bit of unexplained behaviour was reported on the SOS website on June 22. The bird was seen bathing (nothing unusual in that) but then it several times flew up and deliberately 'crashed into' the leaves of a Cherry Tree. The reporter asks if anyone can say why .. they suggest that the bird might have been using the leaves as 'towels' (seems unlikely) or might be disturbing insects from the leaves in order to catch them (surely they are able to pick the insects off the leaves without the disturbance). My guess would be that the bird was tryng to rid itself of parasites which were not dislodged by bathing.

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A single Red-veined Darter at Portland on June 23 is the only report so far this week

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Field Pepperwort: A few plants found in compartment 9 (below Fort Widley) of Portsdown on June 24

Strawberry Clover: This had just started to flower on north Hayling on June 22 with an especially fine show in the shore carpark area immediately southwest of Langstone Bridge (across the road from the one time Texaco garage)

Yellow vetchling (Lathyrus aphaca): First report from Durlston on June 22 - I believe this can still be found on Milton Common in Portsmouth (the only local site I know for it)

Goat's Rue: The white flowered plants were out at North Common (Northney) on Hayling on June 22 (a new colony has established itself well east of the original site in the big dip behind the blackberry bushes) and I suspect the blue flowered plants will now be flowering in the Oysterbeds carpark area.

Fragrant Agrimony: Flowering at North Common on Hayling on June 22

Great Mullein: First seen at Northney (Hayling) on June 22 with another find on Portsdown on June 24

Marjoram: Just about to flower in the Hayling Oysterbeds area on June 22 and a cluster well out on Portsdown on June 24

Hare Bell: A few of these lovely flowers already out on Portsdown on June 24

Squinancywort: Lots in flower on Portsdown on June 24

Small Scabious: First flowers on Portsdown on June 24

Sea Aster: Brian Fellows found a single early plant in flower at Newtown Harbour on the IoW on June 20 and I found another at Northney on Hayling on June 22 but no sign of general flowering yet.

Lesser Hawkbit: Plants flowering on Portsdown on June 24

Spotted Hawkweed (Hieracium maculatum): One plant flowering on Portsdown on June 24

Fragrant Orchid: Flowering at Noar Hill by June 21

Frog Orchid: Flowering at Noar Hill by June 21

Natterjack Toad: Christchurch Harbour reports an abundance of Natterjack tadpoles (no news of the colony at Woolmer near Alton)

(Link to previous day’s entry)

This afternoon I visited two sites on Portsdown, the first being the area immediately east of London Road and south of the Hill Road. My first target here was Bastard Toadflax which I eventually found in the unmown strip south of the carpark after adding Squinancywort, Small Scabious and Lesser Hawkbit to my yearlist. Crossing the sliproad leading down to the southbound London Road I found a patch of Marjoram in flower and perhaps 50 Pyramidal Orchids plus my first Harebells and Spotted Hawkweed. Over on the other side of the bridge over the London Road I looked at the smaller area by the sliproad to the northbound London Road but found nothing new here (and no sign of the Sickle Medick which was noteworthy here for several years - it may still crop up before the summer is out).

Next stop was by the Churchillian pub, south of which the recently revived (after scrub clearance) Dropwort plants have been flowering. I eventually found these and then looked round for the Common Valerian plants which Brian Fellows found here recently and said were 'a little east' of the Dropwort. They are in fact around 200 metres east, roughly south of the centre of the big viewpoint carpark and can be found by taking a very precipitous stile from the carpark area into the 'wild part' of the hill, continuing south for not more than 20 metres to a minor east-west cross track on which you turn east to find the plants hidden behind a small clump of trees a few metres on.

In addition to these two target species I also enjoyed my first encounter of the year with Musk Thistle and discovered a little colony of Field Pepperwort. Most of the Yellow Rattle had gone to seed but there was some still in flower and similarly Common Gromwell was showing its last flowers of the year (I also saw some late flowering Crosswort)

A couple of Painted Ladies were seen with two or three Marbled Whites, a single Common Blue and several Meadow Browns. Another insect seen in my own garden yesterday was the big Cranefly Tipula maxima.

(Link to previous day’s entry)

Today started well with a Comma on my newly flowering Buddleia but it was not until after lunch that I got on my bike and rode to North Common and the Oysterbeds on Hayling.

First news item was the flowering of the Least Yellow Sorrel in the grass at the foot of shrubs on the east side of Wade Court Road close to the speed humps and, south of the A27, the lovely pink of Musk Mallow at the gate into the pony fields west of the road.

At Langstone Pond there seemed to be the same number of Egrets around nests with two of the juveniles down at the water's edge.

At the south end of the bridge my first Great Mullein was flowering on the east side and at North Common there was a plentiful supply of Hedgerow Cranesbill (mainly just inside the gate) with Viper's Bugloss dominating the bank of the carpark.

Turning left (west) to the area behind the houses there was some Centuary (in the past masses here) among the Bird's Foot Trefoil and at the far west end the leaves of the Pepper Saxfrage were still small while the few Common Spotted Orchids were almost over. The one positive note here was that the white and yellow flowers of the Turkish Iris were right for that species (when they were just opening I had my doubts!).

Coming back to the main path the Fragrant Agrimony had started to flower and behind the blackberry bushes the white Goats Rue was out (later I found a large new colony of this further east as you near the new houses).

Before leaving the area I had a look at the small triangular Barn Owl box a little north west of the carpark - to my surprise I could distinctly see two Barn Owl heads inside it (maybe a pair breeding there? maybe two well grown young of this year? or perhaps just two young bird, siblings from last year and not breeding this year?)

Heading west towards the Oysterbeds I passed both Wild Celery and my first Sea Aster flowers in the roadside ditch before reaching the hotel/marina entrance, and round the bend the 'flower-rich hay meadow' in front of Bridge Farm produced my first Marbled White butterfly.

Across the main road in the 'Texaco Bay' carpark area there was a massive display of Strawberry Clover newly flowering, and as soon as I had turned south on the old rail track I came on a group of three ladies, equipped for birding but concentrating on something in the grass on the bank. They told me they were interested in some tiny moths, of which there were several (perhaps a dozen) fluttering around and landing on a small plant of Restharrow. It was clear from their shape that they were plume moths but I could not help with a name - I did however note the rich, orangey brown, colour of the wings and when I got home I searched the internet for plume moths of that colour which have Restharrow as their larval foodplant, coming up with a very likely candidate in Amblyptilia acanthadactyla. This can be seen on the wing in Hampshire from June to September with a peak in August - I suspect these were newly emerged moths which might help to account for them being active in the day.

I did not have much time at the Oysterbeds but I was pleased to find Marjoram starting to flower by the rail track, and disheartened to find no trace of the two orchids (possibly Common Spotted x Southern Marsh hybrids) which I had seen on my last visit - had they both been picked?

The only bird sighting noted was of two Shelduck flying north from the Oysterbed pools, the second bird so much smaller than the first that I wondered if it was a newly fledged juvenile rather than a female but I think it unlikely that any Shelduck juveniles can yet fly.

Cycling back up the Billy Trail in Havant I came up with Jason Crook, also heading home on foot, and he gave me news from the Oysterbeds where he says there are two families of Shelduck, both with parents, one pair having nine young, the other (I think) only three much smaller young. He had also seen three broods of Gadwall on the pools and he is wondering if Gadwall are in some way ousting Mallard from the waters where Mallard have in the past been in the majority as breeding duck.

(Skip to previous week)

(Link to previous day’s entry)

(Link to previous day’s entry)

This morning I cycled down Wade Court Road to Langstone Pond, then on to the north pier of the old rail bridge, then to Budds Farm and on home via Southmoor Lane

In Wade Court Road I heard Goldcrest song and passing the pony fields north of Wade Court I found Musk Mallow in flower for the first time.

At Langstone Pond at least one of the juvenile Egrets was flying well but on the sea (with the tide high) a Mallard which I disturbed from close to the sea wall had lost most of its flight feathers and could only flutter over the surface of the water to get away. Close by, near the Mill buildings, both Sea Lavender and Lax Sea Lavender were starting to open their flowers.

At the southern tip of the old rail bridge north pier the display of wild flowers was colourful with lots of Vipers Bugloss and Common Centaury with Yellow-Wort, Eyebright, Hop Trefoil, Black Medick and Bird's Foot Trefoil while further north larger species such as Perforate St Johns Wort, Field Bindweed and Hemlock were abundant. Less eye-catching, but a new addition to the flora of this site for me, was Rough Clover (T. scabrum).

At the end of Mill Lane, before turning south to the sea wall, I went through the gate onto the South Moors and was pleased to see, just beyond the gate, that Knotted Hedge Parsley was still present. At the mouth of the stream the Langstone Pond Swan pair had their six cygnets with them and from the southern fence of the Moors a Meadow Pipit sang briefly.

From Budds Mound I had two pleasant surprises as I looked down onto the pools - one was to see three cygnets with one of the Swans that have nested here, the second was even better - the presence of one pair of Shelduck with two juveniles and nearby four larger juveniles with no adults (I had wrongly assumed on my last visit that both pairs had failed to breed). While here it started to rain but that did not prevent me from seeing my first Sand Martin of the year among several Swallows and House Martins. Also seen here were both Great Willowherb and Black Horehound flowers.

Going up Southmoor Lane I stopped at the waste ground just north of Penner Lane where I had found Small Melilot last year - no sign of that but Ribbed Melilot was flowering and there was a single plant of a very bright yellow flowered spurge which I think was the ornamental species that comes up alongside Slipper Road at Emsworth and which I think to be Cushion Spurge (Euphorbia polychroma). Further up the road the grass where the Knotted Hedge Parsley grows had been very close mown and the few plants of the Parsley which take shelter in between the slats of the wooden fence seemed to be all in seed.

(Link to previous day’s entry)

Two more inland sightings of Fulmars seem to point to further expansion of their breeding area westward through Sussex right to the borders of Hampshire. Another species increasing its breeding numbers in Sussex is the Honey Buzzard, and still in Sussex we have a story of how Kestrels have perfected the art of mugging Barn Owls. Several wader species are now returning from breeding with Lapwing at coastal sites and the first Spotted Redshanks back in southern England. Cuckoos will soon fall silent but could still be heard this week. The belief that a Swift, once down on the ground, cannot get back into the air was disproved this week. Bird song is already starting to diminish but Garden Warblers and Nightingales were both heard this week. To judge by a sighting at Farlington Marshes Bearded Tits have had a good breeding season. Rarity of the week was a probable Woodchat Shrike in the New Forest

Two new dragonflies which have emerged this week are Brilliant Emerald and Keeled Skimmer and there has been a rare vagrant Lesser Emperor seen in Kent. Evidence that summer is now upon us comes in reports of the first White Admiral, Silver Washed and Dark Green Fritillaries. Others among the 34 butterfly species now on the wing are Small and Essex Skippers and Marbled Whites. 30 new moths for the year include the rare Dewick's Plusia and the information that Mullein Moth pupae can spend up to five years underground before emerging as moths. Other insects in the news are Field Crickets.

Many newly flowering plants this week include such regular delights as Great and Slender St John's Wort, Field Rose, Agrimony, Common Centaury, Yellow-wort, Wild Thyme and Musk Thistle. Less common plants getting a mention include Ivy Broomrape, Longleaf, Sea Knotgrass, Clustered Clover, Blue Water Speedwell and Sea Bindweed

Other Wildlife news includes info on Hedgehogs climbing walls and the news that a fungus that normally grows with Hornbeam trees can also be found with Hazel. Both Roe Deer and Water Vole have been seen out with their young.

(Skip to Insects)

Great Northern Diver: Sightings off Portland on June 15 and 16 must have been of a non-breeding bird.

Black-necked Grebe: A report of one at a Dutch site where up to six were present in March may indicate attempted breeding there - (one was there on May 8 and again on June 16)

Fulmar: Continuing the reports of Fulmars apparently seeking inland nest sites on Sussex buildings there was a sighting on June 13 of one exploring streets in Shoreham almost a mile from the sea and another sighting on June 14 of one flying south out of the mouth of Chichester Harbour which might indicate that one bird with social ambitions had been assessing the possibilities of finding an 'up market' nest site in Chichester.

Cattle Egret: One flew over the Brading Marshes (IoW) on May 14 - the first report anywhere on the south coast since May 24-26 when one was in the Pevensey Levels

Red-breasted Goose: One flying north over a Dutch site on June 14 was probably an escape from captivity

Smew: A redhead of this species was seen by a reliable observer (Nigel Jones who currently runs the Ornitholidays travel firm) to fly from the Solent up the Beaulieu River on June 13 - sounds to me like an escapee returning home after a trip to the seaside.

Honey Buzzard: A sighting of one in mid-Sussex on June 14 caused me to check the latest Sussex Bird Report which tells us that four pairs breed in Sussex in 2007, each pair successfully raising two young.

Kestrel: There have been plenty of accounts of Kestrels mugging Barn Owls in the hope of stealing the prey the owl was carrying but an observation at Waltham Brooks (close to Pulborough Brooks) on June 15 shows how some Kestrels have perfected this technique of getting food. Phil Muzzall describes wrote on the SOS website .. "On an evening visit to Waltham Brooks I spotted a Barn Owl quartering the area hunting. As it slowly approached, I sat on the path to be out of its line of sight. At about 10m distance it dropped to the ground; at the same time a Kestrel flew over and perched on a nearby tree. As the Barn Owl took off with a small mammal in its right claw, the Kestrel reappeared, inverted itself underneath it and snatched the catch away - a privilege to observe."

Quail: Just two reports, both on June 16 when two were present at Sandwich Bay and another two at Tarrant Rushton airfield in Dorset

Common Crane: Two were at Pulborough Brooks on the evening of June 14 but flew south next morning

Lapwing: A count of 137 at Christchurch Harbour on June 16 is the first sign of a mass return of these birds to the coast after breeding - these were probably failed or non breeders. Interestingly, when I was at the Gipsies Plain (south of Havant Thicket) on June 15 I could not see any sign of the pairs which have been breeding there and which are reported to have had two downy youngsters as recently as June 11 - maybe the young were taken by predators (Foxes, Kestrels, Buzzards all in the area) and the parents had left much earlier than expected?

Whimbrel: The Dungeness RSPB site reported on June 16 that 21 Whimbrel had been seen there 'recently' - at this date these are probably now heading back south

Spotted Redshank: Between June 14 and 16 singles were reported at three sites in Kent and one (Poole Harbour) in Dorset

Green Sandpiper: More of these seen this week - on June 16 the first of the autumn was at the Eversley Gravel Pits on the Hants/Berks border and 4 were at Sandwich Bay with 3 over the channel in Holland, and on June 17 one was at Hook near Warsash

Cuckoo: 'Singing' birds still to be heard on June 14 at Pulborough Brooks and on June 16 at the Paxton Pits in Cambridgeshire

Swift: On June 14 one crashed into a parked car in a Horsham street (outside houses where several pairs have nests) but managed to get airborne again unaided after recovering from the shock.

Nightingale: These have normall ceased singing by early June but four were still singing at the Paxton Pits in Cambridgeshire on June 16

Garden Warbler: Two reports of these still singing in mid June - one in the Thanet area of Kent on June 15 and another at the Arlington reservoir in Sussex on June 16 (where a Willow Warbler was also heard)

Wood Warbler: One of these (and several Firecrests) were singing in the New Forest on June 14

Firecrest: Last week, when I reported hearing probable Firecrest song at Fishbourne near Chichester, I said I was unfamiliar with the song of this species. This week Lee Evans has suggested, on HOSLIST, that the best place in Hampshire to hear these birds is Jubilee Grove in the Bolderwood area of the New Forest. Lee goes on to say .. "There is a designated car park where two roads meet which is best accessed from Lyndhurst about 2.5 miles NW on the Stoney Cross - Bolderwood road. Park here and either explore the trackside conifers and Holly scrub that lead down to the Badger and Deer Watchpoint or the tall Douglas Firs that border the road as far SW as the house entrance. Firecrests number up to 25 singing males here but beware too of many Goldcrests. With experience, it is very easy to separate the two species on call. The Firecrest sound is less ringing, slightly lower in tone but more direct and finishes evenly and without an upslurred inflection. The call note is rather piping. In my experience, males sing throughout the season, from early April through to mid July."

Bearded Tit: It would seem that these have had a good breeding season - at the Farlington Marshes lake on June 16 Jason Crook and others had close views of at least 22 (including several juveniles) with some 'high flying'.

Golden Oriole: Yet another sighting in Kent - this time of a female at Sandwich Bay on June 16

Woodchat Shrike: While cycling along the Lyndhurst Road just north east of Burley in the New Forest on June 14 Simon Woolley saw a bird fly across the road in front of him and says that if he had been on the continent he would have noted it as a Woodchat Shrike but here in Britain he cautiously reports it as a probable Woodchat Shrike!

Corn Bunting: One was singing at Old Winchester Hill in the Meon Valley on June 14

(Skip to Plants)

(Skip to Other Wildlife)

Greater Celandine: First of these to be seen this year was found flowering in the Compton/Up Marden area on June 15

Annual Wall-rocket: First sight of this in flower was in the Sandy Point area of Hayling on June 16

Sea rocket (Cakile maritima): First sight of this in flower was in the Sandy Point area of Hayling on June 16

Tutsan: First flowers seen in Havant on June 15

Slender St John's wort (Hypericum pulchrum): The first of these pretty flowers were out at Havant Thicket on June 15

Trailing St John's wort (Hypericum humifusum): First flowers seen at Havant Thicket on June 15

Pencilled cranesbill (Geranium versicolor): On June 15 I was very surprised to see that a couple of plants of this were flowering where I had seen them last year, among dead grass and a few weeds in a part of Havant Bus Station where a tiny strip of soil is surrounded by kerb stones the separate bus bays.

Spiny Rest-harrow: Some found with the commoner species at Sandy Point, Hayling, on June 16

Rough clover (Trifolium scabrum): Found at two places in the Sandy Point area of Hayling on June 16

Hare's Foot Clover: Flowering at Sandy Point on Hayling on June 16

Clustered Clover (Trifolium glomeratum): A colony of this which had been discovered in the Havant area in 2007 was still present on June 17 when it had all gone to seed.

Greater Bird's Foot Trefoil: First flowers found on June 15 on the Gipsies Plain south of Havant Thicket

Field Rose: First seen in flower on June 15 on the Gipsies Plain south of Havant Thicket

Agrimony: First flowers seen in Portsdown on June 14

Great Willowherb: First flowers seen in Emsworth on June 17

Sea spurge: Flowering in the Sandy Point area of Hayling on June 16

Longleaf (Falcaria vulgaris): This rare umbellifer is unlikely to be found in Hampshire (mostly found in East Anlgia) does occur in the Thanet area of Kent but on June 14 an entry on the Planet Thanet website makes a common complaint against the local council for spraying the plants with weedkiller - luckily some have survived.

Sea Knotgrass (Polygonum maritimum): On June 16 I found a fair number of these plants (around 40) with fresh leaves and incipient flowers on the shingle east of the Sandy Point nature reserve (their only Hampshire site) but also saw up to 20 plants with no sign of life

Russian Vine: This rampant escape is now flowering in the Billy Trail behind my house in Havant

Yellow Loosestrife: Genuine wild plants (not the Dotted Loosestrife now to be seen in gardens) was flowering in the Gipsies Plain area south of Havant Thicket on June 15

Creeping Jenny: Also flowering for the first time this year on the Gipsies Plain area south of Havant Thicket on June 15

Common Centaury: First report of flowering from Durlston on June 16, then out at a couple of Hayling sites on June 16

Yellow-wort: First sighting was by Brian Fellows on Portsdown on June 14, followed by a report from Durlston on June 15 and anothe find by Brian Fellows at the Hayling Oysterbeds on June 16

Sea Bindweed: In full flower on the sand of the Hayling shore near Black Point on June 16

Blue water speedwell (Veronica anagallis-aquatica): Plants found flowering in the Fishbourne village area near Chichester by Brian Fellows on June 11 and 13 have been accepted by the Sussex Plant Recorder as examples of the true species (not the common hybrid)

Wild Thyme: This was flowering on Portsdown on June 14

Black Horehound: First flowers found in the Hayling Oysterbeds area on June 16

Bugloss (Anchusa arvensis): Flowering at the Black Point sailing club on Hayling on June 16

Ivy Broomrape: Flowering in the Thanet area of Kent on June 14 - the yellow form may well now be on show at Portchester (Fareham) and the normal plants could be surviving the reconstruction of the Tesco store in Havant.

Greater Plantain: Some plants in the Havant area had flower spikes on June 15

Heath Bedstraw: First report of this came from the Gipsies Plain (Havant Thicket) on June 16

Ladies Bedstraw: First flowers in Havant Eastern Road cemetery on June 15

Musk Thistle: First flowers found on Portsdown by Brian Fellows on June 14

Bottle-nosed Dolphin: A pod of around 30 were off the east Dorset coast this week, the first sightings from the shore that I have seen since two were off Selsey on May 2. Prior to that there had been several Dorset sightings in Feb and March ending with a group of around 10 (including two youngsters) off Selsey Bill on Mar 28

Roe Deer: This year's young have been seen both on the north Hayling fields and in the Up Marden area

Hedgehog: Brian Fellows was delighted to find one in his Emsworth garden on June 17 (they have become very scarce in recent years and it has even become unusual to find road casualties). Brian wonders how the creature got into his garden which has high walls around it and this reminded me of a similar garden in the North End area of Portsmouth where I was shown a garden shed under which a Hedgehog sow had given birth to her young - the owner of the property told me the adult Hedgehog had no difficulty in climbing the wall, using her claws as 'crampons', on regular nightly foraging trips (I believe the average Hedgehog covers several kilometres each night, visiting many gardens en route). Getting down from the walls was even easier - the animal just turned itself into a ball and jumped off!

Water Vole: Sightings in the River Ems at Brook Meadow this week include at least two young animals - hopefully there are a lot more than two present.

Fungi: Although autumn is the main season for seeing fungi there are species to be found throughout the year and the current warm weather plus some rain brings up a good show. Last week there was a Stinkhorn 'egg' to be seen in a Langstone garden and that has almost certainly 'fruited' by now. In Emsworth a good show of large Dryad's Saddles has appeared and in my own garden I discovered one that I have not seen there before - a Milkcap called Lactarius circellatus which is normally found in association with Hornbeam trees. I was very doubtful of my identification until I found a webpage http://www.wildaboutbritain.co.uk/lactarius-circellatus which says that the species can also be found with Corylus avellana (Hazel) and my specimen is at the foot of a large Hazel tree

(Link to previous day’s entry)

This morning I was asked to identify some Ladybird larvae found in a Denvilles (east Havant) garden and I think I was able to re-assure the finder that they not the dreaded Harlequins but were probably very welcome aphid eating 7-spot Ladybirds. The main reason why the Harlequins are not welcome is that their favourite food is other smaller Ladybird species. Now that the Harlequins are very well established in this country there is a real threat that they will reduce the numbers of smaller Ladybirds to such an extent that plant destroying Aphids multiply out of control, creating a profitable commercial business for the firms which sell pest control species - causing Rose growers and other gardeners to buy their Ladybirds rather than getting provided free by nature. Following the commercial logic of that thought I wonder if any of the firms that profit from the Harlequins might have had a hand in importing them in the first place (not a very serious thought).

Being in east Havant I continued towards Emsworth as far as the west side of the A27 where, on what used to be the main road from Havant to Emsworth (and part of the major south coast trunk road), the thin grass overlaying the tarmac of the old road added a clover species to my repertoire in 2007 when I discovered a substantial patch of Clustered Clover (T. glomeratum) on May 29 of that year. Last year the plants were flowering on June 9 but this year I had failed to find them until today when, with some difficulty, I found just a few plants with dried seed heads - good enough to identify the species as its main characteristic other than its small size is the calyx with its long, sharp-pointed, triangular teeth which were very obvious once I had located the plants.

My last observation for this short trip came as I was cycling back along the little used southern pavement of Emsworth road and almost ran over a female Stag Beetle heading straight for the roadway (and almost certain death). I did my best to save it by returning it to vegetation as far as possible from the road ....

(Link to previous day’s entry)

This afternoon I drove to the south east tip of Hayling, parking in the unrestricted northern part of Bosmere Road and walking to Black Point, then around the shore of Sandy Point to come back up Bosmere Road.

At the southern end of the causeway to the sailing club there was a good show of Sea Bindweed on the seaward side of the mini sand dunes and much Sea Holly in bud (but none yet in flower). Nearing point where the road slopes up into the Sailing Club grounds I found some Rough Clover (T. scabrum) and at the top of the slope up Bugloss (Anchusa arvensis - not Viper's Bugloss) was flowering as expected. Heading west along the south side of the club buildings I enjoyed a continuation of the great show of Hare's Tail grass and some Tree Lupin flowers plus the Spanish Broom. In the saltmarsh area below the high tideline lots of Greater Sea Spurrey was dotting the ground with its large white star-shaped flowers and among it was lots of Saltmarsh Grass (Puccinella maritima). While here I also found a little Sea Rocket (Cakile maritima) but I was unable to go round to the west side of the club to check on the Saltwort and Frosted Orache which I have found here before the signs were put up by the Harbour Conservancy and Havant Borough saying that the beach is private beyond this point (with the aim of reducing disturbance to birds on the open beach but seemingly having no effect other than to prevent law-abiding citizens from visiting the beach but doing nothing to stop members of the sailing club, and local residents who refuse to change their established habits, from walking freely with their dogs and children regardless of any disturbance to birds). Dutifully turning back I did spot an unexpected cluster of White Stonecrop (not the English Stonecrop which is common on the beach) growing in sand among grass not far from the end of footpath signs.

Coming back down the causeway on the seaward side of the road I found my first Annual Wall-Rocket, Rest-Harrow and Sea Spurge all in flower. Nearing the Lifeboat Station, on the low shingle wall at approx SZ 75074 98601, with no other vegetation around it, I found my first indisputable example of the seashore form of Bittersweet Nightshade (Solanum dulcamara var marinum) - flat on the bare shingle and clearly long established there by the length of the woody sections at the base of the stems. Later I found other examples of this under the seaward fence of the Sandy Point reserve at around SZ 75019 98191 but I was less certain of these as their strong woody stems are not a diagnostic feature and the essential point to be established is the 'succulence' of the leaves (and I find this term vague!)

On the grass land south of the Lifeboat Station (the old hospital grounds) Common Centaury was in full flower and I said "Ow!" to prove that one cluster of Rest Harrow was Spiny. Further south, in the 'half fenced' section of the nature reserve, I was intrigued to find a very small plant of what seemed to be Sweetbriar rose (right in the south west corner of the fencing). Outside this fenced area, on the open shingle, I found just under 40 plants of the rare Sea Knotgrass with leaves to show they were alive but I also found at least 20 'plants' showing no signs of life (just heaps of 'driftwood')

In the area where the footpath emerges from the southern end of the half-fenced area, on the bare shingle, were several plants of Hound's Tongue covered with flower buds (I only found one open flower). I have only seen this species previously inside the reserve proper by looking over the fence - this year I could see none inside. I did see one plant of Rose Campion in flower inside the fence plus a lot of what must have been Heath Bedstraw.

(Link to previous day’s entry)

This morning I took a short local walk which included the Eastern Road cemetery where Ladies Bedstraw was a new flower for the year and other finds inluded the first Buddleia flowers in my garden and my first two summer brood Comma butterflies seen in the Fairfield School conservation area at the north end of the Billy Trail (where I see Bogbean plants are growing in the pond).

In the afternoon I visited the Gipsies Plain south of Havant Thicket where I added Slender and Trailing St John's Wort, Greater Bird's Foot Trefoil, Yellow Loosestrife, Creeping Jenny, Heath Bedstraw and Field Rose to my newly flowering list. Most of these were seen from the 'orchid ditch' path which I accessed by climbing over a gate where the north end meets the broad path across the Gipsies Plain but which can also be accessed by climbing another gate at the southern end close to where the path through Hammonds Piece Coppice emerges from that woodland. The unofficial name 'Orchid Ditch' is derived from the large number of Common Spotted Orchids which once bloomed there - today I could only see 53 of them.

Although I did not search for them I could see no sign of the Lapwings which attempted to breed here and which had at least two downy youngsters on June 11. One thing that I did note is that it seems that the Gorse flowering season is already over so it will soon be time to look for the Dwarf Gorse flowers in this area.