After a night of strong winds and heavy rain (over 22mm last night – very welcome after an exceptionally dry September), a tranquil, sunny morning, with just a gentle breeze and a few wisps of high, white cloud adrift in an immaculate blue sky.
Swallows and House Martins carve swerving arcs through the sky, with a Buzzard circling over the back fields as I walked in, circling in lazy spirals, as nearby a Kestrel hangs in the air – so still, it almost looks painted onto the sky.
Also moving through, Reed Warbler, Siskin and Redpoll – a sign that autumn is not too far away.
Underfoot, lots of neat piles of purple poo, where Badgers have been gorging themselves on Blackberries, before visiting their regular ‘latrines’, with the cloven hoofprints of a Roe Deer in the soft mud at the top of Tasker’s path.
A fine display of berries in the hedgerows, including midnight blue Sloes, Blackberries, tiny Bittersweet berries, heavy ropes of Bryony berries (the only UK member of the ‘Yam’ family!) along with dense clusters of translucent crimson Honeysuckle berries, all busting out of a tangle of Old Man’s Beard. At the base of the hedges, Stinking Iris seedpods are almost ready to burst, revealing their bright orange seeds, with Burdock covered in large prickly ‘burrs’.
Goldfinches, Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs, Long-tailed, Blue and Great Tits are all weaving through the hedges, feeding up on seeds or insects ready for the winter.
A little ‘autumn colour’ starting to appear among the trees, with Horse Chestnut in particular, already turning to rusty gold, with drifts of Holm Oak leaves along the woodland paths.
Late summer flowers are still vital for bees and butterflies, with Ragwort, Yarrow, Greater Knapweed, Buddleia, Hemp Agrimony and Bristly Ox-tongue all still providing valuable nectar.
Ivy flowers are especially important at this time of year, with dense patches of Ivy on walls or trees covered in droning swarms of Ivy Bees (Colletes hedera).