WEEKLY SUMMARY

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Red-throated Diver: The first to appear in the English Channel this autumn was off Dungeness on Aug 24

Sooty Shearwater: A few seen off Dungeness, Portland and Cornwall this week

Short-tailed Shearwater (Puffinus tenuirostris): A 'probable' claimed off Cornwall on Aug 26. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short-tailed_Shearwater for culinary uses and cooking time of this most abundant bird of Australian waters where it is known as the Mutton Bird. At this time of year it should be in the north west Pacific and I can find no records of previous sightings in British waters

Leach's Storm Petrel: One off Cornwall on Aug 22 seems to have been the first to join the many Storm Petrels and occasional Wilson's Storm Petrel seen there earlier this month

Shag: One at Sandy Point (Hayling) on Aug 23 shows that this species has dispersed for the winter

Great White Egret: Last week we had the first report of one back at the Blashford Lakes near Ringwood on Aug 16 but the only other sighting there has been on Aug 27 when the bird was seen to have a ring confirming that it is the regular visitor to this site - no doubt it will settle down there soon

Purple Heron: One was seen to fly over the Christchurch area of Dorset on Aug 28 but it is not known to have settled anywhere

Brent Goose: The first migrant arrivals are expected in mid-September (last year the outrunners arrived on Sep 14 and the first flock in Langstone Harbour was seen on Sep 18) but we always have a few sightings of summering birds as they come out of hiding around now and I see that 4 were seen in the Pilsey area east of Thorney Island on Aug 21

Wigeon: Although a few birds have already started to return (three flew west along the north Kent coast on Aug 17) a count of 30 flying west past Dungeness on Aug 27 is the first substantial indication of their return

Teal: These are now coming back in large numbers. On Aug 24 more than 60 were at Lodmoor (Weymouth) with 30 seen in Pagham Harbour that day and on Aug 27 Dungeness reported 66 passing west.

Hooded Merganser: When an unringed drake was found at Weymouth in June 2008 there was a lot of interest in it but when it was still lurking there in May of 2009 it was relegated to 'plastic' status and I saw no more reports until now when what I assume to be the same bird was reported at Radipole on Aug 26

Honey Buzzard: One flew south to sea from Portland on Aug 27

Black Kite: One reported ove Porthgwarra near Lands End in Cornwall on Aug 27

Montagu's Harrier: A juvenie reported at Porthgwarra in Cornwall on Aug 26

Osprey: 13 reports from nine sites this week include one over Langstone Harbour on Aug 26, the long staying birds at the Lower Test (Southampton) and Thorney Island, and possibly as many as four in Poole Harbour on Aug 27

Merlin: Further sightings of birds returning for the winter come from Rye Harbour on Aug 24 and Portland on Aug 27

Stone Curlew: One seen briefly early in the morning of Aug 24 at Rye Harbour where it had dropped in on its way south.

Ringed Plover: The presence of 210 at Christchurch Harbour on Aug 27 indicates a substantial return to the south coast

Dotterel: A juvenile was seen in the Sennen area of Cornwall on Aug 26 on its way south

Knot: A big movement of returning waders took place on Aug 23 taking 776 Knot west past Dungeness along with 57 Ringed Plover, 440 Grey Plover, a Curlew Sandpiper, 266 Sanderling, 72 Dunlin, 190 Bar-tailed Godwits, 71 Whimbrel, a Redshank and 113 Turnstones

Red-necked Stint: There are several Little Stints around at the moment (including at least one at Farlington Marshes and two at the Lymington Marshes this week) and what was thought to be another was seen at Ferrybridge (Weymouth to Portland) on Aug 27 but a close look at photos of it subsequently proved it was a Red-necked Stint and thus a first for Dorset and for Portland (Red-necked breed in the far east of arctic Eurasia and should then head down to the west coast of the Pacific). See some of the photos and the basic facts are on the Portland website at http://www.portlandbirdobs.org.uk/aa_latestnews.htm (entry for Aug 27) but do follow the link from there to 'The Bagsy Blog' ( at http://bagsy-thecaptainslog.blogspot.com/ ) written by the finder of the bird and providing further proof (along with the Three Amigos) that the Navy have a special talent for making wildlife entertaining for all.

Curlew Sandpiper: Now showing at many of the usual sites where it spends time in the autumn (this week at Farlington Marshes, Lymington Marshes, Christchurch Harbour plus Dungeness and Sandwich Bay)

Ruff: This week there have been four at Pagham Harbour, five at Christchurch Harbour and I think a total of six at the Lymington Marshes on Aug 23

Black-tailed Godwits: At the end of this week there were 177 at Hook (Warsash) on Aug 27 and 274 at the Lymington Marshes on Aug 28.

Bar-tailed Godwit: Pagham Harbour had some 120 on Aug 26

Grey Phalarope: After reports of singles in the Scillies on Aug 15 and Cornwall (Pendeen) on Aug 23 one has been seen in Chesil Cove (Portland) on Aug 26

Pomarine Skua: The first two of autumn passage were off Titchfield Haven on Aug 21 with one off Portland on Aug 23 and another off Selsey on Aug 26. Since then one was seen off the north Kent coast (Reculver) on Aug 27

Arctic Skua: On Aug 26 two were seen from Titchfield Haven area and seven from Selsey but so far we have seen nothing like the numbers off the Kent coast on Aug 27 when Dungeness had 123 and Reculver had 145 (Reculver also had 1 Long-tailed Skua that day)

Great Skua: Aug 27 also brought 70 Bonxies to Dungeness and 121 to Reculver

Ring-billed Gull: The bird which arrived back at Christchurch Harbour on Aug 6 was still there on Aug 24 and 26

Little Tern: 38 were seen off Dungeness on Aug 23 and on Aug 26 there were 5 at Rye Harbour and 3 at Pagham Harbour

Black Tern: We are now at the peak of their autumn passage with 66 seen at Dungeness on Aug 27 when 4 were at the Blashford Lakes near Ringwood. On Aug 26 there was one at Ivy Lake Chichester, one at Titchfield Haven, two in Pagham Harbour and five at Rye Harbour

Turtle Dove: A late bird was seen at Rye Harbour on Aug 28, the first to get a mention for ten days

Cuckoo: Two young birds were seen at Arne in Dorset on Aug 23 after one had been there the previous day

Swift: Still being seen in small numbers - 16 reports during the past week but none of more than 10 birds (that over Titchfield Haven on Aug 27)

Hoopoe: One spent 15 minutes on a lawn at Merston (halfway between Chichester and Bognor) on Aug 27 and what may have been the same bird was seen in the Climping area near the mouth of the River Arun on Aug 28

Wryneck: On Aug 22 one was catching ants on a lawn at Plumpton near Lewes and another was in the Ranvilles Lane area between Fareham and Stubbington. Yet another was spotted on the Lymington Marshes on Aug 28

Sand Martin: Around 500 were over Ivy Lake at Chichester on Aug 23 followed by multiple reports of flocks on Aug 27 (500 at Seaford Head and 'many' at Titchfield) and Aug 28 (60 at Durlston, 70 at Climping at the mouth of the Arun, and 280 going due south over Christchurch Harbour)

House Martin: On Aug 28 an estimated 1200 were over Seaford Head near Beachy Head and a small party were feeding over my garden at first light that morning before continuing south - in good years they would be having a third brood and not leaving until October.

Yellow Wagtail: 34 reports in the past week seem to indicate that most of these are now leaving us but the highest count among these was only 129 at Seaford Head on Aug 28 (only exceeded by 200+ at Rye Harbour back on Aug 20). Locally Aug 26 brought reports of 35 at Farlington Marshes, 60 on the Langstone South Moors, 8 at Northney on Hayling and 20 at Hook (Warsash)

Grey Wagtail: A few of these are now on the move with counts of three birds each over Climping, Seaford Head and Christchurch. White Wagtails are also starting to get a mention (e.g. two at Portland on Aug 27) though inevitably most of these go down as 'alba Wagtails' as they cannot be separated from the Pied.

Whinchat: 18 reports during the week with Seaford Head again having the peak count of 11 (plus 78 Wheatears, also the week's top count) but Farlington Marshes did have 7 also on Aug 28

Blackbird: These got onto the autumn migration list with 20+ at Beachy Head on Aug 25

Melodious Warbler: Singles at Durlston on Aug 24 and at Sandwich Bay on Aug 28

Dartford Warbler: Simon Woolley was pleased to see a family group (1 adult with two youngsters) when he was in the New Forest on Aug 27 and I was equally pleased to hear of a juvenile being seen on Sinah Common (south Hayling) on Aug 24

Wood Warbler: One was seen at the Testwood Lakes near Southampton on Aug 22 and two were at Sandwich Bay on Aug 28 bringing the count of these elusive birds seen on their way south this autumn to 12

Spotted Flycatcher: A group of around 6 were feeding in the East Park of Stansted Forest on Aug 24 and on Aug 28 exceptional counts were recorded at both Durlston (28) and Christchurch Harbour (29)

Red-backed Shrike: A young bird was at Dungeness from Aug 22 to 24 and another was at Nanjizal in Cornwall (a cove within a mile of Lands End) on Aug 27

Goldfinch: Flocks are starting to be seen on clumps of seeding thistles - around 30 at Clanfield (these were actually said to be on Knapweed) and 39 at Titchfield Haven, both on Aug 25

Bullfinch: One seen at Portland on Aug 27 was listed as a migrant

Lapland Bunting: First of this autumn was at The Lizard in Cornwall on Aug 23

Escapees: An unusual raptor seen hunting Merlin like low over the ground at Farlington Marshes on Aug 25 was thought to be a Lanner

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Species seen this week include Small Red-eyed Damsel, Southern Hawker, Brown Hawker (over Pevensey Levels), Migrant Hawker, Ruddy and Common Darter.

More exciting was the discovery of two Willow Emerald Damsels at Reculver just west of Margate on the north Kent coast - first seen on Aug 18th they were thought to be the Emerald Damsel Lestes sponsa but luckily they were still there on Aug 20 when photographs were identified by Francis Solly and Barry Hunt as the very rare migrant Lestes viridis. They were still present on Aug 28 when they were found to be a male and a female (maybe the forerunners of a colony in Kent?). Photos and details of this discovery can be seen on the Reculver website at http://www.kentos.org.uk/Reculver/Aug2010.htm Wikipaedia tells us that this species is to be found in southern and central Europe but is starting to colonise Britain (first seen in Sussex back in 1980) and the latest news on this can be seen at http://www.dragonflysoc.org.uk/hotnews.asp which tells of a find of more than 60 (including 5 mating pairs) on Aug 28 at a Suffolk site (Alton Water where they were found last year) while four were at Strumpshaw Fen in Norfolk on Aug 22. A series of photos can be found at http://www.dragonflysoc.org.uk/chvir.html (the species was previously called Chalcolestes viridis) and these show the key id feature to be a black 'spur' marking on the yellowish side of the thorax.

23 species seen this week including ...

Among the 49 species which I have seen reported this week the ones which caught my attention were ...

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Wall Rocket species: I found both the relatively common but small Annual Wall-rocket and the less common and large bushes of Perennial Wall-rocket at different sites in Havant this week. The latter are in full flower and can be seen in the extreme east end of the Havant railway carpark south of the railway - go to the area behind the disused signal box and look through the white railings for a bush standing more than a metre tall and similarly wide with all its long branches bearing large bright yellow flowers. Another bush can be seen on the gravel railway ballast through the wire fence a few metres west of the signal box enclosure and small young specimens are coming up on the carpark side of this wire fence.

Hairy Vetchling (Lathyrus hirsutus): A few flowers could still be seen among masses of dead plants covered with seed pods on the 'Broadmarsh mountain' here in Havant on Aug 24. The species looks set to flourish at this, its only known Hampshire site, for at least another year

Yellow Loosestrife: On Aug 21 Brian Fellows found this still flowering by the Lake in Leigh Park Gardens (Staunton Country Park) although the many plants in the drier parts of this country park were well past flowering

Apple of Peru: This has re-appeared as a self sown casual in Juniper Square at Havant close to where a large bush of it was rooted out a couple of years ago

Sharp-leaved Fluellen: I made an unexpected chance find of this in flower in the built up area of Havant on Aug 17 close to the Lymbourne Triangle Wildflower garden - the seed may have come from the introductions there but I have never seen it in the wildflower planting.

Wild Clary: Brian Fellows tells me that the plants he found flowering in Emsworth in July have started re-flowering and can be seen alongside Christopher Way near its northern junction with New Brighton Road. It seems that Martin Rand thinks it more likely that this is a genuine wild plant which has somehow survived here for many years (perhaps 50? probably more) since the area may have been an arable field rather than being the result of someone importing seed for their garden in more recent years.

Nodding Bur-Marigold: A good colony of this was found by Brian Fellows on Aug 24 alongside the Chichester Canal. The plants were not yet in flower but the flower buds were about to open

Water Hyacinth: Also found floating on the Chichester Canal were some leaves which Brian Fellows did not recognize but which may have been Water Hyacinth - if so they are unlikely to be allowed to remain there as this plant is notorious world wide for the speed with which it can completely take over any water surface, eliminating all other life on the water and causing a serious hindrance to any movement of boats along the waterways - unfortunately the pretty flowers which it bears make it a very saleable plant to gardeners with 'water features' and it then quickly moves to natural water where it is not wanted.

Autumn Ladies Tresses: These last wild orchids of the summer are usually in flower around the beginning of August but this year the first I have heard of were seen at Durlston on Aug 23 and I understand that they were only just starting to flower then in their regular sites in Emsworth and Hayling Island.

Cockspur Grass (Echinochloa crus-galli): This too has only just started to push up through pavement cracks and similar sites where bird seed has settled and it can now be found at many places in Havant and Emsworth (and no doubt elsewhere)

Myotis Bats: In last week's summary I said that there had been a possible 'hearing' of a Barbastelle during one of the recent surveys in the Emsworth area. I now understand that there was no evidence for a Barbastelle but the name may have been mentioned in talking about the difficulties of identifying some bat species using sound only. There is evidence for the presence of Daubenton's Bat feeding over the various channels of the River Ems but Daubenton's (Myotis daubentonii) is one of a genus that has four other species which can sometimes be confused when using a Bat Detector alone - Bechstein's (M. bechsteinii), Brandt's (M. brandtii), Whiskered (M. mystacinos) and Natterer's Bat (M. nattereri). See http://www.first-nature.com/bats/ for a quick introduction to these and other bat species. Also see http://www.northumberlandbats.org.uk/bats-in-northumberland/myotis which has this to say about the Myotis (Mouse-eared) group of bat species ...

"This is a genus of similar looking and sounding bat species with varying preferences and characteristics. There are 4 of them in Northumberland, but many more across the world! Sadly Britain’s most recent extinction was the Greater Mouse Eared Bat (Myotis myotis) in 1990. All of them have distinctly dark dorsal (back) and pale / white ventral (tummy) fur. For a beginner bat-watcher, they are not easy to tell apart. All have a strong preference for hibernating in caves, mineshafts, icehouses and cracks in stonework where they will remain at a steady cool temperature throughout the winter, they are noted to swarm in front of some of these sites in autumn prior to hibernating. Unlike many other species they do not have a particular call frequency, their call sweeps through all frequencies very rapidly. Try tuning a bat detector to about 50kHz and listen for tonal differences as described for each species, but sometimes even computer analysis of their calls can’t correctly identify them, so just enjoy them as Myotis bats!"

Snails: Recent rain and natural growth at this time of year have combined to bring many snail species into prominence this week. When clearing Ivy from a wall in my garden I found many bright yellow forms of the White-lipped Banded Snail (Cepaea hortensis) and some of the plainer brown Strawberry Snails (Trichia striolata) which have a distinctive pale white line around extreme rim of their shells. Strangely I have so far seen none of the big Common Snails (Helix aspersa). Presumably they are still in 'shut down' mode, hidden away in a cool place and with their opening sealed to prevent loss of moisture during the summer drought that we have almost forgotten!

Round-mouthed Snail (Pomatias elegans): This got a mention on the Durlston Rangers daily log on Aug 27 and that reminded me to keep a look out for it if I visit the 'Ladies Walk' on the east side of Stansted Forest. Towards the north end of this 'walk' there is a lot of loose chalk on the slope up through the trees to the east of the path and this is the only site where I have found this unusual species. The most unusual thing about it is that, where the great majority of land snails have long ago developed lungs to breathe air directly, P. elegans (and one other species - the tiny Point Shell (Acicula fusca)) insist on retaining the habit of their ancestors which lived in the sea and obtained oxygen from water via gills. This means that it has to preserve a vital water supply within its shell and to prevent evaporation it has a thick 'bath plug' fitted to the sole of its 'foot' - after the body and foot have been retracted into the shell this plug completely seals the shell (for an account of the contortions involved see http://snailstales.blogspot.com/2006/05/how-pomatias-elegans-comes-out-of-its.html ). To help reduce evaporation when not active this snail burrows into loose chalky soil before shutting down - which means that you will only ever see it if you search on damp nights when the live snails are out and about, or if you find the empty shells of dead snails that have been washed out of the chalk where they died. In checking these facts I learnt that you can distinguish the 'lung breathing' from the 'gill breathing' snails by the fact that the lung breathers have two pairs of tentacles where the gill breathers have one pair of tentacles, the second (lower) pair being replaced by eyes. Yet another difference is that the lung breathers are hermaphrodites while the gill breathers are of separate sexes.

Fungi: During the week I collected and ate another small crop of Field Mushrooms from the roadside grass of Southbrook Road in Langstone and nearby found more Red-cracking Boletes while in Emsworth Brian Fellows found Bay Bolete in Beacon Square. Giant Puffballs appeared on the lawn of Nik Knights garden in the Wade Court area and there has been a recent find of the colourful Chicken-of-the-woods but I seem to have not recorded the details

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Grebes: The first Black-necked of the autum was off the French coast on Aug 5 where two Red-necked were seen on Aug 11. The latter two were still there on Aug 17 and the first Black-necked to be seen in southern England was at Dungeness on Aug 16 (seen again on Aug 18)

Little Egret: Roost numbers increase dramatically at this time of year and while I have not checked the Langstone roost this week Rye Harbour reports their first count of more than 100 for this year with 102 on Aug 17

Great White Egret: One which spent an hour at the the Blashford Lakes near Ringwood on Aug 16 was the first sighting at this regular site since Feb 18 this year. Last year none were seen there between Jan 14 and July 21 with further reports on Aug 24 and 29, then Sept 14, before almost daily sightings started on Sept 24. In 2008 there were four sightings in Aug (first on Aug 16) before regular sightings started on Sep 8.

Glossy Ibis: The bird which was seen at Christchurch Harbour and then in the Lymington area at the end of last week has not been reported again since Aug 15

Greylag Goose: The five hand-reared birds which were released last week in the hope that they would set up home at Emsworth's Peter Pond had to be removed this week as they were attracting too much attention from local Foxes

Shelduck: On the evening of Aug 16 a flotilla of ten birds (at least 9 juveniles) were off the Warblington Farm shore in the outflow of the stream which flows down from the area just east of Warblington Castle - the adult birds will not return from their moult sites until mid-November

Teal: These are now returning in big numbers with 30 passing Selsey on Aug 17, 50 at Christchurch Harbour on Aug 15, 65 at Rye Harbour on Aug 17 and around 200 in the Kent Stour valley on Aug 18

Garganey: One was at Hook (Warsash) this week, three remained at the Lymington marshes and seven were in the Kent Stour Valley

Honey Buzzard: One (maybe from the New Forest) flew over Christchurch Harbour on Aug 15 and at least were reported moving over the Low Countries

Osprey: The number to be seen around Thorney Island increased to two on Aug 19 when four were seen in the Wareham Channel of Poole Harbour - others were seen during the week at Farlington Marshes, Titchfield Haven and the Lower Test reserve at Southampton

Merlin: Following the first back in southern England (in the New Forest on Aug 12) Portland had its first autumn bird seen on Aug 16 (plus what was probably the same bird hunting migrants there on Aug 17 and 18)

Quail: Singles heard in Sussex (Chantry Hill above Storrington on Aug 14), Cornwall (near Padstow on Aug 15) and at Sandwich Bay on Aug 19

Dotterel: One was with Golden Plover at the Oare Marshes (north Kent) on Aug 18 and two were seen in Belgium on Aug 18

Little Stint: One was at Farlington Marshes on Aug 17 and two were there on Aug 20

Temminck's Stint: It seems these have just started to turn up in southern England with one at Sandwich Bay on Aug 14 and another (or maybe the same one) in the Kent Stour valley on Aug 15

Buff-breasted Sandpiper: On Aug 13 Lee Evans reported one in Norfolk and on Aug 15 one turned up at Dungeness, staying there overnight but leaving in the morning

Lesser Yellowlegs: One turned up in the Scillies on Aug 9 and was seen again up to Aug 16 but not since

Black Tern: We are now in the peak of their autumn passage with 20 being present at Dungeness on Aug 15 while there have been other sightings this week at Sandy Point on Hayling, Ivy Lake in Chichester, Titchfield Haven area and Southampton Water (Weston shore)

White-winged Black Tern: A single juvenile was seen this week at Dungeness on Aug 15

Turtle Dove: Still passing through Kent up to Aug 18 when there were 9 at Reculver on the north coast plus one in the Stour Valley

Cuckoo: This week on was seen at Reculver on Aug 14 and another at Beachy Head on Aug 18

Swift: Numbers reported on the south coast remain abnormally low with maximum counts of just 10 at both Portland and Titchfield Haven (these were maximum counts at any one time, not day totals). On the near continent the maximum was 71 in the Netherlands on Aug 19

Kingfisher: One flew over Peter Pond at Emsworth on Aug 15 and two were seen at the Southampton Testwood Lakes on Aug 17

Sand Martin: Aug 18 saw a surge of these flying south with 1800 roost at Slimbridge, 300 at Dungeness and 40 at Durlston. Aug 19 saw 1200 at Dungeness and Aug 20 brought reports of hundreds over the Chichester Gravel Pits.

Yellow Wagtail: Most coastal sites are now seeing a few but Rye Harbour is the first to report more than 100 with 200+ on Aug 20 (when Farlington Marshes had just three)

Grey Wagtail: Now starting to be seen as a migrant along the coast with singles this week at Hook (Warsash), Durlston and Beachy Head

Chiff Chaff: Coastal sites have reported very few of these so far this autumn whereas Willow Warblers have been seen in their hundreds since the end of July. On Aug 20 the Sandwich Bay site noted that Chiff Chaff numbers seen there were starting to pick up as those of Willow Warblers dropped off

Red-backed Shrike: The first autumn bird to be seen in southern England was at Dungeness on Aug 16 (staying to at least Aug 18) while a second was found at Reculver in north Kent on Aug 18

Lesser Grey Shrike: One was found in Norfolk on Aug 17 and 18 (I think the first autumn vagrant to Britain). Also this week at Woodchat Shrike was on the move in Portugal

Rook: These are diminishing in numbers each year along the south coast so it was good to see perhaps 30 among a flock of mixed Corvids (mainly the numerous Crows every present along the local shoreline) in a recently harvest wheat field at Warblington Farm on Aug 16

Starling: The first substantial report of a Starling flock since the beginning of March was of around 500 at the Woolston (Southampton) sewage works on Aug 15

Tree Sparrow: On Aug 20 there was a surprising report of a flock of 20 seen on the Pevensey Levels near Eastbourne which made me wonder if they were actually House Sparrows which are now roaming the countryside in flocks but I think the observer was a competent naturalist and I see that last year flocks of presumably continental birds stated to reach us in early September with 7 at Dungeness on Sept 4 and 75 at Spurn Point on Sept 7 after which sporadic sightings of small numbers in southern England were reported until the year end

Linnet: An autumn flock of up to 100 had built up on the north Kent coast by Aug 18

Reed Bunting: Just one seen in the Warblington Farm fields on Aug 18

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Southern Hawkers, Migrant Hawkers, Ruddy Darters, Common Darters and Emerald Damselflies were the only species reported this week

26 species seen this week still including Dark Green and Silver Washed Fritillaries, Marbled White and Ringlet

Among the 44 species of which I noted sighting this week the following were newcomers to my list of the year ..

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Garlic Mustard: Most of the plants which had been partially cut back along the path following the north edge of Nore Barn woodland at Emsworth had started to reflower on Aug 16

Swine Cress and Lesser Swine Cress: See Brian Fellows' diary entry for Aug 21 at http://www.emsworthwildlife.hampshire.org.uk/0-0-0-wildlife-diary.htm and my own entry for the same date at http://ralph-hollins.net/Diary.htm We still have no absolute agreement on distinguishing the two species we are getting close to one!

Amphibious Bistort: The leaves of this plant can be seen at several local sites but it is quite rare to find any of the plants in flower but Brian Fellows found one at Brook Meadow on Aug 15 (and I suspect some can now be found at the Fishbourne Meadows site)

Pale Toadflax: I know that a lot of this grows on shingle at Browndown with a small colony flowering on South Hayling but I was not aware that it coud be found at several inland sites in Hampshire. Ros Norton found in on Aug 14 at Old Winchest Hill (one of the sites mapped in the Hants Flora). During my investigation into this find (knowing that I have in the distant past thought that the pink version of Purple Toadflax was probably called Pale Toadflax) I discovered that this pink cultivar goes by the name of a Clergyman called Canon J Went!)

Gipsywort: Brian Fellows was the first to report this flowering this year when he found good specimens by the Chichester Canal on Aug 19

Wild Clary: Brian Fellows this week had confirmation that the 'dead stems' of a tall labiate he found recently by Christopher Way roadside in Emsworth are the remains of Wild Clary and he now recalls having seen the blue flowers of this plant there in July. I rather suspect that these plants originated in a local garden where the owner had purchased them from a specialist supplier, perhaps just to beautify his garden but perhaps also following advice on the Natural England website recommending gardeners to plant this species to encourage bees and to support other wildlife but it is nevertheless encouraging to see maybe starting to move back into the wild.

Devils Bit Scabious: I saw my first examples for the year of this species flowering on the Gipsies Plain within the Staunton Country Park on Aug 16

Sneezewort: I was pleased to find a large number of these plants growing in the 'Thicket Lawn' meadow south west of the Leigh Park Gardens lake in Staunton Country Park on Aug 16

Ladies Tresses: The first report of this small wild orchid in flower comes from Durlston on Aug 17

Frog Orchid: The first mention of this species that I have seen reported this year was from Old Winchester Hill on Aug 14 but they normally start flowering in June

Bottle-nosed Dolphins: A boat trip off the Sillies saw more than 70 of these on Aug 14. Elsewhere I read this week of a group of Dolphins surrounding and attacking a Porpoise off the Welsh coast and further investigation indicates that this is not uncommon. The Dolphins do not kill the Porpoises for food (though dead Porpoises washed up on the shore often show marks of Dolphin teeth on their bodies - these are inflicted during the 'gang bullying' of the Porpoise until it drowns). A Californian source describes Dolphins killing Porpoises and then dragging the dead bodies to the boats of Marine Life researchers (interpreted by the article as a way of getting the humans to dispose of the corpses so that they do not pollute the Dolphins environment and not a intentional way of aiding the reasearch!). No one knows why the Dolphins attack the Porpoises but the behaviour has been likened to the way in which one group of Chimpanzees will kill another group for no apparent reason. Packs of dogs also exhibit similar behaviour and the Californian experience could be likened to the way that some domestic cats bring their kills home to present them to their human owners. I hear that Dolphins will also gang up on and kill Sharks.

Common Seal: The number to be seen in Langstone Harbour seems to increasing over recent years - on Aug 15 at total of 7 were seen from Farlington Marshes

Water Voles: Brian Fellows found at least one in the Chichester Canal this week (this is reported to be a good site for them as is the small stream running into the Fishbourne Channel through the meadows near Fishbourne Church). One thing that I did not previously know about Water Voles was described in the latest edition of British Wildlife which arrived this week - namely that Water Voles are regularly infected by Leptospira bacteria which do not seem to harm the voles but which can transfer to humans and give them Weil's disease whose symptoms start off like those of the Common Cold but which then become life threatening through effect which include kidney failure. Anyone carrying out research into Water Voles and handling the animals or their droppings should be aware of the possible danger

Bats: Nik Knight has recently conducted several bat surveys in the Emsworth area finding many Pipistrelles and at least one each of Serotine and Daubenton's bats plus possibly a rare Barbastelle Bat

Fungi: By the end of this week the ground had become sufficiently rain soaked to cause some of the larger autumn fungi to start fruiting and I found Red-cracked Bolete (Boletus chrysenteron) in my garden and Field Mushrooms (which were added to our Sunday lunch) in the short grass of the Havant Eastern Road cemetery

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Great Northern Diver: On Aug 12 one was seen at Tiree in the Scottish Western Isles and reported to the Trektellen migration site as 'remarkable' so I guess this is an early indication that these divers are now moving south after their breeding season

Red-necked Grebe: First mention of this species this autumn is of one off the French Normandy coast on Aug 11 (the first mention of a Black-necked Grebe, also off the French coast at Cap Gris-nez on Aug 5, was included in last week's summary)

Great Shearwater: First to be seen this autumn was off the Scillies on Aug 8

Sooty Shearwater: Plenty of these now off the Cornish coast with 73 off Porthgwarra near Lands End on Aug 6 (Porthgwarra is the southwest tip of the 'snout' of Cornwall which has Lands End at its northwest tip)

Manx Shearwater: A few of these are currently to be seen in the Portland area (max 14 off Portland this week) but more than 4,000 were seen off Pendeen in Cornwall on Aug 12 (Pendeen is on the north coast half way between Lands End and the Hayle estuary)

Mediterranean (or Yelkouan) Shearwater: Two reports of one or two 'probables' off the Cornish coast this week on Aug 6 and 7

Balearic Shearwater: 14 off Portland on Aug 8 and 30 off Pendeen on Aug 12

Wilson's Storm-petrel: One seen from a Scilly Islands pelagic boat trip on Aug 6

Storm Petrel: Several sightings in Cornish waters with a max of 140 at Porthgwarra on Aug 6

Bittern: One at the Dungeness RSPB site on Aug 7 was presumably the same bird which allowed a visitor to that site to tick six species of Heron on the previous day (Grey and Purple Heron, Little, Cattle and Great White Egret plus the Bittern)

Little Egret: A count of these entering the Langstone Mill Pond tree roost on the evening of Aug 12 recorded 105 birds

Great White Egret: In addition to the long term stayer at Dungeness there are one or two currently present in Cornwall

Glossy Ibis: One arrived 'out of the blue' at Christchurch Harbour on the evening of Aug 12 but flew off next morning to be seen briefly at Upton country park in Poole Harbour before vanishing again. It then flew back to Christchurch Harbour for 30 minutes on the afternoon of Aug 14 before flying east to land in the Lymington marshes where it was last seen at 7:30am on Aug 15 This is the first to be seen in Dorset since 2008 although there have been 467 accepted records of the species in Britain including four in Hampshire prior to the current bird (one near Brockenhurst in 1965, one at Titchfield Haven in 1977, one at Ringwood in 2004 and one at Lymington in 2008)

Brent Goose: A group of 9 were seen at the Weston Shore of Southampton Water on the morning of Aug 15. No information as to where these came from but they are presumably birds that have spent the summer elsewhere on the south coast and are now on the move as their moult is complete and they feel the urge to migrate.

Egyptian Goose: A count of 14 at the Blashford Lakes (Ringwood) on Aug 11 is, I think, a site record although at least 7 have been recorded there in the past. In north Hampshire there has long been a large flock in the Eversley area on the Berkshire border and an influx there in Sept 2008 set a county record of 156 birds

Mandarin: The arrival of a juvenile at the Milton lakes (Portsmouth shore of Langstone Harbour) on Aug 11 could presage the arrival of more of these in the Portsmouth area. I think the feral population in southern England is growing and expanding (a count of 62 came from the Weir Wood reservoir in north east Sussex on Aug 4)

Garganey: The number at the Lymington marshes rose to 3 on Aug 9 (all still there on Aug 12) and there were 10 on the Stour valley lakes in Kent on Aug 13

Pochard: The arrival of one at Rooksbury Mill (Andover) on Aug 8 was probably an indication of this species starting to return to Hampshire to boost the small number that stay here to breed.

Honey Buzzard: These are now moving from summer to winter quarters with most of them heading southwest over northern Europe (on Aug 11 one site in the Netherlands reported 18 with another 2 seen over Belgium) but a few move over Britain and one was a surprise over St Ives in Cornwall on Aug 9

Red Kite: Keith Betton has this week published a summary of results of a study of Red Kites breeding in Hampshire this year. He knows of 14 nests in the county (not surprisingly all but three of them were in the north of the county close to Berkshire). The 14 nests had an average of 2.2 chicks adding a total of 31 to the Kite population of the county. 14 of the young birds were wing tagged with a Yellow tag on the left wing and Blue on the right.

Osprey: The first I have heard of in Langstone Harbour this summer was seen at Farlington Marshes on Aug 8 and one was still fishing in the Thorney Island (Pilsey) area on Aug 12 (possibly the same bird that was first seen there on July 25)

Merlin: Two reports indicate that these are moving south earlier than usual. On Aug 11 one was reported from Fife in Scotland (but away from any regular breeding area) and on Aug 12 one was seen in the New Forest

Spotted Crake: The first to appear in the south of England this year was in the Kent Stour valley on Aug 10 with two seen there on Aug 13

Common Crane: I believe there has been a small resident colony of around 30 birds in Norfolk for several years and this week I see that Crane eggs have been imported to England from Germany and have hatched at Slimbridge where the young birds will soon be released in the hope of starting another colony in Britain

Kentish Plover: The first to be reported in Britain this year (as far as I know) was on the north Kent coast at Seasalter on Aug 9 - see photo with entry for that date on http://www.kentos.org.uk/Seasalter/August10.htm

Grey Plover: Brian Fellows saw his first returning summer plumaged bird at the Hayling Oysterbeds on Aug 10 (the flock of 34 at Farlington Marshes that day may have all been non-breeding birds that have stayed in Langstone Harbour through the summer). I suspect that the increase in the number seen on the Lymington marshes from 26 on Aug 10 to 40 on Aug 11 was due to other returnees. (One was back on the IoW as early as July 31)

Black-tailed Godwit: Local reports this week were of 225 at Farlington Marshes on Aug 10 and 193 at the Thorney Great Deeps during the Aug 12 WeBS count

Bar-tailed Godwit: A count of 430 flying past Dungeness on Aug 7 indicates that these are now returning from breeding quarters

Curlew: Plenty of these now back on our local shores - on Aug 11 more than 800 were flushed from Farlington Marshes by a Peregrine and on Aug 12 the Thorney Great Deeps WeBS count recorded 380 (along with 96 Greenshank)

Lesser Yellowlegs: One turned up on St Agnes in the Scillies on Aug 9

Red-necked Phalarope: The first I have heard of this year was seen in the Netherlands on Aug 11 and the first Grey Phalarope that I am aware of since January was seen from a boat off the Scillies on Aug 7

Wood Pigeon: Although many of these can still be heard singing amourously and a pair were seen mating in Sussex there are signs of large post breeding gatherings. On Aug 10 hundreds had gathered (with Feral Pigeons) on stubble fields west of Titchfield Haven, and more than 500 were seen on the north Kent coast on Aug 12.

Cuckoo: Juveniles were seen on the Sussex South Downs and in the Scillies but no adults have been reported this week

Nightjar: In this week's Hampshire bird news there are references to a video which I have not seen showing a Fox raiding a Nightjar nest from which the young escaped alive (thanks it is thought to the female parent distracting the Fox for long enough for the young to make their getaway)

Sand Martin: Aug 11 saw another departure of these and Swallows - Christchurch Harbour saw 320 Sand Martins leaving and Portland that day had 200 Sand Martins and 400 Swallows

Peak counts of departing passerines at coastal sites this week have been:

Escapees: A White-cheeked (or Bahama) Pintail turned up at Sandwich Bay on Aug 9 and what was probably a Weaver Species was seen on feeders in a Southampton garden on Aug 13 (reported as a probable Black-headed Bunting but Lee Evans commented that while this species is seen in gardens it does not use hanging feeders as a similar looking Village or Black-headed Weaver regularly does)

(Skip to Plants)

The only reports this week I have noted this week are of one Southern Hawker on Malling Down near Lewes on Aug 8 and a few Blue-tailed Damsels at Sinah Gravel Pit Lake on Hayling on Aug 11

35 species were reported this week including ...

Louse fly species (Ornithomya avicularia): One found attached to a gardener in the Peasmarsh area near Rye was using the gardener as a substitute for the bird species which it normally parasitises (see my Diary entry for Aug 12 which comments on the species and has a link to the photo on the Rye Bay website)

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Creeping Yellowcress: A single plant flowering in a tiny patch of soil in the Havant Rail Station taxi stand area was a surprise find on Aug 12

Bastard Cabbage: A mass of seeds on the Hayling seawall in the Saltmarsh Lane area showed that this recent invader has settled in and taken over here and a single plant seen at The Kench shows that it is still extending its range on Hayling

Fragrant Agrimony: When I went to the North Common open space at Northney on Hayling on Aug 11 to check the continued presence of this species by the 'backward looking' bristles on its seed capsules I found fresh plants whose flowers had not yet opened (the original plants had been cut down with brambles earlier in the season but the Agrimony had re-grown). Luckily I was able to check the identity by the fragrance of the fresh leaves (they soon lose their scent with age)

Sea Holly: I was able to tick this species after finding just one plant in flower on the Hayling Island Gunner Point Sand Dunes on Aug 11

Dotted Loosestrife: Also seen on Aug 11 at the Sinah Gravel Pit Lake on Hayling were the yellow flowers of this plant peeping out among the Willow Trees around the Lake (where I have never noticed the species in past years). After writing this I see that I should cease to use the word 'lake' to describe the water in this old gravel pit after hearing on the radio this week an expert on the distinction between Ponds and Lakes - according to him a Pond has no stream bringing water into or taking it way from the pool whereas a Lake always does have an inflow stream.

Yellow Pimpernel: I was very surprised, considering the current drought, to find this plant flowering in the Hollybank Woods at Emsworth.

Black Nightshade: I found my first example of this in flower on Hayling on Aug 11 and on Aug 12 Brian Fellows found some among other weeds flourishing on disturbed or imported soil at the junction of New Brighton Road with Horndean Road just north of Emsworth rail station. The Nightshade plants found there were very hairy (normal Black Nightshade appears hairless) and may be either the subspecies S. n. schultesii or perhaps Green Nightshade - the id cannot be determined until some fruit berries develop (Green Nightshade has its berries at least half covered by an enlarged calyx whereas both subspecies of Black Nightshade have very small calyces that do not even cover the top of the berries) Later on Green Nightshade can also be identified by its berries remaining green while those of Black Nightshade turn black.

Pale Toadflax: This has just one small colony on Hayling Island (in gorse at the edge of the well used path along the southern edge of the mini-golf course at its extreme eastern edge near the public toilets) and the plants were flourishing there on Aug 11

Thyme-leaved Speedwell: When gardening in my garden on Aug 12 I came across a single flower of this species to indicate the start of its autumn revival

Marsh Ragwort: This was a new tick for my August list of flowering plants when found it on Aug 9 in the dry bed of the Lavant stream where it runs beside the rail line on the east side of the Bartons Road playing fields at West Leigh in Havant

Sticky Groundsel: The first plant of this I have seen in flower was spotted in the Denvilles area of Havant on Aug 9 and I have since seen another by the East Pallant roadside near my home

Guernsey Fleabane: This hairy leaved species started to flower this week, slightly later than the Canadian Fleabane with its greener hairless leaves and smaller size. I think I also came across a different species (with a differently shaped overall plant structure) but I need to investigate further to be sure if the different shape is diagnostic and, if so, whether the different species is the relatively common Argentine Fleabane or the rarer subspecies of Canadian Fleabane known as Conyza bilbaoana (which is quite common in the Southampton area)

Marsh Cudweed: Found by me for the first time this year in Hollybank Woods at Emsworth on Aug 9

Cotton (or Scotch) Thistle: I saw a clump of this huge thistle growing in a garden (as a planted species) on Aug 11 when I also passed gardens containing planted specimens of Apple of Peru in flower.

Cockspur Grass (Echinochloa crus-galli): One plant growing in the road gutter of Bound Lane in South Hayling on Aug 11 is the only example of this that I have seen so far this year

Bottlenosed Dolphin: No recent sightings in the English Channel but I see that 8 were seen off the north Cornish coast (St Ives) on Aug 12

Common Dolphin: 30 off St Just in Cornwall on Aug 12

Minke Whale: Two seen off the Scillies on Aug 8

Slow-worm: Lifting a piece of felt at Northiam in the Rother Valley near Rye on Aug 9 gave Brian Banks the chance to photograph something which few have seen - a baby Slow-worm still in its 'egg sac' immediately after its mother had given birth (the baby burst out within a few seconds of the picture being taken). See http://rxwildlife.org.uk/category/all-latest-news/reptiles-and-amphibians/

Pointed Snail (Cochlicella acuta): This tiny snail with its 'church steeple' shaped shell around 15 mm tall was in the past very numerous on the Portsmouth North Harbour IBM site but seemed to have died out there several years ago though it can still be found on the seawall of Thorney Island at the west end of the Great Deeps. I think most of its sites are coastal but this week it got a mention at Malling Down just east of Lewes. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cochlicella_acuta

Sun Fish: This strange fish, which looks like a very large dinner plate balanced on its rim (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean_sunfish ) and which feeds on Jellyfish, has been seen (along with Basking Sharks and Blue Sharks) in the waters around the Scillies this week

Cuttlefish: On Aug 7 Barry Yates (warden of Rye Harbour reserve) found 'bunches of black grapes' on the beach. After taking them home and putting them in a fish tank they hatched out into cute bay Cuttlefish - see http://rxwildlife.org.uk/2010/08/09/cuttlefish-birthday/#more-14212

Sea Orange (Suberites ficus): Several of these orange coloured sponges which can measure 30 cm across were washed up on the Rye Bay shore on Aug 14 - see http://rxwildlife.org.uk/2010/08/14/sea-orange/#more-14228 and http://www.european-marine-life.org/02/suberites-ficus.php

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Black-necked Grebe: The first I have heard of this summer were a couple seen off Cap Gis-nez in France on Aug 5 - maybe returning birds will soon appear in Langstone Harbour?

Manx Shearwater: These are now being seen daily off the Dorset coast with a count of 210 off Portland on Aug 4

Balearic Shearwater: Also plentiful off Portland with 83 seen on Aug 4

Gannet: 110 seen in the west Solent (Hurst area) on Aug 7

Bittern: These are already heading south - on Aug 1 one was seen to circle over and then land at the north Kent Oare Marshes and on Aug 2 two were reported at Dungeness (where a Cattle Egret and a Great White Egret remained throughout the week)

Purple Heron: The pair which have nested at Dungeness this year had at least one juvenile with them on Aug 5

Black Stork: Several 'unusual' sightings of up to 5 birds reported from sites in the Netherlands and Belgium this week. One Netherlands site also reported a sighting of three White Storks as unusual - post breeding dispersion? or start of return migration?

Greylag Goose: The Greylag population in Hampshire has gradually increased over the past 50 years or so (though nothing like the extent of the expansion of Canada Geese) and Greylag remain almost rarities in south east Hampshire. This year a group of 5 young Greylag (captive hatched) have been introduced to Peter Pond at Emsworth where, after being kept in a pen for around a month to get them used to the site) they were released on Aug 1. It is just possible that they will stay and breed in the area and even attract other wild birds to join them.

Shelduck: A pair with 2 young were seen at the Hayling Oysterbeds on Aug 3

Mandarin: The Weir Wood reservoir near Crowborough had 62 of these on Aug 4

Teal: A count of 30+ on the Weir Wood reservoir on Aug 7 indicates this species is starting to return

Pintail: First back were six seen at Dungeness on July 28

Shoveler: Bembridge Marshes (IoW) had 11 back on Aug 7

Eider: The number off the Lymington Marshes had increased from 14 to 17 on Aug 7 and watchers at Selsey saw 23 fly east on Aug 3

Honey Buzzard: Parties of up to six moved over sites in Germany and the Netherlands this week and one was seen over the Thanet area of Kent on Aug 1

Sparrowhawk: Two juveniles were making their first attempts at hunting over Christchurch Harbour on July 31 and what was probably another inexperienced juvenile was hit by a train in Brighton station on Aug 1 (one of the station staff took it to the local wildlife hospital)

Golden Eagle: If you want to say you have seen a Golden Eagle in Sussex go to the area around Ashburnham Place (just west of Battle near Hastings) - there have been regular sightings of one there since 2008 with several reported this week. I suspect this is a falconers bird with a good home, not just an escape.

Osprey: The Thorney Island bird which was first reported on July 25 was still there on Aug 6 and the bird which arrived at the Lower Test Marshes on July 26 was still there on Aug 7. Several others were seen this week with a total of four in Poole Harbour.

Stone Curlew: A resident at Birdham beside Chichester Harbour was out in his garden at 1:15am on Aug 6 and heard a Stone Curlew flying over. Another was seen near Wadebridge in Cornwall on Aug 3

Golden Plover: 33 were seen at the North Kent Oare Marshes on Aug 1 and one was at Christchurch Harbour on Aug 2

Grey Plover: One in full summer plumage was seen at Newtown Harbour (IoW) on July 31 with two more at Lymington on Aug 7. Over in Kent there were 35 at the Elmley Marshes on Aug 1

Ruff: Several recent sightings include one in Poole Harbour on Aug 2, one at Sidlesham Ferry (Pagham Harbour) on Aug 3 and one at Pagham North Walls on Aug 5, with another at the Lower Test on Aug 6 and 7. Elmley Marshes in Kent had 7 on Aug 4

Black-tailed Godwit: The flock at Hook near Warsash numbered 283 on Aug 2 and there were 80 in Emsworth Harbour on Aug 3 and 70 at Keyhaven (Lymington) on Aug 7. These are all presumably of the Icelandic race while over in Kent (where the birds are of the European race) the flock at the Oare Marshes on Aug 2 was estimated to number 2200.

Turnstone: These have not yet returned to the Solent in any numbers but on Aug 4 there was a flock of 220 on the north Kent shore at Seasalter

Arctic Skua: These have started to appear along the Channel coast since July 20 but they are rarely seen inland so one flying over the Hayling Oysterbeds on Aug 5 was a great surprise

Lesser Blackback: A report of 82 at one Netherlands site on Aug 3 shows that these are now on passage to winter quarters and one of these eastern race (fuscus) birds had stopped off on the Langstone shore when I was there on Aug 8

Kittiwake: On Aug 3 eight of these were seen at Durlston and that report told me that juvenile Kittiwakes are called 'Tarrocks'

Common Tern: Jason Crook's latest Blog entry on Aug 5 confirms that he too believes that two pairs of Common Tern were still incubating eggs at that late date.

Black Tern: Singles seen at Titchfield Haven on Aug 5, 6 and 7

Cuckoo: One, presumably an adult, was seen at Mill Rythe (east Hayling) on Aug 7

Barn Owl: A pair has raised three young this year in a nest box sited in the East Park at Stansted - the three chicks have all be ringed.

Little Owl: Jason Crook tells us that one has been seen several times recently on a pile of logs seen from the field gate on the east side of the Hayling Coastal Path just north of the Stoke Common trees (opposite the gate into the field north of the Oysterbeds lagoon). Dusk is probably the best time to look for it.

Swallow: 500 headed south from Portland on Aug 2 (400 left there as early as July 23) but a pair were still feeding four juvenile in a nest on Thorney Island (Marina Farm) on Aug 7

Meadow Pipit: A report of around 30 at Seaford Head (near Beachy Head) on Aug 7 confirms that this species has joined the move south

Yellow Wagtail: Rye Harbour had as many as 40 there earlier this week but reports so far from Hampshire and Dorset sites are of no more than single birds so far

Whinchat: Only two reports of these on the south coast so far - two in the Steyning area north of Worthing on July 31 and one at Pagham on Aug 5

Stonechat: I saw my first for some months on Aug 2 in the Paulsgrove chalk pit area of Portsdown

Wheatear: Maximum counts of departing birds so far have been 15 at Portland on Aug 2 and 23 at Christchurch Harbour on Aug 5. Locally one was at the IBM North Harbour site in Portsmouth on Aug 6

Mistle Thrush: This species has greatly diminished in recent years and the large autumn flocks of the past have become rarities so it is encouraging to see three reports of flocks this week - 16 on the Pevensey Levels on Aug 2, 24 at Eastleigh Lakeside country park on Aug 4 and 15 at Brading Marshes (IoW) on Aug 7

Peak counts of departing passerine migrants this week have been -

Marsh Tit: I was pleased to hear one close to me in Stantsed Forest on Aug 7

Mixed Tit Flock: One flock was estimated to have 350 birds (including some warblers) the Arne reserve in Dorset on Aug 1

Goldfinch: First report of these on Teasels was of 30 birds seen at Christchurch Harbour on Aug 7

(Skip to Plants)

37 species seen this week including ...

25 species reported including Sussex Emerald, one Hummingbird Hawkmoth, Garden Tiger, 3 reports of Jersey Tiger all on Aug 2, Tree Lichen Beauty and Marbled Green

Flecked General: This imposing Soldier Fly was seen at Rye Harbour on Aug 5 and the report was illustrated with a photo showing the female Flecked General egglaying close to an older batch of her eggs in which the parasitic wasp Chalcis sispes was inserting her own eggs that will kill off the young of the Soldier Fly. The report goes on to describe how the female Chalcis sispes guards the batch of Soldier Fly eggs she has found until they are at the right stage to support her own young, using her strong back legs to 'push off' any other female Chalcis sispes which tries to get possesion of the eggs. See http://rxwildlife.org.uk/2010/08/05/fascinating-2/#more-14189 for this report and pictures

Phasia hemiptera (Tachinid Fly): Photos taken at Rye Harbour this week of this very imposing fly can be seen at http://rxwildlife.org.uk/2010/08/07/id-at-last/#more-14196

Hornet: The first report of this species that I am aware of is of one 'eating a Gatekeeper butterfly' in the Steyning area north of Worthing on Aug 2. The description of the Hornet eating the butterfly is I think misleading as I understand that adult Hornets live on nectar from flowers and the insects which they catch are only digested for transport back to their nest (only the grubs are carnivorous).

Maid of Kent Rove Beetle (Emus hirtus): This species is not the subject of a current report but a photo of it heads the Elmley Marshes August sightings page and following up the species on Google I would now love to come across it for myself but I am not sure of the distribution of this species (it may not occur in Hampshire). The picture that set me off can be seen at http://www.kentos.org.uk/recentsigntings/EMMAug10.htm

(Skip to Other Wildlife)

At the end of this week my personal count of plant species seen in flower this month has risen to 184

Narrow-leaved Pepperwort: An unexpected find of a fresh plant in flower by the A27 Langstone roundabout on Aug 4

Pale Flax: Another surprise was to find a very late flower on this plant at Portsdown on Aug 2

Soapwort: Yet another surprise was to find the double flowered form of this (known as Bouncing Bett) flowering by the main road into Havant from the north where it goes over the railway near Havant Station. No doubt this came from a garden but is now well eastablished among brambles with no one to care for it

Green Amaranth (Pigweed): On Aug 3 I found small plants starting to flower at a site in Juniper Square (Havant) where it has come up in recent years

Bastard Toadflax: This was still flowering on Portsdown on Aug 2

Hairy Vetchling (Lathyrus hirsutus): Plenty of this still flowering at its only Hampshire site on the old rubbish tip 'mountain' at Broadmarsh (Havant) on Aug 4

Sickle medick (Medicago sativa ssp. falcata): Another local rarity this species was still flowering on Portsdown (its only Hampshire site) on Aug 1

Lucerne: Several plants flowering beside the Portsdown Hill Road outside Fort Widley (and elsewhere on Portsdown) on Aug 2. I see that this plant is very closely related to Sickle Medick

Slender Hare's Ear: I found two small plants of this on Thorney Island near the Great Deeps on July 29 and commented that it would be difficult for anyone who did not know where to look to find them but by Aug 7 other plants in the same area (near the Little Deeps) had grown much taller and they should be now fairly easy to spot along the base of the seawall as you go south past the Little Deeps to the Great Deeps. On Aug 8 I searched the seawall of the Langstone South Moors and found two plants, not yet in flower, showing that the species is not yet extinct there.

Ling Heather: Just starting to flower in Stansted Forest on Aug 7

Lesser Centaury: I was delighted to find a good number of these tiny plants flowering at two places on Portsdown on Aug 2

Moth Mullein: A clump of white flowered plants has appeared in a Horndean garden and is now in flower - no doubt these pretty plants (which can be bought by gardeners) came as seed from a garden in which they were planted in the past but they have received no help to grow where they now are.

Round-leaved Fluellen: This was flourishing in Warblington Cemetery on Aug 6

Harebell: A better than usual show of these in flower on Portsdown on Aug 2

Shaggy Soldier: I usually find this at Prinsted but on Aug 7 Brian Fellows discovered a new to me site for it by the Thorney Main Road opposite the end of Thornham Lane

Violet Helleborine: Two plants in full flower at a site in Stansted Forest near the junction of the Main and Broad Avenues on Aug 7. It had been reported flowering in Kent on July 29 (with Broad Leaved Helleborine also flowering at the same site)

Otter: I believe these have long been established in the Lymington River so it was no surprise to hear fo two being seen there by day on Aug 3 sharing a large Rainbow Trout

Common Seal: One seen near the gull roost just inside Pagham Harbour on Aug 5

Pygmy Shrew: One seen in Brook Meadow at Emsworth during a Conservation Work Day on Aug 1

Water Vole: One in the R Ems at Brook Meadow on Aug 1 brought the count of sightings there for this year to 66

Large Black Slug (Arion ater): Rain this week brought out a full grown specimen for me to see in Stansted Forest on Aug 7

Basking Shark: These are a relatively common sight off Cornwall in the summer but a sighting of more than six in the 'inter-island' water between a couple of the Scillies on Aug 2 was reported as unusual

Oysters: An item in the news from Seasalter on the north coast of Kent (near Whitstable, home of the 'native' oysters) this week passes on a rumour that the Oyster Beds off Seasalter have new owners who have come from France and have brought Oysters over from France which are carrying a virus previously unknown in Britain - this could have implications for our local Oysters in Langstone Harbour.

Fungi: Recent rain will no doubt soon give us a good show of Fungi but I have only come across two examples this week. One has only been seen in passing along the Emsworth Road in Havant under trees on the north side of the road just west of the Traffic Lights at the junction of Southleigh Road and awaits investigation (I checkied it out on Aug 8 and found it to be a young Giant Polypore on the roots of a mature Beech tree not far east of Meadowlands road). The other was seen last Sunday (Aug 1) on the base of a mature oak in my son's garden at Botley and I fear it may give him a problem as it seems to be Inonotus dryadeus which causes white rot in oaks and could kill the tree.

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Bittern: The lone bird seen at Lodmoor (Weymouth) on July 22 was still there on July 27

Little Egret: A count of Egrets arriving at the Langstone Pond roost on the evening of July 30 recorded a total of 124. I have no information about other local roosts but there could be a similar number using the trees near the Little Deeps on Thorney Island and a smaller number in the south Hayling Tournerbury Wood trees.

Grey Heron: On July 29 a total of 38 Herons (including several juveniles) flew west over Christchurch Harbour. This probably represents post breeding dispersal but the number of birds involved is the highest I have seen in any previous reports of migrant Herons.

Spoonbill: 3 juveniles were on the Lymington marshes on July 26 and the number in Poole Harbour was up to 7 on July 30

Brent Goose: It would seem that the birds summering along the south coast have probably completed their summer moult and are now starting to show themselves and move around. On July 25 one appeared in Christchurch Harbour having flown in from the west and on July 26 two birds flew west from the Hamble River mouth while July 28 brought a report of one in the Holes Bay area of Poole Harbour

Shelduck: All the reports of these I have seen this week are of unaccompanied juveniles - the latest, of a single in Christchurch Harbour on July 30, carried the comment that all the adults have now left for their moult sites

Wigeon: I have not yet seen reports of returning birds elsewhere but on the evening of July 30, looking south from the Royal Oak at Langstone, I saw a bird in the outfall stream from Langstone Mill Pond which looked like an eclipse female though the bird was distant and my view hampered by the banks of the stream at low tide.

Garganey: Two separate birds were seen on the Lymington marshes on July 30, presumably new there as they start their autumn journey south

Shoveler: The first to return to Christchurch Harbour was seen there on July 28 and on July 29 I think I saw two in the creek running north east into Eames Farm fields from the west end of the Thorney Great Deeps

Red-breasted Merganser: Two seen this week, both on July 29. One was off the mouth of Shoreham Harbour and the other in the Solent off the Lymington marshes (where 14 Eider were reported on July 31)

Marsh Harrier: An adult and a juvenile were seen at Lodmoor (Weymouth) on July 27 - presumably birds from the family which bred there this year.

Osprey: What I think was the first returning bird to appear there this summer was at Thorney Island on July 25 (and still around on July 29). On July 26 one appeared at the Lower Test site at Southampton and has since been seen there daily. Other individuals were seen at Weir Wood reservoir near Crowborough and over Christchurch Harbour, both on July 26 - the latter bird flew on south out to sea

Hobby: One was seen locally in Emsworth Harbour chasing the Swallows coming to roost in the Thorney Island reeds on the evening of July 27

Quail: One was heard on the Downs above the River Arun south of Amberley on July 25 and on July 29 a group of four small birds which appeared to be Quail was seen in a wheat field at Plumpton Green (near the racecourse just north west of Lewes). The observer of the latter asked for support in his identification of them as Quail, and while I have seen no further comments on the SOS website I was reminded of my own encounter with similar birds on the Langstone South Moors on 22 Aug 2009 after which I was convinced that they were in fact baby Pheasants - one argument was that there were no previous south coast records of groups of Quail pausing on their southward journey (these birds were still present several days after I saw them), and the other argument (from a member of the Game Conservancy) was that young pheasants can fly short distances when only 12 days old when their appearance could be mistaken for Quail.

Avocet: These are now making their way west to the places where they will spend the winter in the River Exe and in Poole Harbour. Christchurch Harbour reported 7 passing on July 26 and 6 on July 30 whereas a report from Titchfield Haven on July 30 said that only 1 was left there (on June 18 the Three Amigos blog recorded the presence of 62 adults and 15 juveniles)

Golden Plover: A summer plumaged bird flying over Hope Gap (Beachy Head) on July 30 is the first returning bird I am aware of on the south coast

Lapwing: Still less than ten to be seen on the Langstone shore but on July 22 there were 47 in Christchurch Harbour and on July 29 there was an unusual report of 96 at Woolmer Pond in east Hampshire and 100 at Christchurch

Knot: Two birds seen on the Lymington marshes on July 26 were in full summer plumage

Sanderling: A flock of 100 were on the Climping shore (mouth of River Arun) on July 29 and no doubt even larger numbers will soon be seen on the Pilsey sands.

Little Stint: One appeared on the Lymington marshes on July 29 and two were there on July 30

Black-tailed Godwit: Peter Potts reports that these birds have had a poor breeding season in Iceland where he and his team managed to ring more than 100 birds. Non-breeding birds which have stayed here have been reported this week from Pagham and Christchurch Harbours but the only substantial current count is of 298 on July 29 at Hook near the mouth of the R Hamble.

Little Gull: The single bird which has been at the Lymington marshes since at least July 24 seems to be the only one on the south coast this week

Lesser Blackback: A large and growing number of these now breed on rooftops in many coastal towns but I was interested to see that a pair have raised two youngsters this year on the roof of the IBM North Harbour (Lakeside) building at Portsmouth - the young are now fledged.

Common Tern: A count of 706 entering Langstone Harbour to roost on the evening of July 28 was high for the time of year indicating that many of these birds are leaving early. One Roseate and one Black Tern also came to roost there that evening

Turtle Dove: One was heard 'purring' on north Thorney on both July 25 and 27

Cuckoo: One adult was at Dungeness on July 26 and two were at Folkestone on July 28 while a juvenile was seen in the Climping area at the mouth of the R Arun on July 29

Kingfisher: The first bird to be reported at a coastal site was one at Pett (on Rye Bay) on July 24 and Christchurch Harbour reported their first back on July 28

Swallow: Around 1000 Swallows were seen in Emsworth Harbour on the evening of July 27 before going to roost in the north Thorney Island reed beds, easily beating counts of around 400 roosting at Farlington Marshes on July 21 and another 400 heading south from Portland on July 23. On July 26 a single white Swallow was seen in the Cuckmere Valley near Beachy Head - a rarity but not unknown (last year one was hatched in Aberdeenshire and another in Hampshire in the Hamble valley where one had been seen 20 years earlier)

Tree Pipit: One seen at Christchurch Harbour on July 29 seems to be the only passage bird so far

Yellow Wagtail: Passage birds had been seen at Dungeness since July 20 and the first to be reported in Hampshire was at Hook (Warsash) on July 26 with one at Durlston in Dorset on July 27

Robin: I heard the first brief burst of autumn song in my Havant garden on July 29 and Brian Fellows heard his first in the Southbourne area east of Emsworth on July 30

Nightingale: Departing birds have been seen on the Sussex coast since July 20 (max 2 on July 22)

Common Redstart: Departing birds first seen at Dungeness and Christchurch Harbour on July 26 with 4 on Luccombe Down (IoW) on July 30

Wheatear: First report from the coast at Portland on July 23 (12 there on July 29). Among several other reports three were on Thorney Island on July 27 and one at Hook (Warsash) on July 30

Grasshopper Warbler: The first departing bird was at Christchurch Harbour on July 23 and six were reported at Beachy Head on July 24

Sedge Warbler: 11 were at Christchurch Harbour on July 23 where 45 were seen on July 26 among numerous other reports

Reed Warbler: The first two departing birds were at Beachy Head on July 22 and by July 30 there were 15 at Christchurch

Lesser Whitethroat: First departing birds were 3 at Hope Gap (Beachy Head) on July 20 and 12 were seen at Seaford Head on July 27.

Common Whitethroat: 35 were at Hope Gap as early as July 20 and 54 were there on July 30 with many seen at other sites

Garden Warbler: One was at Beachy Head on July 24 and another in the fields south of Fareham on July 26 with ones and twos subsequently all along the coast

Blackcap: 7 at Beachy Head on July 20 and 8 at Christchurch on July 28 were the first and peak counts

Wood Warbler: One at Folkestone on July 27 and another at Sandwich Bay from July 27 to 30

Chiffchaff: Relatively few among the departing birds with a max of 20 on Luccombe Down (IoW) on July 30

Willow Warbler: First two seen at Beachy Head on July 22 with large numbers at many sites since then. Sandwich Bay had 100 on July 28 and Christchurch Harbour had 135 on July 29

Pied Flycatcher: First was at Pagham on July 26 with another at Dungeness that day followed by singles at Sandwich Bay, Christchurch, Luccombe Down (IoW) and Portland

Long-tailed Tit: 42 were among a mixed Tit flock of 100 birds at Four Marks in east Hampshire on July 27

House Sparrow: Many of these have now left the urban areas for their autumn 'holidays' in the country

Common Crossbill: The only report which I have seen to back up Lee Evans report last week of a 'widespread influx' is of a single bird moving north over Sandwich Bay on July 29

(Skip to Plants)

36 species seen this week, including ...

(Skip to Other Wildlife)

Common Fumitory: A first report of this in flower from field edges in the Southbourne area (east of Emsworth) on July 30

Bastard Toadflax: This was still flowering on Portsdown on July 28

Spreading Hedge Parsley: On July 29 Martin Rand (BSBI Plant Recorder for South Hants) saw the plants which I had seen in a Langstone garden on July 20 and confirmed that they were indeed Torilis arvensis arvensis (the species that was once common in arable fields in England) and not one of three sub-species that can be found elsewhere in Europe (and which might have arrived via bird seed). The origin of the plants remains a mystery.

Burnet Saxifrage: A good show of these plants was seen on July 27 in the Havant Eastern Road cemetery where the grass has not been mown for some time and more of them were found in St Faith's churchyard in central Havant on July 28

Wild Angelica: This was just starting to flower in Brook Meadow at Emsworth on July 27

Slender Hare's Ear (Bupleurum tenuissimum): The first few plants were found flowering on the Thorney Island seawall at the west end of the Great Deeps on July 29

Marsh Woundwort: Last year this attractive plant was flowering on July 1 but this year the first I have heard of was out at Brook Meadow in Emsworth on July 30

Hare: At least one could still be seen in the fields adjacent to the Thorney Great Deeps on July 24

Pointed Snail (Cochlicella acuta): This tiny snail of dry land (usually near the sea) can still be seen on the Thorney Island seawall at the west end of the Great Deeps. At least six tiny youngsters were clinging to grass stems when I was there on July 29

(Skip to previous week)

This week's summary is incomplete and is a 'practice run' to restore my memory of how I used to prepare Summaries before the recent enforced gap of six months in my work on this website

(Skip to Insects)

Fulmar: Three flying off Gore Cliff at St Catherine's Point (IoW) on July 21

Manx Shearwater: 10 seen off Portland Bill on July 23 plus 3 Balearic Shearwaters

Bittern: One seen at Lodmoor (Weymouth) on July 22 was very unusual for the time of year - it was thought to have been there for a few days

Little Bittern: Lee Evans reports a female with fledged young was present at the Ham Wall RSPB reserve in Somerset on July 23

Little Egret: One was an unexpected visitor to Woolmer Pond in east Hampshire on July 22 and 23. Locally a large number are now using the Langstone Pond roost (around 50 thought to be there by 6pm on July 20 indicating a much larger number would probably arrive before nightfall)

Great White Egret: A long staying bird at Dungeness was still there on July 23

Purple Heron: The pair which has bred at Dungeness this year had at least two chicks seen on July 19

Spoonbill: A group of six juveniles were present at Keyhaven (Lymington) on July 19 and 20. At least one was at Brownsea Island in Poole Hbr on July 20

Egyptian Goose: On July 23 John Clark found 17 (including 6 fledged juveniles) at the Wellington Country Park in north Hampshire plus another 12 at Fleet Pond. Another 8 were by the River Avon at Cowards Marsh (Christchurch) on July 22 and I see that back in March a minor influx of the species had been reported in Sussex

Shelduck: Fledged juveniles are now starting to leave the company of their parents and to be seen unaccompanied or in creches. On July 23 four unaccompanied juveniles were seen at the Bembridge Marshes (IoW) and on July 24 a pair of adults had a creche of 13 juveniles with them. Locally I saw two unaccompanied juveniles at the mouth of the Langbrook stream (Langstone South Moors area)

Peregrine: The nest box on the chimney of Shoreham Power Station has been used by Peregrines for several years but it was taken down before the breeding season this year to permit work to take place on the chimney. By July 23 it had been re-installed and a pair of Peregrines were seen perched on it that day.

Quail: What was presumably a migrant heading south was heard at Portland Bill on July 23

Stone Curlew: Also presumably a migrant heading south was seen briefly on the ground at Rye Harbour on July 20

White-tailed Plover (aka White-tailed Lapwing): Very few of these have been recorded in Britain but on 27 May this year one turned up at Seaforth in Lancashire. What was probably the same bird then appeared at Rainham Marshes in London on 7 July, moving to Slimbridge on 9 July before moving to Dungeness where it was seen daily from 11 July to 21 July

Lapwing: At least six were back on the Langstone Pond shore by July 20 and there were 47 in Christchurch Harbour on July 22

Little Stint: One was among 97 Dunlin at Rye Harbour on Juy 25

Curlew Sandpiper: Jason Crook found a summer plumaged and 'very vocal' bird at the Hayling Oysterbeds on July 21 or 22

Ruff: Several passage birds seen this week - one at Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour on July 20, one at Lomoor Weymouth) on July 22, one at Titchfield Haven on July 23 and a male at Pagham Harbour on July 24

Black-tailed Godwit: On July 22 a flock of 270 were at Hook Links near the mouth of the R. Hamble at Warsash. On July 24 there were 25 in Pagham Harbour

Whimbrel: Quite a few reports of passage birds - I saw my first at the Langstone Pond shore on July 20

Spotted Redshank; At least two were in Poole Harbour on July 20 and 21 and another was at the mouth of the Beaulieu River on July 22

Redshank: Around 100 were on the Langstone Pond shore on July 20

Greenshank: Several recent reports including 11 birds at Farlington Marshes on July 21

Green Sandpiper: Plenty of these around including 8 at Rye Harbour on July 23 and 2 at Farlington Marshes on July 21 plus one flying over south Hayling on July 24

Wood Sandpiper: One at Weir Wood near Crowborough on July 21 foloowed by singles at Lodmoor and Lymington plus 3 at Rye Harbour this week

Common Sandpiper: Now being seen at many places along the south coast with 10 at Rye Harbour on July 23

Arctic Skua: One past Christchurch Harbour on July 20

Great Skua: One off Portland Bill on July 23

Little Gull: One seen at Pennington (Lymington) on July 20 and up to 3 at Dungeness this week

Common Gull: 3 back in Christchurch Harbour on July 24 and at least one at Langstone on July 25

Arctic Tern: One seen at Lodmoor (Weymouth) on July 24

Turtle Dove: Singles (presumably passage birds) on the Isel of Wight on July 23 and 24

Ring-necked Parakeet: One flew over Southampton on July 22

Cuckoo: Portland Bill reported their first bird heading south on July 22

Swallow: Around 400 came to roost in reeds at Farlington Marshes on July 21 (less than 10 Sand Martins among them) and Portland reported 400 flying south on July 23

Yellow Wagtail: 7 passage birds at Dungeness on July 20 with more later in the week

Nightingale: One in the Beachy Head area on July 20 with one or two more later in the week

Wheatear: At least one departing bird at Portland on July 23

Mistle Thrush: A post breeding flock of 10 birds at Cissbury Ring (Worthing) on July 20 and a single adult with one fledged juvenile in the Langstone Wade Court area that day.

Grasshopper Warbler: Singles on the Dorset coast on July 23 and 24 and 6 at Beachy Head on July 24

Sedge Warbler: More than 30 at Christchurch Harbour on July 24

Reed Warbler: 3 at Beachy Head on July 24

Whitethroat: 43 Common and 4 Lessers at Beachy Head on July 22

Blackcap: Plenty now moving south with 7 at Beachy Head on July 20

Willow Warbler: Portland reported the first 10 departing birds on July 23

Common Crossbill: Lee Evans reported a widespread influx into Britain on July 23

Bullfinch: Brian Fellows heard one singing in the Hollybank Woods at Emsworth on July 20. To hear this bird singling is very uncommon (I have only heard it once in my life) and at this time of year it must be even rarer.

(Skip to Plants)

Migrant Hawker: A brief sighting in a Langstone garden on July 20 was my first view of this species for the year

Hairy Dragonfly: A brief item on TV News this week about New Forest Dragonflies included an unexpected sighting of a Hairy Dragonfly by the Crockford Stream near Beaulieu - although this is a relatively common species in Kent, Sussex and Dorset it is not normally found in Hampshire

Wood White: At least one second brood insect was seen at Ebernoe near Midhurst on July 21

Green-veined White: Second brood insects have been out since at least July 19 when two wre seen in Creech Woods at Denmead

Purple Hairstreak: These seem to be flourishing this year - a single car drive on July 23 found them in 16 Sussex tetrads - and there have been numerous reports of them on the ground or at low level though they are most commonly seen around the tops of Oak treees

Brown Argus: This species is normally found on heathland but does occasionally have woodland colonies and on July 19 Andy Brook reported finding more than one in open areas of the Hollybank Woods (north of Emsworth)

Painted Lady: On 20 July 2009 more than 300 were seen at Dungeness and 500 in the Chichester area but this year the only reports I have seen for this week are of one at Stubbington near Gosport and another at Cissbury Ring above Worthing

Large Tortoiseshell: One reported at Knighton (IoW) on July 21

Camberwell Beauty: One was convincingly reported to have been seen in a Maresfield garden (by the A22 on the southern edge of Ashdown Forest) on July 21

Wall Brown: The first report of a second brood sighting comes from the Downs above the Cuckmere valley near Eastbourne on July 21

Grayling: An exceptionally early first sighting was made at Browndown near Gosport on July 1 but more normal first fnds come from north Hampshire heaths on July 20 and from the Eastbourne area on July 17

Humming-bird Hawkmoth: Very few reports this year - just three this week from Sandy Point on Hayling, Stubbington near Gosport and the Haywards Heath area of Sussex

Flying Ants: On July 20 there was little wind and the air was warm and this triggered an exceptionally massive emergence of flying ants. I watched a dense column of them rising from my garden for at least five minutes (probably much longer) and my son who had just driven past Havant Park said there were so many in the air there that they presented a traffic hazard. Later I read in the local press that this phenomenon was widespread and there were accounts of people fleeing from the streets of Gosport into whatever shops they happened to be close to in order to escape the ants which were on their clothing and in their hair

(Skip to Other Wildlife)

Dwarf Gorse: At this time of year Common Gorse has ceased flowering but Dwarf Gorse is only just starting to flower. I saw a few bushes with flowers in Havant Thicket on July 24

Narrow-leaved Bird's-foot-trefoil (Lotus glaber): There was a large display of this along the seaward side of the cycle track running at the foot of the A27 embankment in the Chalkdock area of Langstone Harbour on July 21. Look for it where the wooden fencing on your left starts as you head west from the Broadmarsh grassland

Caucasian Stonecrop: This red flowered species had just started to flower on one grave in the Havant Eastern Road cemetery on July 17

Short-fruited Willowherb (Epilobium obscurum): While in Havant Thicket on July 24 I saw a Willowherb which I did not recognize but subsequently named it as this species by virtue of its square stem and the length of its fruit capsules (less than 6 cm)

Spreading Hedge Parsley: On July 20 I noticed three small white flowered umbellifers growing as 'weeds' in a Langstone garden flowerbed and subsequently identified them as this species which I have not previously found in Hampshire though I have seen specimens that were past flowering in the East Park at Stansted.

Burnet Saxifrage: On July 17 I was pleased to see that a few plants were flowering in the Havant Eastern Road cemetery despite the close mowing of the grassland in which they grow

Marsh Pennywort: Although this is not a rare species I have not come across it for many years so I was pleased on July 24 to find a great mass of its leaves in the damp channel of the tiny stream running south across the rough grassland north of the Long Avenue running north from the Staunton Country Park lake

Golden Samphire: My first sight of this in flower was on July 20 on the Langstone Pond seawall where I also found that Lax Sea Lavender is flourishing with more and larger plants than in previous years

Sneezewort: On July 24 I was pleased to see that a few plants of this can still be found flowering in Havant Thicket

Water Vole: One was seen swimming underwater for some distance in the R Ems at Brook Meadow on July 19 (normally they swim on the surface)

Hare: 'Many leverets' reported to have been seen by a walker on The Burgh area of the Downs above the R Arun south of Amberley on July 25