Countryside Rangers Diary
September
September has a restless feel.
The sounds of summer changing slowly to those of autumn. It can
be a rewarding month for wildlife watching with lots going on
before the dark of winter sets in.
The last of the insects now emerge and mature. Meadows,
grasslands and patches of scrub scratch away with their own rhythms
as grasshoppers and crickets get in one last tune before the first
frosts kill them off. Migrant moths and butterflies concentrate
their efforts around nectar rich flowers.
Some of our Elders are starting to turn yellow showing that the
autumn is rolling in. It will be the horse chestnut and beech next.
Of course, autumn is the time for fruits. Already our rowan trees
are laden with bright red fruit and the blackberries are starting
to ripen. It is an essential time for many of our bird and mammal
species. They are busy fattening themselves up for hibernation or
migration. The hedgerow feast may seem like a one sides
relationship but it is amazing how far animals will disperse a
fruit's seed. Remember how often a white laundry day can be ruined
by visits from blackbirds, starlings and thrushes.
Mammal watching is a little easier at this time of year as
numbers are at a peak, it is possible to watch a field vole in
broad daylight whistling up and down a bramble ladder to pinch the
best blackberries from the tips of shoots. Foxes and badgers are
quick to cash in on the blackberry harvest; the badger latrines
around the park are stained purple this time of year!
Now that the breeding season is over many of our summer visiting
birds are thinking about the great autumn migration. The Swifts
have now gone.
The Swallows and house martins are starting to form large flocks
ready to head off and the shrubs echo emptiness, there will soon be
no more calls from willow warblers, whitethroats or
chiffchaffs.
Swallow preparing for the long migration flight However they
will be replaced with our winter visitors who will soon arrive.
Keep
an eye out for varieties of fungi, which will appear in the park as
soon as we have our first significant rainfall. A good one to look
for is the aptly named beefsteak fungus. Often seen on oak or
chestnut trees not only does it look the right colour but also it
even drips 'blood' and smells rather meaty!!